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179-485: Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism , often in opposition to social hierarchy as a whole or certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in society whom its adherents perceive as disadvantaged relative to others as well as a belief that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished through radical means that change

358-440: A feudal mode of production , religious ideology is the most prominent aspect of the superstructure, while in capitalist formations, ideologies such as liberalism and social democracy dominate. Hence the great importance of ideology justifies a society and politically confuses the alienated groups of society via false consciousness . Some explanations have been presented. Antonio Gramsci uses cultural hegemony to explain why

537-451: A mixed economy with an empowered public sector and a thriving private sector . Centre-left policies tend to favour limited state intervention in matters pertaining to the public interest . In several countries, the terms far-left and radical left have been associated with many varieties of anarchism , autonomism and communism . They have been used to describe groups that advocate anti-capitalism and eco-terrorism . In France,

716-526: A mélange of socio-political ideas rather than a precisely outlined theoretical order, the conception possessed an effective slogan, which facilitated its communication to both politics and the public. However, the eventual implementation required not only communication but also political backup. Müller-Armack's concept soon met with the conception of the then Chairman of the Sonderstelle Geld und Kredit (Special Bureau for Money and Credit) within

895-523: A "Civitas Humana", the ordoliberal competitive order was further developed by the Cologne school around the economist and anthropologist Alfred Müller-Armack , who therefore coined the term Soziale Marktwirtschaft ("social market economy") in a publication in December 1946. Although it evolved from ordoliberalism as a new variant of neoliberalism , this concept was not identical with the conception of

1074-508: A European citizen has become 20% poorer with respect to a US citizen, over the period 1996-2020. During the 24 years between 1996 and 2020 it has become relatively cheaper for a US citizen to stay in the EU, and it has become relatively more expensive for a EU citizen to stay in the US. Over this period of 24 years, from 1996 to 2020, the consumer price index has increased by 65% in the US, and by 51% in

1253-419: A balance between a high rate of economic growth , low inflation , low levels of unemployment , good working conditions, social welfare and public services . The term "social" was established by Adenauer to prevent further reference to Christian socialism , which was used in the early party agenda Ahlener Programm in 1947. Although the social market economy model evolved from ordoliberalism , this concept

1432-638: A capitalist bourgeois ideology. Marxists were responsible for organizing the first International Working Women's Day events. The women's liberation movement is closely connected to the New Left and other new social movements which openly challenged the orthodoxies of the Old Left. Socialist feminism as exemplified by the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women and Marxist feminism , spearheaded by Selma James , saw themselves as

1611-604: A central feature of political debates on the Left. During the French Revolution, nationalism was a key policy of the Republican Left. The Republican Left advocated for civic nationalism and argued that the nation is a "daily plebiscite" formed by the subjective "will to live together". Related to revanchism , the belligerent will to take revenge against Germany and retake control of Alsace-Lorraine , nationalism

1790-405: A certain ideology very closely, while others may take broad inspiration from a group of related ideologies without specifically embracing any one of them. Each political ideology contains certain ideas on what it considers the best form of government (e.g., democracy , demagogy , theocracy , caliphate etc.), scope of government (e.g. authoritarianism , libertarianism , federalism , etc.) and

1969-557: A coherent and unifying economic programme enabling a more consistent public front, the oldest German political party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by the advocate of economic planning and extensive socialisation Kurt Schumacher , did not introduce its own economic concept. This not only complicated the parliamentary work of the party in the Economic Council but also limited the public relations of

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2148-450: A decorative fig leaf or conversely as a gateway for antiliberal interventionism, it meant more than simply distinguishing the concept from that of laissez-faire capitalism on the one side and of ordoliberal conceptions on the other. In drawing on Wilhelm Röpke 's anthropo-sociological approach of an economic humanism leading to a Civitas Humana , Müller-Armack pursued a "Social Humanism" or "Social Irenics"—the notion irenics derives from

2327-567: A desire for greater economic equality and workers rights with demands for environmental protection. Democratic socialist Bolivian president Evo Morales has traced environmental degradation to capitalist consumerism , stating that "[t]he Earth does not have enough for the North to live better and better, but it does have enough for all of us to live well". James Hansen , Noam Chomsky , Raj Patel , Naomi Klein , The Yes Men and Dennis Kucinich hold similar views. In climate change mitigation ,

2506-735: A distinction is made between the centre-left and the left represented by the Socialist Party and the French Communist Party and the far-left as represented by anarcho-communists , Maoists and Trotskyists . The United States Department of Homeland Security defines "left-wing extremism" as groups that "seek to bring about change through violent revolution, rather than through established political processes". Similar to far-right politics , extremist far-left politics have motivated political violence , radicalization , genocide , terrorism , sabotage and damage to property,

2685-534: A firing squad, and children were deprived of any religious education outside of the home. Today in the Western world , those on the Left generally support secularization and the separation of church and state. However, religious beliefs have also been associated with many left-wing movements such as the progressive movement , the Social Gospel movement, the civil rights movement , the anti-war movement ,

2864-423: A force within left-wing politics. The influential Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels , published amidst the wave of revolutions of 1848 across Europe, asserted that all of human history is defined by class struggle . They predicted that a proletarian revolution would eventually overthrow bourgeois capitalism and create a stateless , moneyless and classless communist society . It

3043-527: A large middle class, capital market participation is enlarged. Social market economies also posit that government regulation and even sponsorship of markets can lead to superior economic outcomes as evidenced in government sponsorship of the Internet or basic securities regulation. The main elements of the social market economy in Germany are the following: Defunct Defunct The social market economy

3222-547: A left-wing response to The Limits to Growth model that predicted catastrophic resource depletion and spurred environmentalism, postulating that capitalist technologies were the key cause responsible for environmental degradation, as opposed to human population pressures. Environmental degradation can be seen as a class or equity issue, as environmental destruction disproportionately affects poorer communities and countries. Several left-wing or socialist groupings have an overt environmental concern and several green parties contain

3401-593: A mere representation, The Society of the Spectacle . The American philosopher Eric Hoffer identified several elements that unify followers of a particular ideology: Ronald Inglehart of the University of Michigan is author of the World Values Survey , which, since 1980, has mapped social attitudes in 100 countries representing 90% of global population. Results indicate that where people live

3580-637: A more market-oriented economy. Konrad Adenauer , the chairman of the CDU in the British zone of occupation, invited Erhard to also inform the party members about his socio-economic conception at the party convention in Recklinghausen, Germany on 28 August 1948. In a visionary and stirring speech, entitled Marktwirtschaft im Streit der Meinungen ("Market Economy in Dispute"), Erhard defended his concept of

3759-715: A part of the Left by their contemporaries. Feminist pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft was influenced by Thomas Paine . Many notable leftists have been strong supporters of gender equality such as Marxist philosophers and activists Rosa Luxemburg , Clara Zetkin and Alexandra Kollontai , anarchist philosophers and activists such as Virginia Bolten , Emma Goldman and Lucía Sánchez Saornil and democratic socialist philosophers and activists such as Helen Keller and Annie Besant . However, Marxists such as Rosa Luxemburg, Clara Zetkin, and Alexandra Kollontai, who are supporters of radical social equality for women and have rejected and opposed liberal feminism because they considered it to be

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3938-482: A part of the Left that challenges male-dominated and sexist structures within the Left. The connection between left-wing ideologies and the struggle for LGBTQ rights also has an important history. Prominent socialists who were involved in early struggles for LGBTQ rights include Edward Carpenter , Oscar Wilde , Harry Hay , Bayard Rustin and Daniel Guérin , among others. The New Left is also strongly supportive of LGBTQ rights and liberation, having been instrumental in

4117-438: A political economy characterized by greater economic equality. The essence of the social market economy is the view that private markets are the most effective allocation mechanism, but that output is maximized through sound state macroeconomic management of the economy. Social market economies posit that a strong social support network for the less affluent enhances capital output. By decreasing poverty and broadening prosperity to

4296-410: A political ideology is a certain ethical set of ideals , principles , doctrines , myths , or symbols of a social movement , institution , class , or large group that explains how society should work, offering some political and cultural blueprint for a certain social order . Political ideologies are concerned with many different aspects of a society, including but not limited to: the economy ,

4475-563: A position within the political mainstream that accepts capitalism and a market economy. The terms far-left and ultra-left are used for positions that are more radical , more strongly rejecting capitalism and mainstream representative democracy , instead advocating for a socialist society based on economic democracy and direct democracy , representing economic, political and social democracy. The centre-left includes social democrats , social liberals , progressives and greens . Centre-left supporters accept market allocation of resources in

4654-537: A prolonged illness, he is then completely helpless, left to his own devices, and society does not currently recognize any real obligation towards him beyond the usual help for the poor, even if he has been working all the time ever so faithfully and diligently. The usual help for the poor, however, leaves a lot to be desired, especially in large cities, where it is very much worse than in the country. Bismarck's program centered squarely on providing universal social insurance programs designed to increase productivity and focus

4833-420: A regulatory policy idea aiming to combine free enterprise with a social program that is underpinned by market economic performance. In putting social policy on par with economic policy, Müller-Armack's concept was more emphatic regarding socio-political aims than the ordoliberal economic concept. This dual principle also appeared in the name of the model. Although the adjective "social" often attracted criticism as

5012-460: A ruling elite of individuals) while it prepares a population for capitalist exploitation. Within anarchism, this subject has been extensively discussed by Rudolf Rocker in his book titled Nationalism and Culture and by the works of Fredy Perlman such as Against His-Story, Against Leviathan and The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism . The failure of revolutions in Germany and Hungary in

5191-597: A similar concept, "Rhine capitalism". He compared the so-called "neo-American model" of a capitalistic market economy introduced by the administrations of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher with what he called Rhine capitalism, present in Germany, France and in some of the Northern European economies. While the neo-American model builds largely on the ideas of Friedrich von Hayek and Milton Friedman , Rhine capitalism according to Albert has its foundations on publicly organized social security . Albert analyzes

5370-502: A social market economy include Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Poland, and Japan. Social market economies aim to combine free initiative and social welfare on the basis of a competitive economy. The social market economy is opposed to laissez-faire policies and to socialist economic systems, and combines private enterprise with regulation and state intervention to establish fair competition, maintaining

5549-484: A sole explanation of ideology is that it does not explain the differences between ideologies. Terror management theory posits that ideology is used as a defence mechanism against threats to their worldview which in turn protect and individuals sense of self-esteem and reduce their awareness of mortality. Evidence shows that priming individuals with an awareness of mortality does not cause individuals to respond in ways underpinned by any particular ideology, but rather

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5728-683: A strong socialist presence. The Green Party of England and Wales features an eco-socialist group, the Green Left , which was founded in June 2005. Its members held several influential positions within the party, including both the former Principal Speakers Siân Berry and Derek Wall , himself an eco-socialist and Marxist academic. In Europe, several green left political parties such as the European United Left–Nordic Green Left combine traditional social-democratic values such as

5907-418: A strong state—in contrast to the ordoliberal minimal state solely safeguarding the economic order —is often labelled by the ambiguous but historical term Der Dritte Weg ("The Third Way"). The concept of the social market economy received fundamental impulses from reflection and critique of historical economic and social orders, namely Smithian laissez-faire liberalism on the one hand and Marxian socialism on

6086-673: A successful synthesis of the Anglo-American model with social democracy. The German model is contrasted and compared with other economic models, some of which are also described as middle ways or regional forms of capitalism, including Tony Blair 's Third Way , French dirigisme , the Dutch polder model , the Nordic model , Japanese corporate East Asian model of capitalism , and the contemporary Chinese socialist market economy . A 2012 comparative politics textbook distinguishes between

6265-403: A temporary state between the capitalist state of affairs and a communist society . Marx defined the proletariat as salaried workers, in contrast to the lumpenproletariat , who he defined as the outcasts of society such as beggars, tricksters, entertainers, buskers, criminals and prostitutes. The political relevance of farmers has divided the left. In Das Kapital , Marx scarcely mentioned

6444-468: A term of abuse, which he often hurled against his liberal foes in Tracy's Institut national . According to Karl Mannheim 's historical reconstruction of the shifts in the meaning of ideology , the modern meaning of the word was born when Napoleon used it to describe his opponents as "the ideologues". Tracy's major book, The Elements of Ideology , was soon translated into the major languages of Europe. In

6623-611: Is bourgeois nationalism . Some Marxists, together with others on the left, view nationalism , racism (including antisemitism) and religion as divide and conquer tactics used by the ruling classes to prevent the working class from uniting against them in solidarity with one another. Left-wing movements have often taken up anti-imperialist positions. Anarchism has developed a critique of nationalism that focuses on nationalism's role in justifying and consolidating state power and domination. Through its unifying goal, nationalism strives for centralisation (both in specific territories and in

6802-528: Is "the imagined existence (or idea) of things as it relates to the real conditions of existence" and makes use of a lacunar discourse. A number of propositions, which are never untrue, suggest a number of other propositions, which are. In this way, the essence of the lacunar discourse is what is not told but is suggested. For example, the statement "All are equal before the law ", which is a theoretical groundwork of current legal systems, suggests that all people may be of equal worth or have equal opportunities. This

6981-554: Is concerned with the causes, consequences and content of ideology, with humans being dubbed the "ideological animal" by Althusser. Many theories have tried to explain the existence of ideology in human societies. Jost, Ledgerwood, and Hardin (2008) propose that ideologies may function as prepackaged units of interpretation that spread because of basic human motives to understand the world, avoid existential threat , and maintain valued interpersonal relationships . The authors conclude that such motives may lead disproportionately to

7160-535: Is difficult, however, due to cultural relativity in definitions. For example, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism "; a conservatism in Finland would be labeled socialism in the United States . Philosopher Michael Oakeshott defines single-issue ideologies as "the formalized abridgment of the supposed sub-stratum of the rational truth contained in

7339-430: Is ecology, which studies the relationships among living things on Earth. Perceptual psychologist James J. Gibson believed that human perception of ecological relationships was the basis of self-awareness and cognition itself. Linguist George Lakoff has proposed a cognitive science of mathematics wherein even the most fundamental ideas of arithmetic would be seen as consequences or products of human perception—which

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7518-512: Is illustrated by the "scandalous advice" of Pascal toward unbelievers: "Kneel and pray, and then you will believe." What is ultimately ideological for Althusser are not the subjective beliefs held in the conscious "minds" of human individuals, but rather discourses that produce these beliefs, the material institutions and rituals that individuals take part in without submitting it to conscious examination and so much more critical thinking . The French Marxist theorist Guy Debord , founding member of

7697-543: Is itself necessarily evolved within an ecology. Deep ecology and the modern ecology movement (and, to a lesser degree, Green parties ) appear to have adopted ecological sciences as a positive ideology. Some notable economically based ideologies include neoliberalism , monetarism , mercantilism , mixed economy , social Darwinism , communism , laissez-faire economics, and free trade . There are also current theories of safe trade and fair trade that can be seen as ideologies. A large amount of research in psychology

7876-505: Is likely to closely correlate with their ideological beliefs. In much of Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, people prefer traditional beliefs and are less tolerant of liberal values. Protestant Europe , at the other extreme, adheres more to secular beliefs and liberal values. Alone among high-income countries, the United States is exceptional in its adherence to traditional beliefs, in this case Christianity. In political science ,

8055-419: Is not true, according to Althusser, for the concept of private property and power over the means of production results in some people being able to own more than others. This power disparity contradicts the claim that all share both practical worth and future opportunity equally; for example, the rich can afford better legal representation, which practically privileges them before the law. Althusser proffered

8234-733: Is often associated with Francis Fukuyama 's writings on the end of history . Contrastly, Nienhueser (2011) sees research (in the field of human resource management ) as ongoingly "generating ideology". There are many proposed methods for the classification of political ideologies. Ideologies can identify themselves by their position on the political spectrum (e.g. left , center , or right ). They may also be distinguished by single issues around which they may be built (e.g. civil libertarianism , support or opposition to European integration , legalization of marijuana ). They may also be distinguished by political strategies (e.g. populism , personalism ). The classification of political ideology

8413-562: Is reiterated by J. William Fulbright , while a similar form occurs in Eric Hoffer 's The True Believer . The revolution thus becomes established as an ideocracy , though its rise is likely to be checked by a 'political midlife crisis.' Even when the challenging of existing beliefs is encouraged, as in scientific theories, the dominant paradigm or mindset can prevent certain challenges, theories, or experiments from being advanced. A special case of science that has inspired ideology

8592-421: Is sometimes used to justify hostility towards supranational organizations. Left-wing nationalism can also refer to any form of nationalism which emphasizes a leftist working-class populist agenda that seeks to overcome exploitation or oppression by other nations. Many Third World anti-colonialist movements have adopted leftist and socialist ideas. Third-Worldism is a tendency within leftist thought that regards

8771-655: Is still the common economic basis of major political parties in Germany including the CDU, FDP, and SPD, and a commitment to some form of social market economy is present in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union . In the United Kingdom , the concept of the social market economy was first introduced by the Conservative politician Keith Joseph . Following World War II , the main political parties agreed on

8950-606: Is the most generic term because the 'science of ideas' also contains the study of their expression and deduction. The coup d'état that overthrew Maximilien Robespierre allowed Tracy to pursue his work. Tracy reacted to the terroristic phase of the revolution (during the Napoleonic regime as part of the Napoleonic Wars ) by trying to work out a rational system of ideas to oppose the irrational mob impulses that had nearly destroyed him. A subsequent early source for

9129-553: Is too confined to verbal systems. ' Worldview ' is too metaphysical , ' propaganda ' too loaded. Despite or because of its contradictions, 'ideology' still plays a key role in semiotics oriented to social, political life. Authors such as Michael Freeden have also recently incorporated a semantic analysis to the study of ideologies. Sociologists define ideology as "cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality". Dominant groups use these sets of cultural beliefs and practices to justify

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9308-655: Is used for social and cultural politics. In the United Kingdom during the 1980s, the term hard left was applied to supporters of Tony Benn such as the Campaign Group and those involved in the London Labour Briefing newspaper as well as Trotskyist groups such as Militant and the Alliance for Workers' Liberty . In the same period, the term soft left was applied to supporters of

9487-611: The Bible . In the late 19th century, the Protestant Social Gospel movement arose in the United States which integrated progressive and socialist thought with Christianity through faith-based social activism. Other left-wing religious movements include Buddhist socialism, Jewish socialism and Islamic socialism. There have been alliances between the left and anti-war Muslims , such as the Respect Party and

9666-470: The Bizone and thus increasingly identified with the economic recovery and the improving economic conditions. Although the implementation of the social market economy benefited also from other crucial factors, including the east–west conflict and a favourable political and social climate within Germany and abroad, the stabilising alliance between the conservative and liberal parties, the pro-market composition of

9845-489: The Christian Democratic Union under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1949 and today it is used by ordoliberals , social liberals and modern (non- Marxist ) social democrats alike. Its origins can be traced to the interwar Freiburg school of economic thought. The social market economy was designed to be a middle way between laissez-faire forms of capitalism and socialist economics . It

10024-555: The Decembrists in Russia . Karl Marx adopted Napoleon's negative sense of the term, using it in his writings, in which he once described Tracy as a fischblütige Bourgeoisdoktrinär (a "fish-blooded bourgeois doctrinaire"). The term has since dropped some of its pejorative sting ( euphemism treadmill ), and has become a neutral term in the analysis of differing political opinions and views of social groups . While Marx situated

10203-989: The Democratic and Republican parties, or as synonyms for liberalism and conservatism , respectively. Since the Right was populist, both in the Western and the Eastern Bloc , anything viewed as avant-garde art was called leftist across Europe, thus the identification of Picasso's Guernica as "leftist" in Europe and the condemnation of the Russian composer Shostakovich 's opera ( The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District ) in Pravda as follows: "Here we have 'leftist' confusion instead of natural, human music". The spectrum of left-wing politics ranges from centre-left to far-left or ultra-left . The term centre-left describes

10382-719: The French Revolution , referring to the seating arrangement in the French National Assembly . Those who sat on the left generally opposed the ancien régime and the Bourbon monarchy and supported the Revolution, the creation of a democratic republic and the secularisation of society while those on the right were supportive of the traditional institutions of the Ancien Régime. Usage of

10561-524: The Lockean sense of idea ) and -logíā ( -λογῐ́ᾱ , 'the study of'). The term ideology and the system of ideas associated with it was coined in 1796 by Antoine Destutt de Tracy while in prison pending trial during the Reign of Terror , where he read the works of Locke and Étienne Bonnot de Condillac . Hoping to form a secure foundation for the moral and political sciences , Tracy devised

10740-598: The Republicans and Eugène Etienne , the president of the Parliamentary Colonial Group. After the antisemitic Dreyfus Affair in which officer Alfred Dreyfus was falsely convicted of sedition and exiled to a penal colony in 1894 before being exonerated in 1906, nationalism in the form of Boulangism increasingly became associated with the far-right. The Marxist social class theory of proletarian internationalism asserts that members of

10919-528: The Rhenish model , and social capitalism , is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alongside social policies and enough regulation to establish both fair competition within the market and generally a welfare state . It is sometimes classified as a regulated market economy . The social market economy was originally promoted and implemented in West Germany by

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11098-760: The Roman Catholic Church and supporting atheism and the separation of church and state , ushering in a policy known as laïcité . Karl Marx asserted that "religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people ". In Soviet Russia, the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin originally embraced an ideological principle which professed that all religion would eventually atrophy and resolved to eradicate organized Christianity and other religious institutions. In 1918, 10 Russian Orthodox hierarchs were summarily executed by

11277-562: The Saint-Imier International and later the International Workers' Association (IWA–AIT) . The Second International (1888–1916) became divided over the issue of World War I . Those who opposed the war, among them Vladimir Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg , saw themselves as further to the left. In the United States, leftists such as social liberals , progressives and trade unionists were influenced by

11456-638: The Second Republic was an attempt by the Left to re-assert itself after the 1848 Revolution , but only a small portion of the population supported this. In the mid-19th century, nationalism , socialism , democracy and anti-clericalism became key features of the French Left. After Napoleon III 's 1851 coup and the subsequent establishment of the Second Empire , Marxism began to rival radical republicanism and utopian socialism as

11635-518: The Situationist International , argued that when the commodity becomes the "essential category" of society, i.e. when the process of commodification has been consummated to its fullest extent, the image of society propagated by the commodity (as it describes all of life as constituted by notions and objects deriving their value only as commodities tradeable in terms of exchange value ), colonizes all of life and reduces society to

11814-588: The Stop the War Coalition in Britain. In France, the left has been divided over moves to ban the hijab from schools, with some leftists supporting a ban based on the separation of church and state in accordance with the principle of laïcité and other leftists opposing the prohibition based on personal and religious freedom. Social progressivism is another common feature of modern leftism, particularly in

11993-527: The Third Estate ) generally sat to the left of the presiding member's chair in parliament while the ones in favour of the royal veto privilege sat on its right. That habit began in the original French National Assembly . Throughout the 19th century, the main line dividing Left and Right was between supporters of the French republic and those of the monarchy 's privileges. The June Days uprising during

12172-490: The Western world include strong opposition to the death penalty , torture , mass surveillance , and the war on drugs , and support for abortion rights, cognitive liberty , LGBTQ rights including legal recognition of same-sex marriage , same-sex adoption of children, the right to change one's legal gender , distribution of contraceptives , and public funding of embryonic stem-cell research . The desire for an expansion of social and civil liberties often overlaps that of

12351-525: The centre-left , especially social democrats who adopted the Third Way . Left-wing politics are typically associated with popular or state control of major political and economic institutions. Other leftists believe in Marxian economics , named after the economic theories of Karl Marx . Some distinguish Marx's economic theories from his political philosophy, arguing that Marx's approach to understanding

12530-639: The displacement of Keynesianism and post-war social democracy . One of the first actions of Ed Miliband , the Labour Party leader who succeeded Blair and Brown, was the rejection of the New Labour label and a promise to abandon the Third Way and turn back to the left. However, Labour's voting record in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2015 indicated that the Labour Party under Miliband had maintained

12709-524: The government , the environment , education , health care , labor law , criminal law , the justice system , social security and welfare , public policy and administration , foreign policy , rights , freedoms and duties , citizenship , immigration , culture and national identity , military administration, and religion . Political ideologies have two dimensions: A political ideology largely concerns itself with how to allocate power and to what ends power should be used. Some parties follow

12888-413: The libertarian movement. Public education was a subject of great interest to groundbreaking social progressives such as Lester Frank Ward and John Dewey , who believed that a democratic society and system of government was practically impossible without a universal and comprehensive nationwide system of education. Various counterculture and anti-war movements in the 1960s and 1970s were associated with

13067-430: The relations of production and modes of production , and superstructure denotes the dominant ideology (i.e. religious, legal, political systems). The economic base of production determines the political superstructure of a society. Ruling class-interests determine the superstructure and the nature of the justifying ideology—actions feasible because the ruling class control the means of production . For example, in

13246-523: The subjective ongoing choices that people make. These ideas serve as the seed around which further thought grows. The belief in an ideology can range from passive acceptance up to fervent advocacy. Definitions, such as by Manfred Steger and Paul James , emphasize both the issue of patterning and contingent claims to truth. They wrote: "Ideologies are patterned clusters of normatively imbued ideas and concepts, including particular representations of power relations. These conceptual maps help people navigate

13425-474: The welfare state through industrial democracy and the social market to the nationalization of the economy and central planning , to the anarcho-syndicalist advocacy of a council-based and self-managed anarchist communism . During the Industrial Revolution , leftists supported trade unions . At the beginning of the 20th century, many leftists advocated strong government intervention in

13604-476: The working class should act in solidarity with working people in other countries in pursuit of a common class interest , rather than only focusing on their own countries. Proletarian internationalism is summed up in the slogan: " Workers of the world, unite! ", the last line of The Communist Manifesto . Union members had learned that more members meant more bargaining power. Taken to an international level, leftists argued that workers should act in solidarity with

13783-499: The working-class have a false ideological conception of what their best interests are. Marx argued: "The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the means of mental production." The Marxist formulation of "ideology as an instrument of social reproduction" is conceptually important to the sociology of knowledge , viz. Karl Mannheim , Daniel Bell , and Jürgen Habermas et al. Moreover, Mannheim has developed and progressed from

13962-456: The " conservative – corporatist welfare state" (arising from the German social market economy) and the "labor-led social democratic welfare state". The concept of the model has since been expanded upon into the idea of an eco-social market economy as not only taking into account the social responsibility of humanity but also the sustainable use and protection of natural resources. Countries with

14141-701: The " proletariat can and must build the socialist society in one country". In April 1925, Nikolai Bukharin elaborated on the issue in his brochure titled Can We Build Socialism in One Country in the Absence of the Victory of the West-European Proletariat? , whose position was adopted as state policy after Stalin's January 1926 article titled On the Issues of Leninism (К вопросам ленинизма)

14320-506: The "total" but "special" Marxist conception of ideology to a "general" and "total" ideological conception acknowledging that all ideology (including Marxism ) resulted from social life, an idea developed by the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu . Slavoj Žižek and the earlier Frankfurt School added to the "general theory" of ideology a psychoanalytic insight that ideologies do not include only conscious but also unconscious ideas. French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser proposed that ideology

14499-399: The 1918–1920 years ended Bolshevik hopes for an imminent world revolution and led to the promotion of the doctrine of socialism in one country by Joseph Stalin . In the first edition of his book titled Osnovy Leninizma ( Foundations of Leninism , 1924), Stalin argued that revolution in one country is insufficient. By the end of that year in the second edition of the book, he argued that

14678-535: The 1970s onwards, environmentalism became an increasing concern of the left, with social movements and several unions campaigning on environmental issues and causes. In Australia, the left-wing Builders Labourers Federation , led by the communist Jack Mundy, united with environmentalists to place green bans on environmentally destructive development projects. Several segments of the socialist and Marxist left consciously merged environmentalism and anti-capitalism into an eco-socialist ideology. Barry Commoner articulated

14857-519: The 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, the term left-wing has also been applied to a broad range of culturally liberal social movements, including the civil rights movement , feminist movement , LGBT rights movement , abortion-rights movements , multiculturalism , anti-war movement and environmental movement as well as a wide range of political parties .‌ The following positions are typically associated with left-wing politics. Left-leaning economic beliefs range from Keynesian economics and

15036-544: The Administration for Economics in the Bizonal Economic Council on 2 March 1948, the social market economy entered the political sphere. Soon after on 21 April 1948, Erhard informed the parliament about his economic policy and introduced the concept of the social market economy. Although there was no unanimous applause, both the liberal democrats and conservatives widely welcomed the transition to

15215-460: The Administration for Finance, i.e. an expert commission preparing the currency reform in the then Anglo-American Bizone , Ludwig Erhard . Although Erhard was rather inclined to Eucken's ordoliberal competitive market order and even considered himself an ordoliberal, he was strongly impressed by Müller-Armack most of all not as a theorist but as one who wanted to transfer theory into practice. When Erhard succeeded Johannes Semmler as Director of

15394-478: The British Labour Party who were perceived to be more moderate and closer to the centre, accepting Keynesianism . Under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown , the Labour Party adopted the Third Way and rebranded itself as New Labour in order to promote the notion that it was less left-wing than it had been in the past to accommodate the neoliberal trend arising since the 1970s with

15573-790: The CSU's party convention in Straubing in May 1949, the economic principles elaborated by the Working Committee of the CDU/CSU as liaison body and information centre of the two political parties commonly referred to as the "Union", centred the social market economy. Finally, these principles were adopted as party platform and manifesto for the upcoming federal elections at the CDU's party conference in Düsseldorf on 15 July 1949. In contrast to

15752-473: The EU. According to the consumer price index then, despite livelihood expenses have grown 14% less for a EU citizen compared to a US one, in the period 1996-2020, the EU citizen has become, nominally, 20% poorer. This might however be partly explained by a number of poorer countries joining the EU in the 2000s,and does not account for vastly greater wealth inequality in the USA vs the EU. The World Bank Group wrote

15931-482: The Earth. This principle is reflected in much of the historical left-wing thought and literature that came afterwards, although there were disagreements about what this entailed. Both Karl Marx and the early socialist philosopher and scholar William Morris arguably had a concern for environmental matters. According to Marx, "[e]ven an entire society, a nation, or all simultaneously existing societies taken together, are not

16110-565: The Economic Council and even the Federal Republic's own Grundgesetz (Basic Law), which stressed individual freedom, human dignity and the subsidiarity of societal organisation, it was also the consistent efforts at political communication of the cooperative and corporate model that led to the implementation and eventual electoral validation of the social market economy in post-war West Germany. At first controversial,

16289-523: The Freiburg school only the founders Walter Eucken and Franz Böhm belonged to the Freiburg Circles and conversely no member of the Freiburg Circles can be attributed to the Freiburg school, which partly advocated different economic objectives. Both schools of economic thought considered that a certain form of planning was necessary for a transitional period following the war. However, whereas

16468-442: The Freiburg school. In contrast to Eucken, who favoured a strictly procedural or rule-oriented liberalism in which the state solely sets the institutional framework and abstains generally from interference in the market, Müller-Armack emphasised the state's responsibility actively to improve the market condition and simultaneously to pursue a social balance. In putting social policy on a par with economic policy, Müller-Armack's concept

16647-532: The Greek eirēnē (εἰρήνη), which means being conducive to or working toward peace, moderation or conciliation—to overcome existing differences in society. The social market economy as an extension of neoliberal thought was not a defined economic order but a holistic conception pursuing a complete humanistic societal order as a synthesis of seemingly conflicting objectives, namely economic freedom and social security . This socio-economic imperative actively managed by

16826-445: The Left is also divided over how to effectively and equitably reduce carbon emissions as the center-left often advocates a reliance on market measures such as emissions trading and a carbon tax while those further to the left support direct government regulation and intervention in the form of a Green New Deal , either alongside or instead of market mechanisms. The question of nationality , imperialism and nationalism has been

17005-485: The New Left. Unlike the earlier leftist focus on labour union activism and a proletarian revolution, the New Left instead adopted a broader definition of political activism commonly called social activism . The New Left in the United States is associated with the hippie movement , mass protest movements on school campuses and a broadening of focus from protesting class -based oppression to include issues such as gender , race and sexual orientation . The British New Left

17184-529: The Rhenish model as the more equitable, efficient and less violent one. However, according to Albert complex psychological phenomena and the functioning of the press lets the American model appear more attractive and dynamic to the general public. Social capitalism as a theory or political or philosophical stance challenges the idea that the capitalist system is inherently antagonistic to social goals or to

17363-493: The SPD. However, in fact both Volksparteien had suffered large percentage losses over their previous Land election totals by failing to capture a comparable share of the enlarged electorate. The most remarkable advance by winning over a million extra votes and achieving 11.9 per cent of the total votes was that made by the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by the chairman Theodor Heuss . The economically liberal FDP were in fact

17542-410: The US nominal GDP per capita was $ 29,968, the EU nominal GDP per capita was $ 19,752. Twenty four years later, in 2020, the US nominal GDP per capita was $ 63,544 while the EU nominal GDP per capita was $ 33,928. The EU nominal GDP per capita was about two thirds (66%) of the US one, in 1996. In 2020, the EU nominal GDP per capita dropped from two thirds to about a half (53%) of the US one. In nominal terms,

17721-551: The United States, where social progressives played an important role in the abolition of slavery , the enshrinement of women's suffrage in the United States Constitution , and the protection of civil rights , LGBTQ rights , women's rights and multiculturalism . Progressives have both advocated for alcohol prohibition legislation and worked towards its repeal in the mid to late 1920s and early 1930s. Current positions associated with social progressivism in

17900-538: The University of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany advocated a neoliberal or new liberal and socio-economic order. In this context, it is important to distinguish between the ordoliberal Freiburg school (or Freiburg school of law and economics) and the Freiburg Circles . Frequently, the two schools of thought were believed to be the same, although the first emerged from the latter and among the members of

18079-467: The adoption of system-justifying worldviews . Psychologists generally agree that personality traits , individual difference variables, needs, and ideological beliefs seem to have something in common. Just-world theory posits that people want to believe in a fair world for a sense of control and security and generate ideologies in order to maintain this belief, for example by justifiying inequality or unfortunate events. A critique of just world theory as

18258-457: The anti- capital punishment movement and Liberation Theology . Early utopian socialist thinkers such as Robert Owen , Charles Fourier and the Comte de Saint-Simon based their theories of socialism upon Christian principles. Other common leftist concerns such as pacifism , social justice , racial equality , human rights and the rejection of capitalism and excessive wealth can be found in

18437-434: The best economic system (e.g. capitalism , socialism , etc.). Sometimes the same word is used to identify both an ideology and one of its main ideas. For instance, socialism may refer to an economic system, or it may refer to an ideology that supports that economic system. Post 1991, many commentators claim that we are living in a post-ideological age, in which redemptive, all-encompassing ideologies have failed. This view

18616-608: The century following Tracy, the term ideology moved back and forth between positive and negative connotations. During this next generation, when post-Napoleonic governments adopted a reactionary stance, influenced the Italian, Spanish and Russian thinkers who had begun to describe themselves as liberals and who attempted to reignite revolutionary activity in the early 1820s, including the Carbonari societies in France and Italy and

18795-487: The closely connected concerns of epistemology and history, defining ideology in terms of a system of presentations that explicitly or implicitly lay claim to absolute truth. Marx's analysis sees ideology as a system of false consciousness that arises from the economic relationships, reflecting and perpetuating the interests of the dominant class. In the Marxist base and superstructure model of society, base denotes

18974-411: The coal and steel industry, the system of employee property formation, the equalization of burdens, the creation of subsidized housing, child benefits, the agricultural Green Plan and the dynamism of pensions. On 20 June 1948, the principles of the social market economy espoused by the CDU became the foundation of modern German economic policy: The "social market economy" is the socially anchored law for

19153-587: The commitment to an existing one. Zizek calls this "a post-modernist trap". Peter Sloterdijk advanced the same idea already in 1988. Studies have shown that political ideology is somewhat genetically heritable . When a political ideology becomes a dominantly pervasive component within a government, one can speak of an ideocracy . Different forms of government use ideology in various ways, not always restricted to politics and society. Certain ideas and schools of thought become favored, or rejected, over others, depending on their compatibility with or use for

19332-497: The complexity of their political universe and carry claims to social truth." Studies of the concept of ideology itself (rather than specific ideologies) have been carried out under the name of systematic ideology in the works of George Walford and Harold Walsby, who attempt to explore the relationships between ideology and social systems . David W. Minar describes six different ways the word ideology has been used: For Willard A. Mullins, an ideology should be contrasted with

19511-526: The concept as a "socially committed market economy". Whereas most neoliberal economists viewed the concept not only as an economic path between the Scylla of an untamed pure laissez-faire capitalism and the Charybdis of a collectivist planned economy but also as a holistic and democratic social order, Erhard and in particular Müller-Armack emphasised public acceptance and civic engagement as prerequisites for

19690-415: The concept of the ideological state apparatus to explain his theory of ideology. His first thesis was " ideology has no history ": while individual ideolog ies have histories, interleaved with the general class struggle of society, the general form of ideology is external to history. For Althusser, beliefs and ideas are the products of social practices, not the reverse. His thesis that " ideas are material "

19869-927: The developing world such as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico, the Abahlali baseMjondolo in South Africa and the Naxalites in India have argued that the First World and the Second World Left takes a racist and paternalistic attitude towards liberation movements in the Third World. The original French Left was firmly anti-clerical , strongly opposing the influence of

20048-431: The division between First World and Second World developed countries and Third World developing countries as being of high political importance. This tendency supports decolonization and national liberation movements against imperialism by capitalists. Third-Worldism is closely connected with African socialism , Latin American socialism , Maoism , pan-Africanism and pan-Arabism . Several left-wing groups in

20227-544: The early 20th century, the Frankfurt sociologist and economist Franz Oppenheimer postulated a so-called liberal socialism (i.e. socialism achieved via liberalism) as the pursuit of a societal order in which economic self-interest preserves its power and persists in free competition. This desirable order of freedom and equality was labelled by a later programmatic publication entitled Weder so – noch so. Der dritte Weg ( Neither thus, nor thus. The third way ). This position

20406-513: The economic process. Throughout his political career, Joseph used his position to restate the principles of the social market economy and re-direct Conservative policy in Britain. Joseph eventually set up a think tank in 1974 to study the model and initially called it the Ludwig Erhard Foundation and Institute for a Social Market Economy before settling on the name Centre for Policy Studies . The Treaty on European Union set

20585-433: The economist a brother in spirit. On 17 August 1948, Erhard referred to Müller-Armack by whom he was strongly impressed most of all not as a theorist but as one who wanted to transfer theory into practice, as well as his concept of the social market economy. Soon after, at the second party congress of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) in the British zone in Recklinghausen on 28 August 1948, Erhard circumscribed

20764-420: The economy is independent of his advocacy of revolutionary socialism or his belief in the inevitability of a proletarian revolution . Marxian economics do not exclusively rely on Marx and draw from a range of Marxist and non-Marxist sources. The dictatorship of the proletariat and workers' state are terms used by some Marxists, particularly Leninists and Marxist–Leninists , to describe what they see as

20943-550: The economy, preferring social ownership and local control in which a nation of decentralized regions is united in a confederation . The global justice movement , also known as the anti-globalisation movement and the alter-globalisation movement, protests against corporate economic globalisation due to its negative consequences for the poor, workers, the environment, and small businesses. Leftists generally believe in innovation in various technological and philosophical fields and disciplines to help causes they support. One of

21122-403: The economy. Leftists continue to criticize the perceived exploitative nature of globalization , the " race to the bottom " and unjust lay-offs and exploitation of workers. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the belief that the government (ruling in accordance with the interests of the people) ought to be directly involved in the day-to-day workings of an economy declined in popularity amongst

21301-490: The experiences of the Third Reich . These led to the eventual development of the social market economy as a viable socio-political and economic alternative between the extremes of laissez-faire capitalism and the collectivist planned economy not as a compromise but as a combination of seemingly conflicting objectives namely greater state provision for social security and the preservation of individual freedom. One of

21480-418: The family, education, and religion. As societies changed throughout history, so did the ideologies that justified systems of inequality. Sociological examples of ideologies include racism , sexism , heterosexism , ableism , and ethnocentrism . Social market The social market economy ( SOME ; German : soziale Marktwirtschaft ), also called Rhine capitalism , Rhine-Alpine capitalism ,

21659-545: The first German Bundestag and to decide between the social market economy and a controlled economy advocated by the SPD. Of those eligible to vote, 25 million or 78.5 per cent actually went to the ballot boxes and showed a clear commitment to the emerging post-war democracy. Although the SPD turned out to be the most successful single party by gaining 29.12 per cent of the votes, the CDU/CSU combined attracted more votes, totalling 31 per cent and 139 mandates compared to 131 for

21838-405: The first decade of Soviet rule, before Joseph Stalin attacked ecologists and the science of ecology, purged environmentalists and promoted the pseudoscience of Trofim Lysenko during his rule up until his death in 1953. Similarly, Mao Zedong rejected environmentalism and believed that based on the laws of historical materialism, all of nature must be put into the service of revolution. From

22017-457: The following goals in Article 3(3): The Union shall establish an internal market . It shall work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability , a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress , and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment. It shall promote scientific and technological advance. Although one of

22196-492: The foremost left-wing advocates was Thomas Paine, one of the first individuals since left and right became political terms to describe the collective human ownership of the world which he speaks of in Agrarian Justice. As such, most of left-wing thought and literature regarding environmentalism stems from this duty of ownership and the aforementioned form of cooperative ownership means that humanity must take care of

22375-402: The formation of militant organizations, political repression , conspiracism , xenophobia , and nationalism . In China, the term Chinese New Left denotes those who oppose the economic reforms enacted by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s and 1990s, favour instead the restoration of Maoist policies and the immediate transition to a socialist economy. In the Western world , the term New Left

22554-553: The founding of the LGBTQ rights movement in the aftermath of the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Contemporary leftist activists and socialist countries such as Cuba are actively supportive of LGBTQ+ people and are involved in the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights and equality. In politics, the term Left derives from the French Revolution as the political groups opposed to the royal veto privilege ( Montagnard and Jacobin deputies from

22733-643: The ideology that they are currently aware of. System justification theory posits that people tend to defend existing society, even at times against their interest, which in turn causes people to create ideological explanations to justify the status quo. Jost, Fitzimmons and Kay argue that the motivation to protect a preexisting system is due to a desire for cognitive consistency (being able to think in similar ways over time), reducing uncertainty and reducing effort, illusion of control and fear of equality. According to system justification theory, ideologies reflect ( unconscious ) motivational processes , as opposed to

22912-443: The industrial economy, according to which the achievements of free and able individuals are integrated into a system that produces the highest level of economic benefit and social justice for all. This system is created by freedom and responsibility, which find expression in the "social market economy" through genuine performance-based competition and the independent control of monopolies. Genuine performance-based competition exists when

23091-422: The international proletariat in order to further increase the power of the working class. Proletarian internationalism saw itself as a deterrent against war and international conflicts, because people with a common interest are less likely to take up arms against one another, instead focusing on fighting the bourgeoisie as the ruling class . According to Marxist theory, the antonym of proletarian internationalism

23270-457: The main factors for the emergence of the European model of capitalism was the attempt to ameliorate the conditions of workers under capitalism and thus stave off the emergence of socialism or socialist revolution, American critics and Eurosceptics identify the social market model with the notions of the welfare state and sometimes mistakenly identify it as being socialist. In 1996, while

23449-528: The major factors for the emergence of the German model of capitalism was to ameliorate the conditions of workers under capitalism and thus to stave off the threat of Karl Marx 's militant socialist movement. Germany implemented the world's first welfare state and universal healthcare program in the 1880s. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck developed a program in which industry and state work closely to stimulate economic growth by giving workers greater security. To trump

23628-498: The militant socialists, Bismarck gave workers a corporate status in the legal and political structures of the German Empire . In March 1884, Bismarck declared: The real grievance of the worker is the insecurity of his existence; he is not sure that he will always have work, he is not sure that he will always be healthy, and he foresees that he will one day be old and unfit to work. If he falls into poverty, even if only through

23807-570: The model became increasingly popular in West Germany and Austria since in both states economic success ( Wirtschaftswunder ) was identified with it. From the 1960s, the social market economy was the main economic model in mainland Western Europe, pursued by administrations of both the centre-right (led by the CDU/CSU) and the centre-left (led by the SPD). The concept of the social market economy

23986-550: The model instead refers to support for the provision of equal opportunity and protection of those unable to enter the market labor force because of old-age, disability, or unemployment. Some authors use the term social capitalism with roughly the same meaning as social market economy. It is also called "Rhine capitalism", typically when contrasting it with the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism. Rather than see it as an antithesis, some authors describe Rhine capitalism as

24165-470: The nationalization of industry and close economic regulation. In the 1970s, Joseph introduced the idea as an alternative to the post-war consensus allowing free markets for competition and innovation whilst the role of government was to help hold the ring, provide infrastructure, maintain a stable currency, a framework of laws, implementation of law and order, provision of a safety net (welfare state), defence of property rights and all other rights involved in

24344-432: The nature of the society they are implemented in. According to emeritus professor of economics Barry Clark, supporters of left-wing politics "claim that human development flourishes when individuals engage in cooperative, mutually respectful relations that can thrive only when excessive differences in status, power, and wealth are eliminated." Within the left–right political spectrum , Left and Right were coined during

24523-665: The near-original meaning of ideology is Hippolyte Taine 's work on the Ancien Régime , Origins of Contemporary France I. He describes ideology as rather like teaching philosophy via the Socratic method , though without extending the vocabulary beyond what the general reader already possessed, and without the examples from observation that practical science would require. Taine identifies it not just with Tracy but also with his milieu , and includes Condillac as one of its precursors. Napoleon Bonaparte came to view ideology as

24702-429: The only political party consistently gaining percentage of votes between 1946 and 1949. While these results affirmed the then general pro-market trend in public opinion, eventually, the electorate made its decision contingent on the satisfaction of its practical needs rather than on any particular theoretical economic system. The advantage of the CDU and the CSU lay precisely in the fact that they were quasi-governing across

24881-602: The other. Furthermore, various Third Way conceptions prepared the ground for the socio-economic concept. Already in the late 19th century, the Kathedersozialisten ("Catheder Socialists") engaged in social reforms in the Verein für Socialpolitik , turning away from pure liberalism to demand a purposive state policy designed to regulate economic life and advocating a middle course between anarchic individualism, traditionalistic corporatism and bureaucratic statism . In

25060-531: The owners of the earth. They are simply its possessors, its beneficiaries, and have to bequeath it in an improved state to succeeding generations". Following the Russian Revolution, environmental scientists such as revolutionary Alexander Bogdanov and the Proletkult organisation made efforts to incorporate environmentalism into Bolshevism and "integrate production with natural laws and limits" in

25239-492: The party as a whole, especially in times of campaigning where the partially complex political programmes were simplified and popularised. In the run-up to the federal elections in August 1949, the CDU/CSU consequently aligned their party platforms, policies and manifestos and campaigned with the social market economy. In particular, the former advertising manager for consumer goods Ludwig Erhard, who affirmed that he would "go into

25418-400: The pivotal members of the Freiburg Circles, Erwin von Beckerath , Adolf Lampe and Jens Jessen , favoured productive governmental intervention, i.e. an economy regulated by a relatively strong state, Eucken, Böhm and Constantin von Dietze believed in self-regulating market forces and limited indirect state interference. According to Eucken and his competitive order labelled ordoliberalism,

25597-427: The placement along the political spectrum in a given time and place. At the end of the 18th century, upon the founding of the first liberal democracies , the term Left was used to describe liberalism in the United States and republicanism in France, supporting a lesser degree of hierarchical decision-making than the right-wing politics of the traditional conservatives and monarchists . In modern politics,

25776-448: The political attentions of the German workers on supporting Kaiser Wilhelm I . The program included universal healthcare, compulsory education, sickness insurance, accident insurance, disability insurance and a retirement pension, none of which were then in existence to any great degree anywhere else in the world. After the collapse of the totalitarian Third Reich with its statist and corporatist economic policy, economists and academics at

25955-462: The previous ideological Ahlener Programm suggesting a rather abstract and anti-materialist Gemeinwirtschaft , these Düsseldorfer Leitsätze not only provided a concrete, pragmatic and materialist economic programme but also an attractive slogan to reach consensus within the party and the public. While eventually the union of the two recently established political parties (i.e. the CDU and the CSU) possessed

26134-568: The reigning social order. In The Anatomy of Revolution , Crane Brinton said that new ideology spreads when there is discontent with an old regime. The may be repeated during revolutions itself; extremists such as Vladimir Lenin and Robespierre may thus overcome more moderate revolutionaries. This stage is soon followed by Thermidor , a reining back of revolutionary enthusiasm under pragmatists like Napoleon and Joseph Stalin , who bring " normalcy and equilibrium". Brinton's sequence ("men of ideas> fanatics >practical men of action")

26313-412: The related (but different) issues of utopia and historical myth . An ideology is composed of four basic characteristics: Terry Eagleton outlines (more or less in no particular order) some definitions of ideology: German philosopher Christian Duncker called for a "critical reflection of the ideology concept". In his work, he strove to bring the concept of ideology into the foreground, as well as

26492-602: The rules of competition ensure that, under conditions of fair competition and equal opportunity, the better performance is rewarded. Market-driven prices regulate the interaction between all market participants. After the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) also expressed its commitment to a market economy with social balance and the then newly elected Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs Hanns Seidel advocated Erhard's liberal and social economic model at

26671-422: The same distance from the left as it did under Blair. In contrast, the election of Jeremy Corbyn as the Labour Party leader was viewed by scholars and political commentators as Labour turning back toward its more classical socialist roots, rejecting neoliberalism and the Third Way whilst supporting a democratic socialist society and an end to austerity measures. Ideology#Political ideologies The term

26850-405: The social market economy alluding to the dualism between a controlled economy and a market economy. In view of the upcoming regional and federal elections, Adenauer, who was initially sceptical about Erhard, was not only impressed by the polarising slogan, such as "Controlled or Market Economy", but also by the efficacy of Erhard and his programme. The foundation for a successful political alliance

27029-429: The source for a better kind of social revolution . This view has been criticized by several Marxists , especially Trotskyists , who characterized this approach as "substitutionism" which they described as a misguided and non-Marxist belief that other groups in society could "substitute" for and "replace" the revolutionary agency of the working class. Many early feminists and advocates of women's rights were considered

27208-413: The state must solely create a proper legal environment for the economy and maintain a healthy level of competition through measures that follow market principles. Thus, the paramount means by which economic policy can seek to improve the economy is by improving the institutional framework or "ordo". In drawing on both Eucken's ordoliberal competitive order and Wilhelm Röpke 's economic humanism leading to

27387-461: The subject. Mikhail Bakunin thought the lumpenproletariat was a revolutionary class, while Mao Zedong believed that it would be rural peasants, not urban workers, who would bring about the proletarian revolution . Left-libertarians , anarchists and libertarian socialists believe in a decentralized economy run by trade unions , workers' councils , cooperatives , municipalities and communes, opposing both state and private control of

27566-510: The success of the socio-economic model. For instance, Müller-Armack stressed that by "more socialism" he meant the social engagement for and with the people. Equally, Erhard pointed out that the principles of the social market economy could only be achieved if the public was determined to give them priority. Important figures in the development of the concept include Eucken, Röpke, Alexander Rüstow , Franz Böhm , Oppenheimer, Erhard, Constantin von Dietze and Müller-Armack, who originally coined

27745-401: The systems of inequality that maintain their group's social power over non-dominant groups. Ideologies use a society's symbol system to organize social relations in a hierarchy , with some social identities being superior to other social identities, which are considered inferior. The dominant ideology in a society is passed along through the society's major social institutions, such as the media,

27924-470: The term Left became more prominent after the restoration of the French monarchy in 1815, when it was applied to the Independents . The word wing was first appended to Left and Right in the late 19th century, usually with disparaging intent, and left-wing was applied to those who were unorthodox in their religious or political views. Ideologies considered to be left-wing vary greatly depending on

28103-488: The term Left typically applies to ideologies and movements to the left of classical liberalism , supporting some degree of democracy in the economic sphere . Today, ideologies such as social liberalism and social democracy are considered to be centre-left , while the Left is typically reserved for movements more critical of capitalism , including the labour movement , socialism , anarchism , communism , Marxism and syndicalism , each of which rose to prominence in

28282-511: The term Soziale Marktwirtschaft . They share an involvement in the Anti-Nazi Opposition, whose search for a post-Nazi order for Germany is an important background for the development of this concept. Early protagonists had close contacts to the oppositional church-movement Bekennende Kirche and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and emphasized the reference of their concept to Catholic and Protestant social ethics. Michel Albert described

28461-424: The term for a "science of ideas", basing such upon two things: (1) the sensations that people experience as they interact with the material world; and (2) the ideas that form in their minds due to those sensations. Tracy conceived ideology as a liberal philosophy that would defend individual liberty , property , free markets , and constitutional limits on state power. He argues that, among these aspects, ideology

28640-507: The term within class struggle and domination, others believed it was a necessary part of institutional functioning and social integration . There are many different kinds of ideologies, including political , social , epistemological , and ethical . Recent analysis tends to posit that ideology is a 'coherent system of ideas' that rely on a few basic assumptions about reality that may or may not have any factual basis. Through this system, ideas become coherent, repeated patterns through

28819-503: The theory of socialism in one country. European social democrats strongly support Europeanism and supranational integration within the European Union , although there is a minority of nationalists and Eurosceptics on the left. Several scholars have linked this form of left-wing nationalism to the pressure generated by economic integration with other countries, often encouraged by neoliberal free trade agreements. This view

28998-499: The tradition". Moreover, Charles Blattberg offers an account that distinguishes political ideologies from political philosophies . Slavoj Žižek argues how the very notion of post-ideology can enable the deepest, blindest form of ideology. A sort of false consciousness or false cynicism, engaged in for the purpose of lending one's point of view the respect of being objective, pretending neutral cynicism, without truly being so. Rather than help avoiding ideology, this lapse only deepens

29177-400: The upcoming political party clashes with particular energy for the CDU", realised the potential of subtle and systematic marketing to transform the concept from an economic theory, or even abstract economic policy, into the basis of a political party's propaganda and public image that held broad appeal. Eventually, on Sunday 14 August 1949 around 31 million Germans were called to cast a vote for

29356-411: The view that models were converging. Further in contrast to Müller-Armack who emphasised the social aspect, for Erhard the social market economy was always first and foremost a market economic system. By proclaiming "the freer an economy is, the more social it is", Erhard once told Friedrich Hayek that the freemarket economy did not need to be made social but that it was social in its origin. Erhard

29535-488: The view that political convictions always reflect independent and unbiased thinking. According to semiotician Bob Hodge : [Ideology] identifies a unitary object that incorporates complex sets of meanings with the social agents and processes that produced them. No other term captures this object as well as 'ideology'. Foucault 's ' episteme ' is too narrow and abstract, not social enough. His 'discourse', popular because it covers some of ideology's terrain with less baggage,

29714-428: The welfare and needs of the entire population, thereby fulfilling its ultimate goal. The social segment is often wrongly confused with socialism by right-wing critics. Although aspects were inspired by democratic socialism and social democracy , the social market approach rejects the communist ideas of replacing private property and markets with social ownership and economic planning . The social element of

29893-595: The works of Thomas Paine , who introduced the concept of asset-based egalitarianism which theorises that social equality is possible by a redistribution of resources. After the Reconstruction era in the aftermath of the American Civil War , the phrase "the Left" was used to describe those who supported trade unions, the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement . More recently, left-wing and right-wing have often been used as synonyms for

30072-485: Was an intellectually driven movement which attempted to correct the perceived errors of the Old Left . The New Left opposed prevailing authoritarian structures in society which it designated as " The Establishment " and became known as the "Anti-Establishment". The New Left did not seek to recruit industrial workers en masse, but instead concentrated on a social activist approach to organization, convinced that they could be

30251-438: Was born and formed in times of severe economic but equally socio-political crises. Its conceptual architecture was set by particular historical experiences and political prerequisites: Germany's preoccupation with the social question since the late 19th century, the criticism of liberal capitalism triggered by the world economic crisis of the early 1930s and a pronounced anti- totalitarianism as well as anti- collectivism formed by

30430-495: Was coined by Antoine Destutt de Tracy , a French Enlightenment aristocrat and philosopher , who conceived it in 1796 as the "science of ideas" to develop a rational system of ideas to oppose the irrational impulses of the mob. In political science , the term is used in a descriptive sense to refer to political belief systems . The term ideology originates from French idéologie , itself deriving from combining Greek : idéā ( ἰδέα , 'notion, pattern'; close to

30609-473: Was in this period that the word wing was appended to both Left and Right. The International Workingmen's Association (1864–1876), sometimes called the First International, brought together delegates from many different countries, with many different views about how to reach a classless and stateless society. Following a split between supporters of Marx and Mikhail Bakunin , anarchists formed

30788-406: Was laid. Chancellor Adenauer of the ruling CDU implemented a new novel economic order amalgamating the promotion of free competition with the responsibility of the social government. The Wirtschaftswunder or economic miracle of West Germany could not have been brought about without secure social peace in the country. Adenauer's program centered on legislation establishing co-determination in

30967-411: Was more emphatic regarding socio-political aims than the ordoliberal economic concept. As an extension of neoliberal thought, the social market economy was deliberately not a defined economic order but an adjustable holistic conception pursuing a complete humanistic societal order as a synthesis of seemingly conflicting objectives, namely economic freedom and social security. Although it is often viewed as

31146-478: Was not identical with the conception of the Freiburg school as it emphasized the state's responsibility to work actively to improve the market condition and simultaneously to pursue a social balance. In contrast to Walter Eucken , who sought an answer to the social question by establishing a functioning competitive order within a constitutional framework, Alfred Müller-Armack conceived the social market economy as

31325-410: Was published. This idea was opposed by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, who declared the need for an international " permanent revolution " and condemned Stalin for betraying the goals and ideals of the socialist revolution. Various Fourth Internationalist groups around the world who describe themselves as Trotskyist see themselves as standing in this tradition while Maoist China formally supported

31504-412: Was rather inclined to Walter Eucken's ordoliberal competitive market order. Although he even considered himself an ordoliberal, Erhard based his economic conception neither on Eucken nor on Müller-Armack. In fact, his doctoral supervisor Oppenheimer and especially Röpke, like Erhard a student of Oppenheimer, was his source of inspiration. Erhard perceived Röpke's books as works of revelation and considered

31683-700: Was sometimes opposed to imperialism . In the 1880s, there was a debate between leftists such as the Radical Georges Clemenceau , the Socialist Jean Jaurès and the nationalist Maurice Barrès , who argued that colonialism diverted France from liberating the "blue line of the Vosges ", in reference to Alsace-Lorraine; and the " colonial lobby " such as Jules Ferry of the Moderate Republicans , Léon Gambetta of

31862-551: Was strongly inspired by ordoliberalism , which was influenced by the political ideology of Christian democracy . Social market refrains from attempts to plan and guide production, the workforce, or sales but support planned efforts to influence the economy through the organic means of a comprehensive economic policy coupled with flexible adaptation to market studies. Combining monetary, credit, trade, tax, customs, investment, and social policies, as well as other measures, this type of economic policy aims to create an economy that serves

32041-415: Was widely shared by Oppenheimer's doctoral student and friend Ludwig Erhard , though the latter displaced adjective and subject by promoting a social liberalism , and he never liked the expression Third Way. In his opinion, the term was tainted, reminding him too much about ideas of a mixed economy , somewhere between a market economy and central planning . He vehemently and consistently argued against

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