195-572: The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen councillors in local government . The Respect Party was established in London by Salma Yaqoob and George Monbiot . Arising in the aftermath of
390-419: A decentralized form of economic planning , worker's control of production , elected representation of Soviet socialist parties , mass soviet democratization , the tactic of a united front against far-right parties, cultural autonomy for artistic movements, voluntary collectivisation , a transitional program and socialist internationalism . He supported founding a vanguard party of
585-451: 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,
780-588: A "broad coalition of left-wing interests" which had arisen in opposition to the New Labour government and the UK's involvement in the invasion of Iraq. Other political scientists characterised the party as far-left . The socialist activist Tariq Ali characterised the party's programme as being social democratic in orientation. Eran Benedek described the party as "an amalgamation of radical international socialism and Islamism", adding that its radical socialist position
975-458: A "signal contribution" to the discipline of international relations . They argued his theory presented "a specific understanding of capitalist development as "uneven", insofar as it systematically featured geographically divergent "advanced" and "backward" regions" across the world economy . Faith merely promises to move mountains; but technology , which takes nothing ‘on faith’, is actually able to cut down mountains and move them. Up to now this
1170-630: A Leninist party model. Trotsky would also assume a central role in the 1905 revolution and serve as the Chairman of the Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates in which he wrote several proclamations urging for improved economic conditions , political rights and the use of strike action against the Tsarist regime on behalf of workers. In 1917, he had proposed the election of a new Soviet presidium with other socialist parties on
1365-478: A belief that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished through radical means that change 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
1560-639: 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
1755-606: 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
1950-588: A central role being played by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), which was then the largest radical left group in the UK. The StWC's president was Tony Benn , a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) until 2001, while it also gained the support of several rebel Labour MPs, among them Katy Clark , Jeremy Corbyn , Tam Dalyell , Alice Mahon , and George Galloway. The StWC had also attracted significant support from within Britain's Muslim community, and
2145-574: 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 ,
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#17327662075872340-737: 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,
2535-535: 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 ,
2730-423: 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
2925-483: A hostile capitalist world and the internal pressures of its backward economy. Trotsky argued that the revolution must quickly spread to capitalist countries, bringing about a socialist revolution that must spread worldwide. In this way, the revolution is "permanent", moving out of necessity first, from the bourgeois revolution to the workers' revolution and from there uninterruptedly to European and worldwide revolutions. An internationalist outlook of permanent revolution
3120-549: 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
3315-513: A letter to the party's national council stating that Respect had various internal weaknesses, with many deeming this a veiled criticism of the SWP. This generated rifts within the SWP itself as two of its members were expelled for refusing to step down as Galloway's parliamentary assistants. By October, SWP publications were claiming that there was a "witch hunt" against socialists within Respect, despite
3510-420: A long record of fighting anti-semitism - longer I suspect than Oona King. This kind of rubbish is libellous. Oona King should be more cognisant of the dangers, having already paid out two sets of libel writs to George." Respect won 0.3% of the national vote, with an average of 6.8% of the vote in the constituencies it had contested; 17 of its candidates failed to have their deposits returned. However, Galloway won
3705-518: A newly established body and called for the strengthening of its formal responsibilities to support a balanced level of economic reconstruction after the Civil War. Lenin and Politburo members had also proposed he served as deputy chairman with a focus on economic matters related to the either STO , Gosplan or the Council of National Economy. Trotsky had urged economic decentralisation between
3900-465: A number of Old Bolsheviks who signed The Declaration of 46 raised concerns to the Poliburo concerning intra-party democracy which shared similarities with Lenin's proposed party reforms before his death. The signatories of the 46 letter expressed grievances related to the provincial conferences, party congresses and the election of committees. Separately, Trotsky would develop his views further with
4095-721: 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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#17327662075874290-482: 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
4485-481: A particular focus on three that they considered winnable. The party's manifesto highlighted that a hung parliament would be likely, and that if there were three Respect MPs in the House of Commons then they would have a chance of forming a coalition with a minority government. Their three targeted seats were Birmingham Hall Green , which was being contested by Yaqoob—who was then party leader— Poplar and Limehouse , which
4680-563: 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
4875-680: A rally in Rotherham, Respect announced that Yvonne Ridley had been chosen to contend the Rotherham by-election . The election took place on 29 November 2012; Ridley finished fourth with 8% of the vote, ahead of both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates, but behind UKIP and the BNP. Respect won five seats on Bradford Council in May 2012 following Galloway's success in the by-election at
5070-467: A result, the global working class would come to Russia's aid, and socialism could develop worldwide. According to political scientist Baruch Knei-Paz, Trotsky’s theory of “permanent revolution” was grossly misrepresented by Stalin as defeatist and adventurist during the succession struggle when in fact Trotsky encouraged revolutions in Europe but was not at any time proposing “reckless confrontations” with
5265-497: A result, they are linked to and rely on the feudal landowners in many ways. Thus, Trotsky argues that because a majority of the branches of industry in Russia originated under the direct influence of government measures—sometimes with the help of government subsidies—the capitalist class was again tied to the ruling elite. The capitalist class was subservient to European capital. The theory of permanent revolution further considers that
5460-555: A revival of freedom of Soviet parties, beginning with the party of Bolsheviks, and a resurrection of the trade unions. The bringing of democracy into industry means a radical revision of plans in the interests of toilers. Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed , 1936 In 1931, Trotsky wrote a pamphlet on the Spanish Revolution and called for the creation of worker’s juntas in emulation of elected soviets as an expression of working class organisation. Trotsky stipulated
5655-414: A revolution in peasant-based countries such as Russia ultimately prepares the ground for capitalism's development since the liberated peasants become small owners, producers, and traders. This leads to the growth of commodity markets, from which a new capitalist class emerges. Trotsky agreed that a new socialist state and economy in a country like Russia would not be able to hold out against the pressures of
5850-461: 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
6045-635: A seat. In the London Assembly election, Respect secured 4.5% of the vote, meaning that they did not secure a seat on the Assembly. However, within both the London Borough of Newham and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets —both areas with large Muslim populations—Respect secured the largest number of votes, with over 20% in both. Respect mocked Ken Livingstone 's Labour candidacy as the "Blair Mayor Project". Respect's first election victory
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6240-478: A socialist one. According to this position, a socialist revolution could not occur in a backward, feudal country such as early 20th-century Russia when it had such a small and almost powerless capitalist class. In 1905, Trotsky formulated his theory of permanent revolution , which later became a defining characteristic of Trotskyism. The theory of permanent revolution addressed how such feudal regimes were to be overthrown and how socialism could establish itself, given
6435-482: A source of intense historical debate. However, on balance, scholarly opinion among a range of prominent historians and political scientists such as E.H. Carr , Isaac Deutscher , Moshe Lewin , Ronald Suny , Richard B. Day and W. Bruce Lincoln was that Lenin’s desired “heir” would have been a collective responsibility in which Trotsky was placed in "an important role and within which Stalin would be dramatically demoted (if not removed)". Trotsky advocated for
6630-684: 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
6825-404: 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
7020-460: A total of twelve and making it the borough's official opposition to Labour. In Newham, Respect gained 26% of the vote and returned its three councillors, although was disappointed not to gain further ones. In Birmingham, Respect gained 55% of the vote in the Sparkbrook ward, and Yaqoob was elected as the city's first female Muslim councillor. None of the new Respect councillors were connected with
7215-614: 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
7410-587: Is also active in the IFE. Galloway was elected with a majority of 10,140 with one of the largest swings in the polls against the defending political party in modern political history. Yaqoob resigned as party leader in September, following Galloway's remarks about rape with respect to the Julian Assange case. She told a reporter from The Guardian that she had had to make a choice between "standing up for
7605-553: Is defeated. I never debate with Israelis nor speak to their media. If they want to speak about Palestine – the address is the PLO." The Zionist Federation called it a "racist" walkout displaying "xenophobic" tendencies. Respect was supportive of anti-Zionist Islamist militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas . In July 2006, Respect official Lindsey German stated that "whatever disagreements I have with Hamas and Hezbollah, I would rather be in their camp... they want democracy. Democracy in
7800-453: Is found in the works of Karl Marx . The term "permanent revolution" is taken from a remark of Marx in his March 1850 Address: "it is our task", Marx said: [...] to make the revolution permanent until all the more or less propertied classes have been driven from their ruling positions, until the proletariat has conquered state power and until the association of the proletarians has progressed sufficiently far—not only in one country but in all
7995-405: Is lacking, yet the economy is largely in the hands of the state, are termed by orthodox Trotskyist theories as degenerated or deformed workers' states and not socialist states. Bureaucratic autocracy must give place to Soviet democracy. A restoration of the right of criticism, and a genuine freedom of elections, are necessary conditions for the further development of the country. This assumes
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8190-490: Is often labelled rightist within the communist spectrum and left communism leftist, anti-revisionists' idea of the left is very different from that of left communism. Despite being Bolshevik-Leninist comrades during the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War , Trotsky and Stalin became enemies in the 1920s and, after that, opposed the legitimacy of each other's forms of Leninism. Trotsky was highly critical of
8385-421: 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
8580-602: Is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International . Trotsky described himself as an orthodox Marxist , a revolutionary Marxist , and a Bolshevik – Leninist as well as a follower of Karl Marx , Frederick Engels , Vladimir Lenin , Karl Liebknecht , and Rosa Luxemburg . His relations with Lenin have been
8775-656: 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
8970-650: The 2003 invasion of Iraq , it grew out of the Stop the War Coalition and from the start revolved largely around opposition to the United Kingdom's role in the Iraq War . Uniting a range of leftist and anti-war groups, it was unofficially allied to the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), a far-left, Marxist group. In 2005 , Respect's candidate George Galloway
9165-417: The 2004 European Parliament elections , and that he would "seek to unify the red, green, anti-war, Muslim and other social constituencies radicalised by the war, in a referendum on Tony Blair". The two main instigators of the party were Yaqoob and George Monbiot , a journalist with The Guardian . They had been part of a discussion surrounding the unification of a broad range of anti-war forces that were to
9360-516: The 2014 local elections , Respect stood eight candidates in Bradford, but none of them won in their council wards. Two other Respect councillors lost their seats, leaving Respect without any representation on local authorities. In 2014, the party had only 630 members and assets of £1,947. By that point, the party was largely a vehicle for Galloway's personality. This changed in March 2015 when four of
9555-621: The 2015 general election and instead stand in the 2016 London Mayoral election . The five Respect councillors in Bradford elected the previous year resigned from the party whip on 15 August 2013 after coming into conflict with Galloway over his comments that he might run in the London mayoral election. They argued that the MP was needed in Bradford. Two of the councillors had said the MP should resign if he intended to stand in London; Galloway and his associates had immediately suspended them, although their three fellow council members were in agreement. One of
9750-589: 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
9945-945: 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
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#173276620758710140-652: The Electoral Commission in 2016. Avowedly socialist and opposed to capitalism , Respect called for the nationalisation of much of the UK economy, increased funding to public services, and further measures to tackle poverty and discrimination. It was Eurosceptic and promoted an anti-imperialist worldview. It was also anti-Zionist , opposing the existence of Israel and endorsing the Palestine Solidarity Campaign . Due to its links with MAB, several commentators claimed that Islamism
10335-629: The Great Purges of 1937–1938, effectively removing all of Trotsky's internal influence in the USSR. Nikita Khrushchev had come to power as head of the Communist Party in Ukraine, signing lists of other Trotskyists to be executed. Trotsky and the party of Trotskyists were still recognized as enemies of the USSR during Khrushchev's rule of the USSR after 1956. Trotsky's Fourth International
10530-624: The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) officially affiliated itself with the coalition. The movement politicised a large number of young British Muslims, among them Salma Yaqoob , who became the head of the StWC branch in Birmingham . Galloway later revealed that, about a year before the UK and US launched the Iraq War, he had broached the subject of leaving Labour and establishing a new party with his friends Seumas Milne and Andrew Murray . At
10725-666: The Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK), were active in a campaign against Imran Hussain , the Muslim deputy leader of Bradford City Council, whose commitment to his faith was queried because he is reported to drink alcohol. Meanwhile, one of Galloway's supporting speakers at a rally on the Sunday before the byelection was Abjol Miah, once group leader of the Respect councillors in Tower Hamlets, who
10920-539: The New York Intellectuals . Trotsky presented a critique of contemporary literary movements such as Futurism and emphasised a need of cultural autonomy for the development of a socialist culture. According to literary critic Terry Eagleton , Trotsky recognised "like Lenin on the need for a socialist culture to absorb the finest products of bourgeois art". Trotsky himself viewed the proletarian culture as "temporary and transitional" which would provide
11115-599: 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
11310-506: The Respect Party and 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
11505-762: 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
11700-563: 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
11895-638: 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
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#173276620758712090-530: 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
12285-805: The Trotskyist far left and the Islamic far right". The party's policies have been described as "traditionally leftist and anti-capitalist". Respect encouraged the nationalisation of many sectors of the economy, including the railways, water, gas, electricity, and the North Sea oil industry. It urged a substantial increase in corporation tax in order to increase funding to public services. It sought to overturn what it described as "anti-trade union" legislation, and to introduce policies to deal with issues of poverty and discrimination. Respect promoted revolutionary socialism and international socialism . The party
12480-640: The USSR in February 1929. As the head of the Fourth International , Trotsky continued in exile to oppose what he termed the degenerated workers' state in the USSR. On 20 August 1940, Trotsky was attacked in Mexico City by Ramón Mercader , a Spanish-born NKVD agent, and died the next day in a hospital. His murder is considered a political assassination. Almost all Trotskyists within the VKP(b) were executed in
12675-490: 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
12870-436: The bureaucracy and anti-democratic current developed in the Soviet Union under Stalin . Despite their ideological disputes, Trotsky and Lenin were close personally prior to the London Congress of Social Democrats in 1903 and during the First World War . Lenin and Trotsky were close ideologically and personally during the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Trotskyists and some others call Trotsky its "co-leader". This
13065-416: 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
13260-411: 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
13455-417: The left–right political spectrum , Left and Right were coined during 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
13650-413: 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
13845-494: The peasantry as a whole cannot take on the task of carrying through the revolution because it is dispersed in small holdings throughout the country and forms a heterogeneous grouping, including the rich peasants who employ rural workers and aspire to landlordism as well as the poor peasants who aspire to own more land. Trotsky argues: "All historical experience [...] shows that the peasantry are absolutely incapable of taking up an independent political role". Trotskyists differ on
14040-545: The proletariat , and a dictatorship of the proletariat (as opposed to the " dictatorship of the bourgeoisie ", which Marxists argue is a major component of capitalism ) based on working-class self-emancipation and council democracy . Trotsky also adhered to scientific socialism and viewed this as a conscious expression of historical processes. Trotskyists are critical of Stalinism as they oppose Joseph Stalin 's theory of socialism in one country in favour of Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution . Trotskyists criticize
14235-605: The war with Poland in 1920, proposed armistice with the Entente and temperance with staging anti-British revolts in the Middle East. Historian Robert Vincent Daniels believed that the practical differences, in the domain of international policy , between the Left Opposition and other factions had been exaggerated and he contended that Trotsky was no more prepared than other Bolshevik figures to risk war or for
14430-475: 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
14625-476: 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
14820-701: 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)
15015-399: 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
15210-537: 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
15405-526: 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
15600-531: The 2004 European Parliamentary elections by postal ballot months previously and that they were also sceptical of the SWP's influence over Respect. After Respect decided to stand candidates against the Greens, Monbiot stepped down from the party in February 2004, claiming that to compete against the Greens might threaten the positions of "two of the best elected representatives in Britain", the Green Members of
15795-484: The Birmingham City Council election of 2011, Respect lost one of its three councillors to Labour. In July, Yaqoob then resigned for health reasons, leaving the party with only one councillor in the city. Galloway successfully contested Bradford West in a by-election held on 29 March 2012, following the resignation of Labour MP Marsha Singh due to ill health. Galloway and his supporters, such as
15990-741: The Bolsheviks. Trotsky played a leading role with Lenin in the October Revolution . Lenin and Trotsky were also both honorary presidents of the Third International . Trotskyists have traditionally drawn upon Lenin's testament and his alliance with Trotsky in 1922–23 against the Soviet bureaucracy as primary evidence that Lenin sought to remove Stalin from the position of General Secretary . Various historians have also cited Lenin's proposal to appoint Trotsky Vice-Chairman of
16185-572: The Bradford Independent Group label, although rejoining Respect was still a possibility. Left-wing politics 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
16380-595: 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
16575-486: 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
16770-667: The Electoral Commission still had Yaqoob listed as the party's leader. Kate Hudson had originally been selected for the Manchester Central by-election , but stood down in early September following Galloway's comments on rape, and left the party in October. In the same month, Respect announced that Catherine Higgins, a local "community advocate", would contest the by-election on 15 November 2012. Higgins finished ninth out of 12 candidates. In November 2012, at
16965-575: The European Parliament (MEPs) Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert . Respect fielded candidates for both the 2004 elections for the European Parliament (EP) and for the London Assembly , attempting to present these elections as a referendum on Blair's Labour government. The party claims that this support was achieved primarily as a result of the anti-war protests and by attracting votes from "disillusioned" Labour voters. The party
17160-552: The Iraq War, had become less salient, with the political scientist Stephen Driver suggesting that for this reason Respect "struggled to be anything more than a one-trick pony". The party was in disarray following the schism and only forwarded one candidate for the 2008 London Assembly elections. This candidate, Hanif Abdulmuhit , stood for the City and East constituency and secured 15% of the vote but trailed behind their Labour and Conservative Party rivals. Overall Respect attained 2.4% of
17355-448: 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
17550-481: The London Assembly vote, below the 5% threshold needed to secure a seat. Galloway had headed the Respect (London-wide) top-up list. Respect had not fielded a candidate for London Mayor, instead endorsing Labour's Ken Livingstone , while Left List had fielded German, who secured significantly fewer votes than she had gained as a Respect candidate for Mayor in 2004. The outbreak of the 2008 Gaza War provided renewed impetus for Respect's campaigning. Throughout much of 2009,
17745-560: The Middle East is Hamas, is Hezbollah". Galloway met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal In September 2006, and that November the party's national-secretary John Rees attended the Beirut International Conference organised by Hezbollah. Respect emerged from the British anti-war movement which had developed from late 2001 onward. The Stop the War Coalition (StWC) had been established in September 2001, with
17940-399: The Middle East had been espoused by the SWP even prior to the establishment of Respect. In February 2013, George Galloway walked out of a debate organised by Christ Church, Oxford because his opponent was Eylon Levy , an Israeli citizen. He explained his actions thus: "The reason is simple: no recognition, no normalisation. Just boycott, divestment and sanctions, until the apartheid state
18135-485: 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
18330-706: The Respect Renewal group were able to continue using the name. The SWP faction split and began using the name Left List . The SWP attributed the split to a shift to the right by Galloway and his allies, motivated by electoralism (seeking to gain Muslim votes) and attacks on the left. This opinion was shared by Hilary Wainwright , who saw a common pattern of "leaderism" in this and other leftist debacles, although she thought Galloway possessed positive qualities. SWP-dominated branches of Respect were reportedly less active than those with far fewer members of that group. A narrow failure of John Rees in 2006 to gain election in
18525-701: The Russian Revolution with the Great French Revolution, the former can never be transformed into a repetition of the latter." In the French Revolution of 1789 , France experienced what Marxists called a " bourgeois-democratic revolution "—a regime was established wherein the bourgeoisie overthrew the existing French feudalistic system. The bourgeoisie then moved towards establishing a regime of democratic parliamentary institutions. However, while democratic rights were extended to
18720-412: The Russian revolution. Soviet scholar Robert Bird considered his work as the "first systematic treatment of art by a Communist leader" and a catalyst for later, Marxist cultural and critical theories. He had also defended intellectual autonomy in relation to the Russian literary movements and scientific theories such as Freudian psychoanalytic theory along with Einstein ’s theory of relativity during
18915-409: The SWP. Galloway explained at the time that many Respect supporters "are small business people and wouldn't describe themselves as socialists and are not bound to accept it." Respect stood 48 candidates in the 2007 local election, of which three were elected. The party had peaked, and following this would witness a decline. In July 2007, Galloway was suspended from the House of Commons for 18 days after
19110-406: The SWP. However, Britain's first past the post electoral system made it difficult for small parties to make gains unless they geographically concentrated their vote. Respect recognised that East London, an area with large numbers of Muslim British Bangladeshis , would be electorally lucrative, particularly as three of the area's four sitting Labour MPs had voted in favour of British participation in
19305-674: The Soviet Union as further evidence that he intended Trotsky to be his successor as head of government . In 1927, Trotsky was purged from the Communist Party and Soviet politics. In October, by order of Stalin, Trotsky was removed from power and, in November, expelled from the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (aka: VKP(b)). He was exiled to Alma-Ata (now Almaty) in January 1928 and then expelled from
19500-573: The Stalinist USSR for suppressing democracy and the lack of adequate economic planning. Overall, Trotsky and the Left-United Opposition factions advocated for rapid industrialization , voluntary collectivisation of agriculture, and the expansion of a worker's democracy . Until 1905, some revolutionaries claimed that Marx's theory of history posited that only a revolution in a European capitalist society would lead to
19695-574: The Tower Hamlets local elections, while the 12 candidates from the Bangladeshi community were all elected, was also alleged to have alienated the SWP from the project. In December 2009, the party de-registered (removed) itself from the Register of Political Parties for Northern Ireland, but remained registered for England, Scotland and Wales. Respect went into gradual decline after 2008. By this point its primary unifying issue, anger at Labour over
19890-620: The Union to be lacking in democracy and exploitative toward the working class. Respect was anti-Zionist and, according to Benedek, rejected "the right to independent Jewish statehood in Israel". It presented this position through the terminology of social justice and human rights . One of its core principles was stated support for the Palestinian people and opposition to what Respect described as "the apartheid system that oppresses them". It
20085-553: 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
20280-549: The West and controversies around party schisms. In the Transitional Program , which was drafted in 1938 during the founding congress of the Fourth International , Trotsky reiterated the need for the legalization of the Soviet parties and worker's control of production . The concept of uneven and combined development derived from the political theories of Trotsky. This concept was developed in combination with
20475-457: 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
20670-422: The assertions made against them had been forthcoming, the five councillors entirely severed their connections with Respect towards the end of October and then intended to sit as independents for the remainder of their term of office. Claims that they had been "conniving" with Galloway's former aide were false, they said. A spokesman from Respect accused them of attempting to gain control of the party in Bradford. In
20865-527: The autocracy there stood a capitalist bourgeoisie, very small in numbers, isolated from the "people", half-foreign, without historical traditions, and inspired only by the greed for gain. For instance, the Putilov Factory numbered 12,000 workers in 1900 and, according to Trotsky, 36,000 in July 1917. Although only a tiny minority in Russian society, the proletariat would lead a revolution to emancipate
21060-681: The basis of proportional representation . On the other hand, he had accepted the ban on rival parties in Moscow during the Russian Civil War due to their opposition to the October Revolution . Yet, he also opposed the extension of the ban to the Mensheviks in Soviet Georgia . In 1922, Lenin allied with Leon Trotsky against the party's growing bureaucratisation and the influence of Joseph Stalin . In 1923, Trotsky and
21255-602: The beginning of a tentative co-operation between the three parties locally . Galloway told Decca Aitkenhead in April 2012: "When we lost the three parliamentary seats in 2010 that we'd hoped to win, we became almost minuscule"; Respect he said then had about 8-900 members. Abjol Miah was elected as the National Chair of Respect in January 2011. After the introduction of a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets —something that Respect had campaigned for locally—the party backed
21450-485: The bourgeoisie, they were not generally extended to a universal franchise. The freedom for workers to organize unions or to strike was not achieved without considerable struggle. Trotsky argues that countries like Russia had no "enlightened, active" revolutionary bourgeoisie which could play the same role, and the working class constituted a tiny minority. By the time of the European revolutions of 1848, "the bourgeoisie
21645-466: The capitalist world. Revolutions in Britain in the 17th century and in France in 1789 abolished feudalism and established the essential requisites for the development of capitalism. Trotsky argued that these revolutions would not be repeated in Russia. In Results and Prospects , written in 1906, Trotsky outlines his theory in detail, arguing: "History does not repeat itself. However much one may compare
21840-469: The creation of the state of Israel". According to the party's national council member Yvonne Ridley , speaking at London's Imperial College in February 2006, Respect "is a Zionist-free party... if there was any Zionism in the Respect Party they would be hunted down and kicked out." The rejection of Israel's right to exist and the characterisation of it as a garrison of American imperialism in
22035-928: 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
22230-489: 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
22425-422: 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
22620-554: 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
22815-404: 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
23010-537: The end of March. Amid a fiercely fought campaign, there were claims and complaints of violence and harassment by the Respect Party and its opponents. The party came second in Oldham 's Werneth ward and Tower Hamlets ' Weavers ward. After several months of inconclusive reports in the media, on 10 August 2013, the Bradford Telegraph & Argus reported that Galloway might not be a candidate in Bradford at
23205-412: The essentially feudal landlords and, ultimately, the existing Czarist Russian state forces. This was to protect their ownership of their property—factories, banks, etc.—from expropriation by the revolutionary working class. Therefore, according to the theory of permanent revolution, the capitalist classes of economically backward countries are weak and incapable of carrying through revolutionary change. As
23400-416: The extent to which this is true today. However, even the most orthodox tend to recognise in the late twentieth century a new development in the revolts of the rural poor: the self-organising struggles of the landless, along with many other struggles that in some ways reflect the militant united, organised struggles of the working class, which to various degrees do not bear the marks of class divisions typical of
23595-509: The fact that he had seemingly abandoned his constituents to appear in the show and on an episode in which he had impersonated a cat. This did little to damage Respect's electoral appeal. Respect stood about 150 candidates in the 2006 local elections, at which it secured 16 seats. At Respect's campaign launch, Galloway anticipated a "referendum on new Labour", and said the election "will be the last blow that will knock out Tony Blair". In Tower Hamlets, Respect took eleven new council seats, giving it
23790-435: The factories and workplaces; and that the collective consciousness it achieves as a result is an essential ingredient of the socialist reconstruction of society. Trotsky himself argued that only the proletariat or working class were capable of achieving the tasks of that bourgeois revolution. In 1905, the working class in Russia, a generation brought together in vast factories from the relative isolation of peasant life, saw
23985-612: The fastest-growing student political group in the UK. The SWP's student group, the Socialist Worker Student Society (SWSS), encouraged its members to join Respect and became largely dormant. In 2006, Galloway appeared on Channel 4 's reality television show Celebrity Big Brother . His hope was to use it as a public relations exercise in which he could promote his views to a wider audience, however this backfired as Channel 4 producers censored most of his political discussions. Media attention instead focused on
24180-409: 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
24375-425: The first postmodern name for an electoral political movement; most are one or other arrangement of the words The, Something, and Party. With respect, we're different." Opposition to the Iraq War was the party's primary issue, around which it galvanised much of its support. At its foundation, the party also called for a halt to privatisation and the renationalisation of the British railways. Although it did not secure
24570-493: 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
24765-408: 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
24960-588: The former Respect councillors rejoined and a Labour member of the council, Asama Javed, left the party and aligned herself with Respect. The remaining councillor of the five who resigned in August 2013, Mohammad Shabbir, announced he was joining the Labour group on the council in mid-April 2015 with immediate effect rather than rejoining Respect with his former colleagues. In July 2015, the four councillors who had rejoined reversed their decision and decided to continue under
25155-400: The foundations for a culture above classes. He also argued that the pre-conditions for artistic creativity were economic well-being and emancipation from material constraints. Political scientist, Baruch Knei-Paz, characterised his view on the role of the party as transmitters of culture to the masses and raising the standards of education, as well as entry into the cultural sphere, but that
25350-553: 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
25545-515: The full backing of any major trade unions, some local branches of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)—which had disaffiliated from Labour in February 2004—voted to support Respect. Although containing members from both the SWP and MAB, Respect was not a formal coalition between the two groups. From the beginnings of Respect, there remained tension within the party between SWP members and Muslim leaders. This alliance
25740-415: The heroic peasant struggles of previous epochs. However, orthodox Trotskyists today still argue that the town- and city-based working-class struggle is central to the task of a successful socialist revolution linked to these struggles of the rural poor. They argue that the working class learns of the necessity to conduct a collective struggle, for instance, in trade unions, arising from its social conditions in
25935-463: The implementation of the First five-year plan . He noted that several engineers and economists who had created the plan were themselves later put on trial as " conscious wreckers who had acted on the instructions of a foreign power". Polish historian and biographer, Isaac Deutscher , viewed his inner-party reforms in 1923–24 as arguably the first act in the restoration of free Soviet institutions which
26130-422: 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
26325-683: The invasion of Iraq. At the 2005 general election Respect fielded candidates in this area: Lindsey German in West Ham , Abdul Khaliq Mian in East Ham , Rahman in Poplar and Canning Town , and Galloway in Bethnal Green and Bow . Galloway sought to unseat the sitting Labour MP, Oona King , and the ensuing campaign for the seat has been cited as "one of the most acrimonious in recent history". King accused Galloway of sexual impropriety, although
26520-412: The lack of economic prerequisites. Trotsky argued that only the working class could overthrow feudalism and win the peasantry 's support in Russia. Furthermore, he argued that the Russian working class would not stop there. They would win their revolution against the weak capitalist class, establish a workers' state in Russia and appeal to the working class in the advanced capitalist countries worldwide. As
26715-404: The leading countries of the world—that competition between the proletarians of these countries ceases and at least the decisive forces of production are concentrated in the hands of the workers. His biographer, Isaac Deutscher, has explicitly contrasted his support for proletarian internationalism against his opposition to revolution by military conquest as seen with his documented opposition to
26910-540: The left of Labour, a successor to the Socialist Alliance electoral list that had contested the 2001 general election . They wanted to reach out beyond the far left's traditional support base and gain support from peace activists and religious groups, particularly the Muslim community. In November 2003, a number of public meetings were held under the title of "British Politics at the Crossroads", at which it
27105-439: The left. In the 1920s, they called themselves the Left Opposition , although today's left communism is distinct and usually non-Bolshevik. The terminological disagreement can be confusing because different versions of a left-right political spectrum are used. Anti-revisionists consider themselves the ultimate leftists on a spectrum from communism on the left to imperialist capitalism on the right. However, given that Stalinism
27300-484: The loss of trade opportunities despite his support for world revolution . Prior to the October Revolution, Trotsky had been part of an old radical democracy which included both Left Mensheviks and Left Bolsheviks . His work, Our Political Tasks , published in 1904 reviewed issues related to party organisation, mass participation and the potential dangers of substitutionism which he foresaw in
27495-423: The need for shared participation of the communist factions, anarcho-syndicalists and socialists . In 1936, Trotsky argued in his work, The Revolution Betrayed , for the restoration of the right of criticism in areas such as economic matters , the revitalization of trade unions and free elections of the Soviet parties . Trotsky also argued that the excessive authoritarianism under Stalin had undermined
27690-454: The other three councillors, Alyas Karmani, then leader of the Respect group on Bradford City Council, said the party had not, in fact, been consulted about Galloway's plans. Galloway had also claimed that the councillors were working against him and the party with Aisha Ali Khan, his former aide, and her husband. (Both Ali Khan and her husband later received criminal convictions related to her former employment by Galloway.) After no retraction of
27885-464: 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
28080-423: The part of the population and for suppressing workers' self-management and democratic participation in the management of the economy. Because these authoritarian political measures were inconsistent with the organizational precepts of socialism, Trotsky characterized the Soviet Union as a deformed workers' state that would not be able to effectively transition to socialism. Ostensibly socialist states where democracy
28275-724: The party devoted much of its resources to raising funds for the Viva Palestina aid convoy to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip . The first convoy, which set off from Glasgow in February 2009, was led by Respect member Kevin Ovenden . Respect Renewal stood 10 candidates in the local council elections also taking place on 1 May across England and Wales. They returned one new councillor, Nahim Khan, in Birmingham Sparkbrook, who received 42.64% of
28470-401: The party had sought to establish in 1917 and the return of worker's democracy which would correspond with a gradual dismantlement of the single-party system . At the same time, Deutscher noted that Trotsky's attitude towards democracy could be characterised as inconsistent and hesitant by opponents but this stemmed from a range of reasons such as the ill timing after the failed revolutions in
28665-408: The peasantry and thus "secure the support of the peasantry" as part of that revolution, on whose support it will rely. However, to improve their conditions, the working class must create a revolution of their own, which would accomplish the bourgeois revolution and establish a workers' state. Only fully developed capitalist conditions prepare the basis for socialism. According to classical Marxism ,
28860-427: 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,
29055-466: The presence of socialist groups other than the SWP. That month, disagreements between Rahman and Abjol Miah, leader of the Respect group in Tower Hamlets, resulted in four of the borough's councillors resigning the Respect Party whip. By November 2007, Respect had split into two rival factions. The first consisted largely of members affiliated with the SWP and included the rebel councillors from Tower Hamlets. The second, which named itself Respect Renewal ,
29250-417: The process of artistic creation in terms of language and presentation should be the domain of the practitioner. Knei-Paz also noted key distinctions between Trotsky's approach on cultural matters and Stalin's policy in the 1930s . Trotsky was an early proponent of economic planning since 1923 and favored an accelerated pace of industrialization. In 1921, he had also been a prominent supporter of Gosplan as
29445-649: The publication of the New Course in 1924. In 1927, Trotsky and the United Opposition had argued for the expansion of industrial democracy with their joint platform which demanded majority representation of workers in trade union congresses including the All-Union Congress and an increase of non-party workers to one-third of representation in these elected organs. They also supported legal protection for worker's right to criticise such as
29640-445: The related theory of permanent revolution to explain the historical context of Russia. He would later elaborate on this theory to explain the specific laws of uneven development in 1930 and the conditions for a possible revolutionary scenario. According to biographer Ian Thatcher, this theory would be later generalised to "the entire history of mankind". Political scientists Emanuele Saccarelli and Latha Varadarajan valued his theory as
29835-434: The result of its labour as a vast collective effort, also seeing the only means of struggling against its oppression in terms of a collective effort, forming workers councils ( soviets ) in the course of the revolution of that year. In 1906, Trotsky argued: The factory system brings the proletariat to the foreground [...] The proletariat immediately found itself concentrated in tremendous masses, while between these masses and
30030-565: The right to make independent proposals. According to historian Vadim Rogovin , these proposals would have developed democracy in the sphere of production and facilitated the establishment of worker's control over economic management. Following Stalin's consolidation of power in the Soviet Union and static centralization of political power, Trotsky condemned the Soviet government's policies for lacking widespread democratic participation on
30225-456: The rightful representatives. The Respect Renewal group changed the locks of the party's national office and barred access to SWP supporters. On 17 November, both groups held conferences at which they claimed to be the legitimate manifestation of Respect. The Electoral Commission subsequently ruled that control of the party's name rested with Fire Brigades Union activist Linda Smith, the nominating officer; she had sided with Galloway, meaning that
30420-549: The rights of women" and her admiration for Galloway's "anti-imperialist stance". In October 2012, party secretary Chris Chilvers said Respect had 2,000 members, while before the by-election it had 300. Arshad Ali, who succeeded Yaqoob as leader, resigned as national chair in December 2012 after it was discovered that he has a spent conviction for electoral fraud (dating from his time in the Labour Party), although at this point
30615-913: The same day which also resulted in significant losses for Respect; in Tower Hamlets it went from having eight councillors to one, and in Newham it lost all its councillors. However the party had better results elsewhere. In Birmingham Hall Green constituency Respect candidate Salma Yaqoob performed better, receiving 12,240 votes, 25.1%, placing second after Labour candidate Roger Godsiff , who received 16,039 votes, 32.9%. Respect fielded eight more candidates in other constituencies, who together polled 4,319 votes. Arshad Ali received 1,245 votes, 3.1%, in Bradford West , and Kay Phillips received 996 votes, 2.9%, in Blackley and Broughton . In total, Respect candidates received 33,269 votes, which amounted to 6.8% of
30810-478: 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. Trotskyist Historical Historical Trotskyism ( Russian : Троцкизм , Trotskizm )
31005-501: The seat of Bethnal Green and Bow by a narrow margin of 823 votes. Galloway's surprise victory provided much momentum for his party. His victory represented the first time that a party to the left of Labour had won a seat in the Houses of Parliament since 1951. Respect also did well in several other constituencies, coming second to Labour in both West Ham and East Ham, and also securing second place in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath , where Yaqoob had been its candidate, securing 27.5% of
31200-431: 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
31395-426: The standards and privileges commit accused him of a lack of transparency in the financing of is charity, the Mariam Appeal . In August, a Respect councillor in Tower Hamlets resigned, triggering a by-election which Harun Miah narrowly secured for Respect. The SWP had been members of Respect's "Unity Coalition" since its early years, although relations between them and Galloway had been strained. In August 2007 he wrote
31590-424: The state, oblast regions and factories to counter structural inefficiency and the problem of bureaucracy. He had proposed the principles underlying the N.E.P. in 1920 to the Politburo to mitigate urgent economic matters arising from war communism. He would later reproach Lenin privately about the delayed government response in 1921-1922. However, his position also differed from the majority of Soviet leaders at
31785-462: 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
31980-409: The successful independent candidate Lutfur Rahman . On 5 May 2011, in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election , the Respect Party, on whose list Galloway stood in the Glasgow electoral region , received 6,972 votes (3.3%). He campaigned under the banner of Coalition Against the Cuts, but the vote was insufficient to become a Member of the Scottish Parliament in the proportional voting system used. In
32175-430: The succession period. However, these theories were increasingly marginalised during the Stalin era. Trotsky would later co-author the 1938 Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art with the endorsement of prominent artists Andre Breton and Diego Rivera . Trotsky's writings on literature such as his 1923 survey which advocated tolerance, limited censorship and respect for literary tradition had strong appeal to
32370-489: 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
32565-440: 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
32760-429: The time—he later stated—he was of the view that UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush had already committed themselves to invading Iraq. Galloway was vocal in his opposition to Blair's calls for an invasion, and in May 2003 he was suspended from the Labour Party and then expelled in October, having been found to have brought it into disrepute. He then announced that he would stand against Labour in
32955-427: The total vote in the constituencies where they stood and 0.1% of the total UK vote. During the 2010 General Election the Green Party stood down in favour of Respect candidates in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Blackley and Broughton . While Respect agreed not to stand against the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate in Salford and Eccles or to oppose the Greens standing in Manchester Central , indicating
33150-471: The traditional institutions of the Ancien Régime. Usage of 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
33345-613: The vote. Respect made "rapid progress", aided by growing finances and the existing campaign experience of the far left. By the end of 2005, in the London Borough of Newham, two Labour and one Liberal Democrat councillor had defected to Respect. By December 2005, it had an official membership of 5,674. Galloway, however, told Decca Aitkenhead in April 2012 for a Guardian profile that Respect, at its peak, only had about 3–4,000 members. Its university wing, Student Respect, claimed by 2007 to have branches in over fifty campuses across England and Wales. Benedek suggested that this probably made it
33540-429: The vote. The party did not field any candidates for the 2009 European Parliament elections, instead urging supporters to vote for either the Green Party or the left-wing Eurosceptic alliance, No2EU . Instead, Arthur Scargill 's Socialist Labour Party proved to be the most successful radical left party in the election, securing 1.1% of the national vote. Respect fielded ten candidates in the 2010 general election, with
33735-428: The working class into fighting for its revolutionary aspirations against their exploitation by capitalism. In Russia, the working class, although a small minority in a predominantly peasant-based society, was organised in vast factories owned by the capitalist class and into large working-class districts. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, the capitalist class found it necessary to ally with reactionary elements such as
33930-466: 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
34125-465: Was a component of its ideology and regarded it as part of a wider alliance between socialists and Islamists within Western Europe . Respect's voting base was primarily among the British Muslim communities in East London , Birmingham and Bradford , where it built upon opposition to the Iraq War and disenchantment among leftist voters with the governing Labour Party . The political scientists Matthew Goodwin and Robert Ford characterised Respect as
34320-403: Was agreed that a new political party should be established. At a convention on 24 January 2004, the party, titled "Respect – the Unity Coalition", was officially declared. The name "RESPECT" was a contrived acronym for respect , equality , socialism , peace , environmentalism , community , and trade unionism . Galloway said in April 2004: "Respect. It's a young word. It's a black word. It's
34515-434: Was already unable to play a comparable role. It did not want and was not able to undertake the revolutionary liquidation of the social system that stood in its path to power." The theory of permanent revolution considers that in many countries that are thought under Trotskyism to have not yet completed a bourgeois-democratic revolution, the capitalist class opposes the creation of any revolutionary situation. They fear stirring
34710-403: Was also alluded to by Rosa Luxemburg. Lenin himself never mentioned the concept of "Trotskyism" after Trotsky became a member of the Bolshevik party. Trotsky was the Red Army 's paramount leader in the Revolutionary period's direct aftermath. Trotsky initially opposed some aspects of Leninism but eventually concluded that unity between the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks was impossible and joined
34905-496: Was also criticised by some observers; in June 2004, the political commentator Nick Cohen wrote that "for the first time since the Enlightenment, a section of the left is allied with religious fanaticism and, for the first time since the Hitler-Stalin pact, a section of the left has gone soft on fascism." Respect initially tried to form an electoral pact with the Green Party of England and Wales but this proved unsuccessful. The Greens stated that they had selected their candidates for
35100-430: 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
35295-403: Was constitutionally committed to supporting the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the boycotting of Israel. It calls for Israel to withdraw from any land conquered in 1967, and for the right of return to be granted to all Palestinians forced to move on the formation of the state of Israel in 1948. On its website and published fliers, it included maps of the Levant in which the entirety of Israel
35490-451: Was contested by Galloway, and Galloway's existing seat of Bethnal Green and Bow, which was being defended by Miah. The election however proved disastrous for Respect. Labour secured all three of the seats that Respect had targeted, with Galloway and Miah being pushed into third place with 17% of the vote. Nationwide it had secured 33,251 votes, less than half of that which it had attained in the 2005 general election. Local elections were held on
35685-464: Was done for industrial purposes (mines) or for railways (tunnels); in the future this will be done on an immeasurably larger scale, according to a general industrial and artistic plan. Man will occupy himself with re-registering mountains and rivers, and will earnestly and repeatedly make improvements in nature . —Trotsky, Literature and Revolution , 1924 In Literature and Revolution , Trotsky examined aesthetic issues in relation to class and
35880-471: Was elected MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and the party came second in three other constituencies. Respect made further gains in the 2006 and 2007 local elections , at which point its support peaked. In 2007, a schism emerged in the party between SWP supporters and the Respect Renewal group led by Galloway and Yaqoob; the former group left the party to form the Left List . Over the coming years, Respect gradually lost its council seats and it deregistered with
36075-449: Was established in the French Third Republic in 1938 when Trotskyists argued that the Comintern or Third International had become irretrievably "lost to Stalinism" and thus incapable of leading the international working class to political power. According to Trotsky, his programme could be distinguished from other Marxist theories by five key elements: On the political spectrum of Marxism , Trotskyists are usually considered to be on
36270-537: Was in the council by-election for the St Dunstan's and Stepney Green ward of Tower Hamlets, where its candidate, Oliur Rahman, secured 31% of the vote. At the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South by-elections , both held on 15 July 2004, the party gained 6.3% and 12.7% of the vote respectively. At the time, following defections from other parties, Respect had a council seat in Nuneaton and another in Preston . The coalition put up candidates in 26 constituencies across England and Wales, just under half of them from
36465-403: 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
36660-525: Was informed by Marxism–Leninism and Trotskyism . Benedek characterised it as a manifestation of what Amir Taheri called the "Marxist-Islamist coalition", which united around opposition to the United States, a desire to destroy the state of Israel, and a wish to overthrow international capitalism. Similarly, Emmanuel Karagiannis characterised the party as "the epitome" of the "convergence" between radical left and Islamist groups in Western Europe, and Nick Cohen described it as an "alliance ... between
36855-419: Was labelled "Occupied Palestine". In 2017, the party's website asserts: "Respect supports the idea of a democratic bi-national solution of one state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea in which all people, Jews, Muslims and Christians live equally; one man, one woman, one vote" and says British foreign policy should recognise Britain's "partial responsibility for the problem by their participation in
37050-401: Was largely hostile to Western capitalism and neoliberalism , and interpreted many world events through the prism of anti-imperialism , calling for an end to what it characterised as imperialist wars like that in Iraq. Respect was anti-globalization , believing that it resulted in the exploitation of the working class. It also expressed a Eurosceptic approach to the European Union , deeming
37245-448: Was later forced to retract those allegations. She alleged that she had been the victim of antisemitism from Respect supporters after having been pelted with eggs at a Jewish memorial service. She also claimed that Respect canvassers had urged Muslims not to vote for her because she is Jewish. Respect threatened legal action if King repeated the claim; John Rees, national secretary of Respect, said "George Galloway and everyone in Respect has
37440-403: Was led by Galloway and Yaqoob and had the support of virtually all of the party's elected representatives and national council. According to political scientist Timothy Peace, these events were "characteristic of the faction fighting that has always plagued the radical left." The SWP-allied faction controlled the party's website and claimed that Galloway had simply left the party, of which they were
37635-410: 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
37830-426: 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
38025-431: Was widely derided in the British media, which viewed Respect as a single-issue party that would soon disappear from British politics. Respect polled a quarter of a million votes in the EP election. Its proportion of the national vote was 1.7%, which grew to 5% in London, although it failed to win any seats. The strong showing of the Greens and the UK Independence Party had been part of the reason for this failure to secure
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