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 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."
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist governments throughout the 20th century. It was developed in Russia by Joseph Stalin and drew on elements of Bolshevism, Leninism, Marxism, and the works of Karl Kautsky. It was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, Soviet satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various countries in the Non-Aligned Movement and Third World during the Cold War, as well as the Communist International after Bolshevization.
Bolshevism is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, focused on overthrowing the existing capitalist state system, seizing power and establishing the "dictatorship of the proletariat".
The New Communist movement (NCM) was a diverse left-wing political movement during the 1970s and 1980s in the United States. The NCM were a movement of the New Left that represented a diverse grouping of Marxist–Leninists and Maoists inspired by Cuban, Chinese, and Vietnamese revolutions. This movement emphasized opposition to racism and sexism, solidarity with oppressed peoples of the third-world, and the establishment of socialism by popular revolution. The movement, according to historian and NCM activist Max Elbaum, had an estimated 10,000 cadre members at its peak influence.
George Philip Rawick was an American academic, historian, and socialist, best known for his editorship of a 41-volume set of oral histories of former slaves, titled The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography. Rawick revolutionized the study of slavery in the 1970s with his work, as he viewed the testimony of former slaves to be as serious as documentary left by slaveholders. During his teenage years, he witnessed the systematic extermination of Jewish people by the Nazi regime in World War II. These events initially drew Rawick to Communist politics. His involvement in various leftist groups led him to travel to London, to work with C. L. R. James. In London he met with many prominent Black intellectuals, which caused him to study more about race and slavery.
The League of Revolutionary Struggle (Marxist–Leninist) was a Marxist–Leninist[1] movement in the United States formed in 1978 by merging communist organizations. It was dissolved by the organization's leadership in 1990.
Third World socialism is an umbrella term for many movements and governments of the 20th century— all variants of socialism— that have taken place in numerous less-developed countries. There have been many leaders of this practice and political philosophy which remained strong until at least the 1990s, including: Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Buddhadasa, Fidel Castro, Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Juan Domingo Perón, Modibo Keïta, Walter Lini, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Jawaharlal Nehru, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Sukarno, Ahmed Sékou Touré and other socialist leaders of the Third World who saw socialism as the answer to a strong and developed nation.
Taimur Rahman is a Pakistani political activist and musician who is serving as the Secretary-General of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP), formerly Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (CMKP). He is also the lead guitarist and spokesperson for the progressive music band Laal. He has taught political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) since 2002. He also taught economics at the Lahore School of Economics from 1998 to 2003.
The influences of socialism and socialist movements in Pakistan have taken many different forms as a counterpart to political conservatism, from the groups like The Struggle, Lal Salam which is the Pakistani section of the International Marxist Tendency, to the Stalinist group like Communist Party through to the reformist electoral project enshrined in the birth of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
The Egyptian Socialist Party was a political party in Egypt founded in 1921. The party included both Marxist, Anarchist and Reformist elements. The party platform was published on August 29, 1921. The party began publishing the newspaper ash-Shebiba (الشبيبة). The party established a network of local branches in major cities around the country. It initiated work amongst trade unions and took part in organizing strikes. It also began educational activities for children of workers as well as trying to reach out to mobilize the peasantry.
The Egyptian Communist Party is a revolutionary Marxist–Leninist communist party in Egypt.
Internationalism is a political principle that advocates greater political or economic cooperation among states and nations. It is associated with other political movements and ideologies, but can also reflect a doctrine, belief system, or movement in itself.
Benedict Wachira is a Kenyan communist political and social justice activist. He is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK).
The Communist Party of Kenya (CPK), is a political organisation in Kenya. Founded in 1992 as the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the political party has undergone substantial transformations in its name, ideological orientation from social democracy to communism and political positioning. Throughout its history, the Communist Party of Kenya has faced distinct challenges and played a notable role in Kenya's political evolution.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) frames its ideology as Marxism–Leninism adapted to the historical context of China, often expressing it as socialism with Chinese characteristics. Major ideological contributions of the CCP's leadership are viewed as "Thought" or "Theory," with "Thought" carrying greater weight. Influential concepts include Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, and Xi Jinping Thought. Other important concepts include the socialist market economy, Jiang Zemin's idea of the Three Represents, and Hu Jintao's Scientific Outlook on Development.
Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all proletarian revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that capitalism is a world-system and therefore the working classes of all nations must act in concert if they are to replace it with communism.
Lotta Comunista or Gruppi Leninisti della Sinistra Comunista is a political party born in Italy that does not recognize parliamentary dynamics for the party's strategy in the current historical period, and thus describes itself as extra-parliamentary. It is a revolutionary and internationalist party founded by Arrigo Cervetto and Lorenzo Parodi in 1965 and inspired by the theory and practice of Marx, Engels, and Lenin.
The Struggle is a Trotskyist, Left-wing organization in Pakistan whose main theoretician was Lal Khan. The paper organ or magazine known as "طبقاتی جہدوجہد" is continuously published by the organization for last 42 years.
The Communist Party Marxist - Kenya (CPMK), also known as the Marxist Communist Party of Kenya (MCPK), is a political party in Kenya that emerged from a split within the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) in 2024. The split was a result of ongoing ideological divisions within the Communist Party of Kenya itself and also wider ongoing strategic differences within the Kenyan left, particularly particularly regarding approaches to socialism and the party's engagement with the political landscape of Kenya.
The Internationale is a socialist anthem that was originally composed in French by Eugène Pottier in 1871, after the fall of the Paris Commune. The lyrics advocate for solidarity, class struggle, and internationalism among the working class. The melody was later created by Pierre De Geyter in 1888. Over the years, the song has been translated into numerous languages and embraced as an anthem by various leftist and labour movements around the globe.
