--- alias: "Leftist" public: "true" slug: "leftism" title: "Leftism" prev: false next: false ---

Leftism

1170 words, ~6 minute read.

Referenced by:Market SocialismMy Political BeliefsMy Political Journey
Tagged by:Anarchism
[My Political Journey](/garden/my-political-journey/index.md) has brought me to the broad label of being a leftist. Leftism encompasses many ideologies, each with unique visions for an egalitarian society and strategies to achieve it. These pages are my tool to test my understanding by articulating these ideas in my own terms. I don't care to label myself any further than leftist, as in my mind I'm still a student of leftist ideologies and have personally been finding insight across the spectrum of leftist ideologies. As a reminder, this digital garden is a perpetual work in progress and only reflects my understanding of a topic at time of writing. ## What is Leftism? Leftism refers to a wide range of political ideologies that share a general opposition to hierarchical structures, particularly class hierarchies. Leftists seek an egalitarian society, though their vision of what this entails and how to achieve it vary significantly. They aim to replace systems based on profit and exploitation with ones prioritizing collective well-being. This typically places them against capitalism, however some leftists seek to retain the role of markets and sometimes even private property. Communism is a term for a stateless, classless, moneyless society that is desired by many leftists, not just communists. Most leftists believe in analyzing society and history through the lens of [Materialism](/garden/materialism/index.md) and believe removing the profit motive will lead to a more just, productive, and environmentally conscious society. An anarchist youtuber describes the various leftist ideologies as loosely aligned to a political compass where the axes represent the role of a state and revolution vs reform in [The *socialist* political compass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zICHHhalRFI). ## The Transitionary State Some leftists, such as Marxist-Leninists, believe a state is required to facilitate the transition to communism. This is typically a single party state called the "dictatorship of the proletariat", and its role would be defending against counter-revolutionaries (both internal dissidence and external [Imperialist](/garden/imperialism/index.md) forces), teaching theory to the citizens, and of course reorganize society along socialist lines. They believe that the immediate abolition of the state is impractical in the face of the immense power of capitalist and other reactionary forces, but that once communism is achieved the state will naturally wither away due to its own obsolescence. This would be a long process involving abolishing the material basis for class society on a global scale to ensure there would no longer be any incentive for reactionaries to exist. > And so in capitalist society we have a democracy that is curtailed, wretched, false, a democracy only for the rich, for the minority. The dictatorship of the proletariat, the period of transition to communism, will for the first time create democracy for the people, for the majority, along with the necessary suppression of the exploiters, of the minority. Communism alone is capable of providing really complete democracy, and the more complete it is, the sooner it will become unnecessary and wither away of its own accord. \- Vladimir Lenin, [State and Revolution](https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/ch05.htm) Other leftists, anarchists of various stripes, critique the authoritarian nature of such a state, and don't trust it to naturally wither away of its own accord. They believe the goal should first and foremost be the abolition of any kind of state, and do not believe a society needs to be shepherded by rulers towards communism. They view the state as an inherently oppressive institution that cannot be reformed or repurposed for liberation, which will perpetuate hierarchy rather than dismantle it. Further, they believe we already have the ability to ensure everyone's needs are met through mutual aid and sustainable living. > There are those, on the one hand, who hope to achieve the social revolution through the State by preserving and even extending most of its powers to be used for the revolution. And there are those like ourselves who see the State, both in its present form, in its very essence, and in whatever guise it might appear, an obstacle to the social revolution, the greatest hindrance to the birth of a society based on equality and liberty, as well as the historic means designed to prevent this blossoming. The latter work to abolish the State and not to reform it. \- Petr Kropotkin, [The State: Its Historic Role](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-the-state-its-historic-role) This fundamental disagreement over whether the existence of a transitionary state is justified has historically led to conflicts between communists and anarchists, such as the USSR going after nearby anarchist societies. Both groups saw the other as counter-revolutionaries. A lot of anarchist values and concepts, like mutual aid and free association, likely also describe the stateless, classless, moneyless society communists want. ## Reform vs Revolution Reform is the process of iteratively changing the system from within, and revolution means overthrowing the system entirely (not necessarily violently). Typically when people are referring to communists (MLs) or anarchists, they're referring to revolutionary socialists, as the prevailing opinion is that the system will not willingly allow the existing power structures to be overturned democratically. > Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth. > \- Lucy Parsons Reformists, like syndicalists, market socialists, and democratic socialists, tend to still see capitalism as a useful tool for [Innovation](/garden/innovation/index.md) and resource allocation, and may support it existing for quite some time. They would use things like labor unions, strikes, and occupations to exert political control over the economy. They'll try to get progressive candidates into places of power to pass legislation limiting inequality and expanding social welfare. They'll create networks of mutual aid to assist those not being helped sufficiently by the state. Personally, I think reform is likely the only way we'll see the kind of change we really need to see. However, reformists ideas are a great gateway into leftist thought. [Market Socialism](/garden/market-socialism/index.md) is essentially "capitalism but with less exploitation and more meritocracy" by ensuring the surplus labor value remains within control of the workers, which is something I think liberals can be sold upon pretty easily. ## Leftist Infighting Leftist infighting has long been a meme. While their disagreements are inevitable and valid, their intensity is often exacerbated by external forces seeking to dismantle leftist movements. The lack of a unifying framework is what makes leftism in particular susceptible to infighting. The status quo creates an aligning force for similar ideologies, and makes any ideologies far away from the status quo feel comparatively dissimilar. Marxist-Leninists advocate for a concept called democratic centralism to combat infighting. It mandates unity of action while allowing for internal debate and discussion. It's particularly useful and relevant for a vanguard party to ensure it is clear who has taken power following a revolution, rather than creating a power vacuum that can be exploited by imperialist powers. However, critics argue democratic centralism can stifle dissent and foster authoritarianism. ## Moving Forward As I describe in [A Plea to Organize](/garden/a-plea-to-organize/index.md), despite differences between the different ideologies, my advice is still the same: **Organize!** Join local communities, regardless of affiliation, and support leftism and the community. [Mutual Aid](/garden/mutual-aid/index.md) efforts are particularly helpful and can be found on [Mutual Aid Hub](https://www.mutualaidhub.org/). Additionally: **Study!** Read theory and better understand leftist ideologies of all stripes. It helps you better understand the philosophies underpinning these ideologies and in turn become a better leftist.