Left-wing politics

:Left wing is also a term used in several sports; see winger (sport).

History of the term

The term "Left" was first used in the early days of French revolution. When the National Assembly first met, the reformers sat on the left side of the meeting hall, while supporters of monarchy and nobility sat on the right. Originally, it wasn't meant to be a political statement, but as the factions within the National Assembly formed, the label stuck.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although it may seem ironic in terms of present-day usage, those originally on 'The Left' during the French Revolution were the largely bourgeois supporters of laissez-faire capitalism and free markets. As the electorate expanded beyond property-holders, these relatively wealthy elites found themselves clearly victorious over the old aristocracy and the remnants of feudalism, but newly opposed by the growing and increasingly organized and politicized workers and wage-earners. The "left" of 1789 would, in some ways be part of the present-day "right", liberal with regard to the rights of property and intellect, but not embracing notions of distributive justice, rights for organized labour, etc.

Related Topics:
French Revolution - Bourgeois - Laissez-faire capitalism - Free market - Electorate - Aristocracy - Feudalism - 1789 - Liberal - Distributive justice - Organized labour

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In some countries, such as the Netherlands, the left had for a long time the meaning of the non-religious side of politics. This gradually changed into the more general European meaning of the word.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The European left has traditionally shown a smooth continuum between non-communist and communist parties (including such hybrids as eurocommunism), which have sometimes allied with more moderate leftists to present a united front. In the United States, however, no avowedly socialist or communist party ever became a major player in national politics, although the Social Democratic Party of Eugene V. Debs and its successor Socialist Party of America (in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century) and the Communist Party of the United States of America (in the 1930s) made some inroads. While many American "liberals" might be "social democrats" in European terms, very few of them openly embrace the term "left"; in the United States, the term is mainly embraced by New Left activists, certain portions of the labor movement, and people who see their intellectual or political heritage as descending from 19th-century socialist movements.

Related Topics:
Eurocommunism - United front - United States - Social Democratic Party - Eugene V. Debs - Socialist Party of America - Communist Party of the United States of America - 1930s - New Left - Labor

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The New Left refers to radical left-wing movements from the 1960s onwards who claimed to be breaking with some traditions of the left. Where earlier left-wing movements were generally rooted in labor activism, the New Left generally adopted a broader definition of political activism, commonly called social activism. The New Left has had varying degrees of unity since its rise in the 1960s, mainly existing as loose coalitions of numerous distinct movements, including (but not limited to) feminists, greens, some labour unions, some atheists, some gay rights activists, and some minority ethnic and racially oriented civil rights groups.

Related Topics:
New Left - Labor activism - Social activism - 1960s - Coalition - Feminists - Greens - Labour union - Atheists - Gay rights - Civil rights

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many Greens deny that green politics is "on the left"; nonetheless, their economic policies can generally be considered left-wing, and when they have formed political coalitions (most notably in Germany, but also in local governments elsewhere), it has almost always been with groups that would generally be classified as being on the left.

Related Topics:
Green politics - Germany

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~