New Left

The New Left is a term used in political discourse to refer to radical left-wing movements from the 1960s onwards. They differed from earlier leftist movements that had been more oriented towards labor activism, and instead adopted a broader definition of political activism commonly called social activism. The "New Left" was an intellectually driven movement which attempted to correct the perceived errors of "Old Left" parties in the post-WWII period. The movement began to wind down in the 1970s, when activists either committed themselves to party projects, developed social justice organizations, or became inactive in the movement.

The American New Left

In the United States, the "New Left" was the name loosely associated with a radical political movement that took place during the 1960s, primarily among college students. The origin of the name can be traced to an open letter written in 1960 by sociologist C. Wright Mills entitled Letter to the New Left. Mills argued for a new leftist ideology, moving away from the traditional ("Old Left") focus on labor issues, towards more personalized issues such as opposing alienation, anomie, authoritarianism, and other ills of the modern affluent society. Put differently, Mills argued for a shift from traditional leftism, toward the values of the Counterculture.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1960 - Sociologist - C. Wright Mills - Leftist - Old Left - Labor - Alienation - Anomie - Authoritarianism - Counterculture

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The New Left opposed the prevailing authority structures in society, which it termed "The Establishment," and those who rejected this authority became known as "anti-Establishment." The New Left avoided recruiting industrial workers, and concentrated on a social activist approach to organizing. Many in the New Left were convinced that they could be the source for a newer, better kind of social revolution. Loosely associated with the New Left was the Berkeley Free Speech Movement which began in 1964 as a coalition of student groups opposing restrictions to leftist political activity on campus.

Related Topics:
Social activist - Social revolution - Berkeley Free Speech Movement - 1964

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The organization that really came to symbolize the core of the New Left was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). In 1962 Tom Hayden wrote its founding document, the Port Huron Statement, which issued a call for "participatory democracy" based on nonviolent civil disobedience. The SDS marshalled anti-war, pro-civil rights and free speech concerns on campuses, and managed to bring together liberals and more revolutionary leftists. The SDS became the leading organization of the antiwar movement on college campuses during the Vietnam War, and during the course of the war became increasingly militant. As opposition to the war grew stronger, the SDS became a nationally prominent political organization. At the same time however, opposing the war became an overriding concern that overshadowed many of the original issues that inspired the New Left. In 1968 and 1969, as its radicalism reached a fever pitch, the SDS began to split under the strain of internal dissension and increasing penetration by Maoist ideologues, and along with adherents known as the New Communist Movement, some extremist terrorist splinter factions also emerged, such as the Weather Underground Organization.

Related Topics:
Students for a Democratic Society - 1962 - Tom Hayden - Port Huron Statement - Vietnam War - Maoist - New Communist Movement - Terrorist - Weather Underground Organization

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Many in the U.S. New Left were heavily influenced by the politics of the Vietnamese National Liberation Front and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. These sections also believed that the Secret Speech indicated that the Soviet Union had become revisionist, but they did not turn to Trotskyism as a result. Since, they argued, the Soviet Union could no longer be considered the world center for proletarian revolution, this section of the New Left substituted Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro as their lead thinkers. They also drew a lot of inspiration from the Black Panther Party.

Related Topics:
Vietnamese National Liberation Front - Chinese Cultural Revolution - Revisionist - Trotskyism - Proletarian revolution - Mao Zedong - Ho Chi Minh - Fidel Castro - Black Panther Party

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Other elements of the U.S. New Left, in particular the "anarchos" group, looked to libertarian socialist traditions of American radicalism, and investigated the Industrial Workers of the World and previous union militancy. This group coalesced around the historical journal Radical Amerika. American Autonomist Marxism was also a child of the U.S. New Left, particularly that of Harry Cleaver.

Related Topics:
Libertarian socialist - Industrial Workers of the World - Autonomist Marxism - Harry Cleaver

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The back of the U.S. New Left was broken by the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam. More liberal elements of the New Left retreated into professional life. Maoist elements formed minuscule microparties, some of which continue to the present day, but others dissolved in factional infighting. Other New Left revolutionaries continued their political struggles, but often in smaller organisations which were less visible. By the beginning of the 1980s, the U.S. New Left was effectively non-existent. However, many organisational principles, particularly the social activist model, continue to be used by current American left-wing groups.

Related Topics:
Vietnam - Liberal - Maoist - Social activist

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