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Far-left politics[a] are politics further to the left on thepolitical spectrum than the standardpolitical left. In certain instances—especially in thenews media—far left has been associated with various forms ofauthoritarianism,anarchism,communism, andMarxism, or are characterised as groups that advocate forrevolutionary socialism and relatedcommunist ideologies, oranti-capitalism andanti-globalisation.Far-left terrorism consists ofextremist,militant, orinsurgent groups that attempt to realise their ideals throughpolitical violence rather than using democratic processes.
Far-left politics are the leftmost ideologies on the left of theleft–right political spectrum. They are a heterogeneous group of ideologies withinleft-wing politics, and wide variety exists between different far-left groups.[1][2] Ideologies such ascommunism andanarchism are typically described as far-left.[3][4][5] Far-left politics is typically regarded as being to the left ofsocial democracy.[2][6] As with all political alignments, the exact boundaries ofcentre-left versus far-left withinleft-wing politics are not clearly defined and can vary depending on context.[3][7] Far-left parties sometimes avoid anti-capitalist rhetoric to appeal to the centre-left, while the centre-left may invoke language of radicalism or incorporate some of its ideas.[8] The modern far-left distinguishes itself fromsocial democracy through its inherent opposition tocapitalism,neoliberalism, andglobalisation.[9]
Academic study of far-left politics often usesradical left as an all-encompassing term, though some far-left groups object to this usage as derogatory.Extreme left andanti-capitalist are also commonly used as synonyms for the far-left.[10] Theradical left and theextreme left are often used as equivalents, though some writers create distinctions between them.[11]Hard left may also be used.[12] Far-left political parties use a variety of descriptors for themselves, including workers', labour, socialist, communist, militant, and revolutionary parties.[13] Far-left ideologies are typically derived from either anarchism or Marxism,[14] and the two are frequently combined or integrated together.[5]
A unified working class has traditionally been the focus of far-left movements.Karl Marx defined the working class in the 19th century to include all waged employees of all industries. The development ofmiddle management and decline of thepetite bourgeoisie complicated the definition over time.[15] The modern European far-left overall has higher educational attainment than its far-right equivalent.[16] Students and intellectuals have often been inclined to support far-left politics. The far-left may appeal to independent producers or craftsmen who fear competition for large corporations. The unemployed, including the elderly and disabled, are associated with the working class as defined by the far-left because of the disadvantages they may face.[15] The majority of left-leaning labourers preferred social democracy over far-left ideologies.[17]
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Communism is the belief that humanity should abandon class divisions in favour of acommunist society organised around the needs and abilities of its citizens. Modern communism is a form ofrevolutionary socialism based on support for the communist society described in the writing ofKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels, known asMarxism.[19][20] Since its introduction, elements of Marxism have become a common factor between most far-left groups.[21] Communist ideology appears in a variety of forms, especially since the dissolution of the Soviet Union left communists without a unifying force.[22]
Marxism specifically opposes capitalism, in contrast to anarchists who oppose both capitalism and the state in its entirety.[23] Marxism sees theproletariat as the primary movers of the revolution. Marx and Engels observed that the working class of 19th century Europe had little influence on or attachment to their nations, and they espousedsocialist internationalism that framed class struggle as an issue that united workers without regard to national affiliation. They considered socialist movements within a nation to be necessary only as a means to challenge that nation's bourgeoisie.[24] Marx and Engels believed that the most developed nations were the most likely to see a communist revolution.[25]
Leninists, followers of Russian MarxistVladimir Lenin, believe that capitalism should be replaced by adictatorship of the proletariat, which would cause capitalism to degrade and quickly disappear.[17] Leninist-led revolutions have imposed authoritarian rule over society despite invoking concepts of equality when seeking power. TheBolshevik revolution createdsoviet councils that were to serve as a democratic method of achieving the dictatorship of the proletariat.[26] With the failure of revolutions in Western Europe, Leninism moved away from the belief that revolutions would occur in more developed nations through popular unrest. According toLuke March, the ideology was unsuccessful in more developed nations, as the middle and upper classes were more established, and the unionist working class outnumbered any revolutionary peasantry.[25]
Marxism–Leninism has historically been a major far-left ideology, especially before thedissolution of the Soviet Union.[1]Stalinism supports aone-party state with aplanned economy.[26] Stalin abandoned socialist internationalism and established his policy ofsocialism in one country, where the Communist Party of the Soviet Union prioritised its own stability. It abandoned efforts to spread communism to Western Europe, and it exercised control over the Communist parties of neighbouring countries to reinforce its own strength.[24]
Trotskyism emerged as a dissident current within the Communist movement after Stalin’s rise. It criticised Stalin’s belief insocialism in one country and thetotalitarian system of rule he established, arguing that the Soviet Union had become adegenerated workers state and later that its satellites weredeformed workers states. Trotskyism’s main organisation was theFourth International, although this has seen multiple splits and regroupings.
Conservative groups within Marxism–Leninism, such as theCommunist Party of Greece and thePortuguese Communist Party, support revitalisation of Soviet-style government and adhere to a classicalLeninist interpretation of communism.[27] Reform communists such as the CypriotProgressive Party of Working People retain Soviet-style organisation but adopt public involvement in government, the use of a market system, and acceptance of New Left policies.[27]Maoism developed as an alternative form of Marxist–Leninist-style vanguardism that emphasised anti-imperialism.[28] Maoism sees thepeasantry as the primary movers of the revolution.[29] This spawnedGuevarism, an ideology advocated byChe Guevara andRégis Debray which holds thatfoco guerrilla warfare can serve the role of a vanguard instead of a formal vanguard party.[30]
Other Marxist ideologies developed in Western Europe.Eurocommunism supports a reformist, democratic approach to achieving communism and opposes the ideology of the Soviet Union.[31][32]Autonomism rejects organised movements and promotes direct personal action. While originating from communist thought, it became more anarchist as it developed.[33]Left communism orultra-leftism is a Marxist challenge to Marxism–Leninism.[34] The ultra-left believes communism should be allowed to rise naturally when the people of a given area are inspired to revolt, instead of through a planned revolution.[35]
Latin American liberation theology blends Catholicism and Marxism.[36]
Anarchism is a far-left ideology that rejects all forms of authority, social hierarchy, or socially imposed control over the people. This manifests as a total rejection of thestate in any form.[5][37] It is a revolutionary ideology that seeks to overthrow capitalism at once instead of dismantling it over time.[17] Some anarchists likeMikhail Bakunin andPeter Kropotkin advocate a society based on social relations and interdependence.Individualist anarchism, influenced byMax Stirner andPierre-Joseph Proudhon, emphasizes theindividual and theirwill over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems.Green anarchism is an ideology within anarchism, and some of its contemporary adherents argue thatclimate change willbecome apocalyptic.[38]Anarcho-primitivism holds that civilisation is responsible for environmental damage and must be dismantled.[37]Insurrectionary anarchism involves the use of individual cells oraffinity groups to carry out guerrilla attacks against people and places associated with political or economic power.[39] Opponents of civilisation may supportaccelerationism, which endorses acts that will increase chaos and instability within society to bring about its downfall more quickly.[40]
At the end of the nineteenth century, a minority of anarchists adopted tactics of revolutionarypolitical violence, known aspropaganda of the deed.[41] The belief was that acts of violence would make the public more aware of grievances against the established political system, demonstrate that the state is vulnerable, provoke the state into responding to expose hypocrisy, and encourage others to carry out their own acts of violence.[42] Even though many anarchists distanced themselves from these terrorist acts, infamy came upon the movement and attempts were made to preventanarchists immigrating to the US, including theImmigration Act of 1903, also called the Anarchist Exclusion Act.[43] By the turn of the 20th century, the terrorist movement had died down, giving way toanarchist communism andsyndicalism, while anarchism had spread all over the world.[44][45] By the turn of the 20th century, the terrorist movement had died down, giving way toanarchist communism andsyndicalism, while anarchism had spread all over the world.[44][45]
The far-left is sometimes divided into theOld Left and theNew Left.[27] The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from thecounterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in theWestern world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer lifestyles on a broad range of social issues such asfeminism,gay rights,drug policy reforms, and gender relations.[46] The New Left differs from the traditional left in that it tended to acknowledge the struggle for various forms ofsocial justice, whereas previous movements prioritized explicitly economic goals. However, many have used the term "New Left" to describe an evolution, continuation, and revitalization of traditionalleftist goals.[47][48][49]
Some who self-identified as "New Left"[50] rejected involvement with thelabour movement andMarxism's historical theory ofclass struggle;[51] however, others gravitated to their own takes on established forms of Marxism, such as theNew Communist movement (which drew fromMaoism) in the United States or theK-Gruppen[b] in theGerman-speaking world. In the United States, the movement was associated with theanti-war college-campus protest movements, including theFree Speech Movement.
The movement fell into decline following the end of the Vietnam War, in part as the result of a covert U.S. government campaign to mobilize the CIA'sCHAOS and FBI'sCOINTELPRO to exacerbate existing fissions within the movement's most prominent groups, such asStudents for a Democratic Society and theBlack Panther Party.[52][53] European Green parties formed from the New Left in the 1960s and 1970s, but these are not traditionally considered far-left.[54][55]
The goal of far-left politics is to create aclassless society.[23][5] It seeks apost-capitalist world without exploitation, oppression, or class inequality.[56] Here every individual would have access to basic necessities while prosperity and knowledge would be shared.[57] This is often described ascommunist society, though terms such associalism ordemocratisation may be used to describe a similar concept.[58]
Under a communist society as envisioned by the far left, allmeans of production would beowned collectively and resources would be subject todistribution according to need. The specific nature of this society is not strictly defined, but it is generally agreed among the far-left that it would beself-governing and extend globally.[17] The method to bring about communist society became the primary distinction among far-left ideologies as they developed, and ideas of how communist society should function changed over time.[26] While the far-left historically opposed social democracy over its reformist nature, the post-Soviet far-left accuses social democracy of being too comfortable withneoliberalism.[2]
Far-left groups supportredistribution of income and wealth[6] and advocateequality of outcome overequal opportunity.[9] Equal rights are typically given higher priority than individual rights.[59] It argues that capitalism andconsumerism causesocial inequality and advocate their dissolution. Some far-left groups also support the abolition ofprivate property.[6] Far-left movements became increasinglyanti-industrialist beginning in the 1960s.[60] The far-left rejects neoliberalism, but it also rejects centre-left ideas like social democracy andKeynesian economics.[27] It supports social advances within capitalism, but only as temporary measures until capitalism's abolition.[17] It expresses support for groups that are otherwise excluded from economic prosperity.[6]
As an extension of left-wing politics, the far-left maintains that inequality is a fixable problem.[13] European populist left politics share many of the values of centre-left politics, includingcosmopolitanism,altruism, andegalitarianism.[61] By the 21st century, the European far-left expressed interest in many political issues traditionally associated withprogressivism, includingcost of living,housing shortages, andidentity politics.[62]
Communism has historically emphasised economics and class over social issues.[63] In the 1970s and 1980s, far-left movements in Western Europe were increasingly defined by thenew social movements, which gave prominence to issues such as environmentalism,animal rights,women's rights, thepeace movement. These ideas as a singular movement became less prominent in far-left politics as they were subsumed by green politics, but they are still disparately supported by many in the far-left.[64] The American far-left advocatessocial equity, and it citeswhite privilege andmale privilege as the causes of inequity.[65]
Far-left parties hold a variety of positions on environmentalism.[66] Far-left environmentalist movements may support their causes for the sake of all living things, or out of interest in social justice for those affected by environmental damage.[67] Those who support radical environmentalism might also support typical pro-environmental positions but demand that they be done rapidly instead of gradually.[68] Modern radical environmentalists maintain belief in the idea ofclimate apocalypse, which has been adopted by moderates in some nations as well.[69] The far-left opposednuclear power in the 1980s on environmental grounds.[70] The anti-globalisation movement adopted environmentalism as one of its main causes as it developed in the 1990s and 2000s.[67]
The far-left is a form ofradical politics, as it calls for fundamental change to thecapitalist socio-economic structure of society.[71] This distinguishes it from thereformist politics of the centre-left.[13] Members of the far-left have varying opinions on revolution and the state.[72] Both anarchist and statist far-left ideologies may support disestablishment of traditional sociopolitical structures.[73] The far-left has different stances on democracy, but it opposesliberal democracy.[74] Far-left groups sometimes supportdirect democracy orparticipatory democracy with emphasis on protecting the rights of those who are disenfranchised in liberal democracy.[75] The revolutionary left supports total rebellion against capitalist governments.[27] This form of far-left politics has become less common over time as revolutions failed to develop and far-left groups have become more willing to work within liberal capitalist nations.Deradicalisation has become more common within the broader political left.[76][77]
Uwe Backes andEckhard Jesse argue that, as a radical ideological system, the far-left opposespolitical pluralism.[78][59] Academics such asHans Eysenck andEdward Shils suggest that extremism is a better means to define ideology than the left–right spectrum, and that far-left ideas likeBolshevism are related to far-right ideas likeNazism because of their common opposition to political pluralism,liberal democracy, andprivate enterprise.[79] Opponents of this view argue that extreme ideologies are separated by social class or that the far-left supports non-democratic means only to a democratic end.[80] Some supporters of left-wing politics define support for democracy as equivalent to being left-wing, rejectingextremist label and arguing thatcommunist states are actually far-right entities.[81] In developed nations where the proletariat has influence over society, communist groups opt for institutional compromise over revolution.[29]
Some far-left groups, such asLeninist parties, advocate the concept ofvanguardism, in which a select group forms a vanguard party to function as a revolution's leadership.[82] According toPhilip W. Gray, this holds that history is guided by advances in technology and ownership of the means of production, that oppression permeates all aspects of society, that there will be anend of history where oppression no longer exists, and that there is a class enforcing this oppression that must be overcome because it cannot understand or accept the end of history.[83] It emphasises that this system of oppression and revolution is something that could be studied scientifically, and the vanguard party asserts that it is able to understand this science.[84] Gray says that vanguardism incorporatesdemocratic centralism, where the party membership makes a decision together and then enforces it on all of its members.[85] Gray says it presents the vanguard party's ideas as inevitable and allows contrary ideas to be dismissed asfalse consciousness that was imposed by oppressors.[86]
As part of the left-wing, far-left politics is associated withinternationalism and it rejects loyalty to the working class of one nation at the expense of others.[13][26] During the Cold War, supporters of Stalinism often applied internationalism to mean loyalty to the Soviet Union,[26] while the post-Soviet far-left is especially associated with theanti-globalisation movement.[87] The anti-globalist far-left supports regulation of internationalfree trade, the restructuring or dissolution of international political organisations, increased environmental regulations, the abolition of debt owed by developing nations.[88] Political philosophers likeMichael Hardt,Antonio Negri, andJohn Holloway have advocated a leaderless separation from international power structures through refusal to participate in modern systems.[89]
The far-left typically opposes major geopolitical institutions such asNATO and theInternational Monetary Fund.[9] The European far-left is typicallyEurosceptic and opposes theEuropean Union, either challenging its liberal orientation or rejecting the idea of a union entirely from the perspective of left-wing nationalism.[90] Many support entry into the European Union but wish to reorganise or repurpose it.[87]
The far-left is typicallyanti-imperialist, although during theCold War supporters of the Eastern and Western blocs were often more accepting of their own side's actions.[26] AlthoughThird camp socialists opposed both blocs,[91][92] many on the far left specifically oppose imperialist actions and military activity by theWestern world and especially from the United States.[23] The far-left may supportmilitancy while also opposingmilitarist ideas.[26] During the Cold War, far-left groups associated with new social movements advocated for the interests of theThird World.[64] Far-left movements in Europe generally supportKurdish nationalism and provide assistance to militant Kurdish groups.[93]
Far-left parties have historically been unable to win control of the government in parliamentary systems unless they join coalitions with social democratic governments.[94] Whether to work with other parties in an electoral system is a common issue faced by far-left parties.[95] They are commonly unsuccessful in enacting policy in times where they do lead the government.[96] The far-left does not benefit from anincumbency advantage as much as other ideological groups and is more likely to fail in reelection efforts.[87] As with far-right parties, far-left parties are typically forced to moderate in democratic systems to gain support among voters, leading to factionalism as they disagree on how much to moderate.[97][98] Far-left parties may be challenged by right-wing parties withwelfare chauvinism, which supports a welfare state but restricts it from those seen as foreigners.[99]
The far-left gain more support in nations with long-termsocial inequality,[77] and when there are poor economic conditions.[94] Far-left voters are more likely to be working class, trade union members, and irreligious.[94] Older, working class, male, and less educated voters are more likely to support communism over democratic socialism.[94] The far-left primarily competes withsocial democratic parties for votes in electoral systems.[77][100] Green parties sometimes provide electoral competition for the far-left, as both groups appeal to similar demographics.[66] They vary in how willing they are to work alongside centre-left parties in electoral politics, which is a major point of dispute within many far-left groups. Alignment with centre-left parties sometimes causes far-left parties to moderate their positions.[101] Strengthening of the far-left in a democratic system is associated with the weakening of democracy as it rejects political pluralism.[102]
Far-left politics often has a sizeable non-electoral aspect, made up of trade unions and social movements.[103] The far-left has historically supported direct activism over electoral gains, seeing it as a better position to improve workers' rights and build support for communist society.[104] Movements in democratic nations may disagree over whether to participate in electoral politics, with some adhering to the Leninist belief thatbourgeois governments should be overthrown.[105] Ideologies such as anarchism, left-communism, and some New Left positions reject electoral participation entirely.[106] When European far-left parties have gained power, they generally moved away from non-electoral activism and used their influence to limit its reach.[107] Among the Western European far-left, support for electoral participation increased throughout the 20th century as revolution appeared unfeasible.[108] Far-left parties in Europe are often affiliated with theParty of the European Left.[13] The far-left is historically minuscule in Southeast Asia where it has been repressed or failed to develop.[109]
Communist parties were the most common far-left parties between the 1920s and the 1960s, and in many cases, they were the only ones. Many other far-left parties emerged in the 1960s, including socialist and left-wing nationalist parties.[110] As industrial workers became less common by the 21st century, far-left parties seeking power have been forced to either define the working class more loosely or to form alliances with other classes and ideological groups.[111]
Societies resembling communist society have been postulated throughout human history, and many have been proposed as the earliest socialist or communist ideas.[112][113] The ideas ofPlato have been described as an early type of socialism.[113] In medieval Europe, some philosophers argued thatJesus believed in shared ownership of property and that the hierarchy of theCatholic Church was contrary to his teachings. This included theTaborites, who attempted to create a social structure that resembled a communist society.[112] Numerousemancipation movements have occurred throughout history, includingslave rebellions andpeasant revolts.[114]
Early examples of communist societies in fiction includeUtopia byThomas More, which proposed a society without personal property, andThe City of the Sun byTommaso Campanella, which proposed a society without thefamily unit.[115]
Far-left politics comes from the left-wing of the left–right political spectrum, which developed during theFrench Revolution.[7] Classical/historical far-left politics encompasses a range ofclassical radical ideologies that advocate for political change. While the modern far-left tends to be socialist, the classical far-left is ultra-radical, such asHébertists during theFrench Revolution[116] andEstrema Radicale in theKingdom of Italy. Historical far-left ideologies includerepublicanism, today not necessarily limited to radical left-wing politics, but at a time when the majority of countries in Europe and around the world adoptedmonarchy, centre-left supportedconstitutional monarchism, and republicans were classified as "far-left".[citation needed]
Modern far-left politics developed from support for socialism.[17] This can be traced to Europe and North America in the late 18th century, when industrialisation and political upheaval caused discontent among the working class.[117] Socialists were those who objected to the changing social and economic structures associated with industrialisation, in that they promotedindividualism overcollectivism and that they created wealth for some but not for others, creatingeconomic inequality.[113]
Early European socialism was developed in the 19th century as the concept of aworking class formed. It was influenced by numerous philosophers, such asMikhail Bakunin,Louis Blanc,Louis Auguste Blanqui,Henri de Saint-Simon,Friedrich Engels,Charles Fourier,Ferdinand Lassalle,Karl Marx,Robert Owen, andPierre-Joseph Proudhon. The modern far left developed during theIndustrial Revolution as their ideas were adopted as a response tocapitalism andindustrialisation. Marxism and anarchism joined reformist socialism as the predominant left-wing ideologies.[114] There were relatively few waged workers in the 19th century, which was still dominated bysubsistence agriculture and independent sale of basic goods and services.[15] The early far left was primarily made up of industrial workers.[118] Labour groups led theRevolutions of 1848.[114] TheLuddites were anti-technology activists who emerged during the BritishIndustrial Revolution, where they sabotaged machinery out of fear that it would displace workers.[119]
The termsocialism first came into use in the early 19th century to describe the egalitarian ideas of redistribution promoted by writers likeFrançois-Noël Babeuf andJohn Thelwall. Inspired by theFrench Revolution, these writers objected to the existence of significant wealth, and Babeuf advocated a dictatorship on behalf of the people that would destroy those who caused inequality.[120][115] Socialism was recognised as a coherent philosophy in the 1830s with the publications of British reformer Robert Owen, who self-identified as socialist.[121] Owen, as well as others such as Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, andÉtienne Cabet, developed the utopian socialist movement, and these utopian socialists established several communes to implement their ideology.[122][123] Cabet responded to More'sUtopia with his own novel,The Voyage to Icaria.[124] He is credited with first using the termcommunism, though his usage was unrelated to the ideologies that were later known as communism.[125]
Early anarchists emerged in the 19th century, including Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Mikhail Bakunin. These anarchists endorsed many utopian ideas, but they emphasised the importance of revolution against and complete abolition of the state for a utopian society to exist.[126] Mikhail Bakunin developed early anarchism by creating theAnti-authoritarian International in 1872 after he challenged Marxism during theHague Congress.[127] He argued that peasants rather than the working class should lead a socialist revolution, and he popularised calls to violence among the anarchist movement.[128] Anarchist ideology spread to the Americas shortly after its development.[129]
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Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels introducedMarxism in the 1840s, which advocatedrevolutionary socialism.[130][125] As the state bureaucracy was developed in the late 19th century andlabour rights were increasingly recognised by national governments, socialist movements were divided on the role of the state. Some objected to the increase in the state's involvement, while others believed that the state was a stronger alternative to protect worker's rights than labour movements.[131] Many of the former moved to anarchism, while many of the latter responded with the development of social democracy.[132]
The Russian far-left groupLand and Liberty arose in the 1860s to lead peasants' revolts against the monarchy. It split in 1879 between the populist movementBlack Repartition and the anarchist movementNarodnaya Volya. Narodnaya Volya engaged in acts of violence, calledpropaganda of the deed, to incite revolution. These groups were eradicated following theassassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, but the methods used by Narodnaya Volya were adopted by other groups and set the precedent for modernterrorism.[133]
TheFirst International was created in 1864 and lasted until 1872. TheParis Commune was created in 1871.[114] Many national trade unions were established in the 1880s, which coalesced into theSecond International in 1889. This group was officially aligned with social democracy but was predominantly influenced by Marxism.[114]
Mikhail Bakunin was influential in developing anarchist ideas in the 19th century, advocating acts of violence instead of political discourse.[134]Errico Malatesta introduced thepropaganda of the deed in 1876 when he encouraged the use of violence in Italy to win the support of the working class.[134]
East Asian anarchism developed in the 1900s during theRusso-Japanese War, based on the ideas of Japanese writerKōtoku Shūsui, who was in turn inspired byPeter Kropotkin. This movement saw its greatest prominence in the 1920s in China.[129] Anarcho-syndicalism was developed as a form of anarchism in the late 19th century, and it grew popular around 1900. It remained relevant in far-left politics through 1940.[135] One important syndicalist movement of this period was theWobblies.[citation needed]Left communism was developed as a criticism of Marxism–Leninism by figures likeRosa Luxemburg andAmadeo Bordiga in the early-20th century.[34]
The modern revolutionary left emerged in theaftermath of World War I. Socialist movements had gained considerable political power in Europe by the 1910s, but they were fractured during the war.[114] Before World War I, socialism was intertwined with the labour movement.[26]
Moderate left-wing nationalist factions split from socialists in defence of their nations during the war, while the remaining far-left adopted a revolutionarycosmopolitan ideology.[114] Opposition to World War I triggereda series of revolutions across Europe. Those in Finland, Germany, Hungary, and Russia were led by socialist movements. Trade unions, workers' councils, and far-left parties were formed in many European nations. Numerous far-left movements developed with different ideological foundations.[136] The strongest far-left movement developed with theRussian Revolution and its establishment of Leninism.[72] TheBolsheviks seized power under the rule of Vladimir Lenin, and Lenin implemented the idea of vanguardism where the Bolsheviks were seen as continuing the revolution and preventing other economic systems from forming.[137] Italian anarchists created the firstcar bomb in 1920 to carry out theWall Street bombing in the United States.[138]Anton Pannekoek developed what becamecouncil communism in 1920.[33] The Middle East developed an anti-colonial Marxist movement in the 1920s, where it spread from theRussian Revolution.[139] Far-left politics emerged in Central America through the labour movement in the early years of the 20th century. Following the Russian Revolution, this shifted to focus on Marxism–Leninism.[140] Central America had yet to industrialise by this point as Europe had, and it was still dominated by feudal-style land ownership, so most communists felt it had not yet reached the point of revolution.[141]Italian futurism, which was initially a radical left-wing ideology, had a profound effect on the growth ofItalian fascism.[142]
Communism in early 20th century Europe often gained power in countries with significant polarisation between segments of the population on an ethnic, religious, or economic basis,[143] and in countries that were destabilised by war.[144] It was less prominent in industrialised nations, where social democracy maintained electoral success over Communist parties.[145] The Russian Revolution was the only instance of a successful socialist revolution during this period. Communist groups sought to emulate the Russian Revolution that replaced capitalism with aplanned economy and established a system ofsoviet councils to serve as the dictatorship of the proletariat.[146] Other Communist governments were formed inBavaria,Finland, andHungary, but they were short-lived.[147] The Bolsheviks eventually became theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union.[148] Communist parties developed in other countries after the Russian Revolution, splitting from the dominant social democratic parties.[149] Throughout its existence, the Soviet Union provided both material and non-material support to Communist parties in other nations, and it provided refuge for the leadership of parties in exile.[150] The Bolsheviks created theCommunist International in 1919 to bring together the Communist parties of several nations, and theInternational Working Union of Socialist Parties existed from 1921 to 1923 for other socialist groups.[151] They hoped to join forces with Western social democrats, but the alliances were never formed.[106] Support for immediate revolution declined among the far-left; it seemed less feasible as state intervention within capitalist nations brought about improvements in quality of life for the working class.[152] The social democratic movement moderated, and much of the European far-left lost influence outside of Russia by 1923.[151]
By 1922, asRussian SFSR became one of the founding countries ofSoviet Union, it responded to widespread hunger and poverty with theNew Economic Policy, which restored market enterprise for smaller industries.[153] After Lenin's death, a power struggle betweenNikolai Bukharin,Leon Trotsky, andJoseph Stalin ended with Stalin taking power by 1928.[154] Stalin implemented his ideology of Marxism–Leninism, which reorganised society and created a cult of personality in his favour.[155] Under the rule ofJoseph Stalin, the Soviet Union adoptedStalinism in the 1930s.[31] While the Communist International was initially democratic between its members, it removed disloyal parties while Stalin was in charge.[156] This also entailed theGreat Purge in the late 1930s, an interpretation of Lenin's revolutionary violence that saw hundreds of thousands of Stalin's opponents killed, often to be replaced by ambitious loyalists.[157] By this time, Marxism–Leninism was seen as the definitive implementation of communism by its followers globally, justifying the Great Purge as an effort to eradicate fascist infiltrators, with state censorship obscuring the Great Purge's extent.[158] This view was challenged by theAnti-Stalinist left, including anarchists and Trotskyists.[159][160][161]
Western Europe largely adoptedliberal democracy by the mid-1920s, and social democracy drew socialists to a more moderate stance. The far-left did not have significant political power and instead acted through labour movements, which engaged in strikes and insurrections.[162] Its interest in communist revolution declined.[163] There was not always a clear delineation between the far-left and the centre-left this time as they were often affiliated with the same organisations.[164] Far-left parties in France, Germany, and Spain briefly took power in the 1930s but were eradicated as fascism spread across the continent.[165] TheCommunist Party of Germany had split from theSocial Democratic Party of Germany and became the largest Communist party in Western Europe, performing only 3.5 percent below the Social Democratic Party in theNovember 1932 election.[145]
TheCommunist Party of El Salvador and theCommunist Party of Honduras both led unsuccessful indigenous and peasants' uprisings in their respective countries during theGreat Depression. These parties, along with theCommunist Party of Guatemala, were persecuted and largely dismantled as a result.[141]
How to respond tofascism was a question that divided the far left in the interwar years. During itsultra-left “Third Period”, the Communist International saw social democrats (who it labelled “social fascists”) as an equivalent enemy to Nazism. Trotsky, in contrast, argued for anti-fascist unity just within the far left, in the strategy of theUnited front.[166][167] Spain's far left launched the strongest response to the right when it fought theSpanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939.[165] Far-leftpopular front groups arose in the mid-1930s.[31]
During theSpanish Civil War in the late 1930s, anarcho-syndicalists seized control of multiple regions in Spain, but this ended when the nationalist faction won the war.[168] This, along with the rise of Communism, ended the relevance of anarchism among the far-left globally after 1940.[169] Asmass production became more common, the traditional style of labour that anarcho-syndicalists objected to ceased to exist, preventing any significant resurgence in the movement.[170] Trotsky died in 1940, and Trotskyism subsequently underwent a period of lesser influence over the following two decades.[171]
Western opinion of Communists briefly improved in theaftermath of World War II because of Communist contributions to the war effort, and they saw minor electoral success in a few European countries.[172] TheFrench Communist Party andItalian Communist Party briefly became major parties in their respective nations, while thePopular Democratic Front of Italy and theFinnish People's Democratic League were formed as alliances between different far-left groups.[173] Italian Communists moved away from Leninism and democratic centralism in 1944 in favour of mass membership and Catholic influences.[85]Antonio Gramsci, who was active in the 1920s and 1930s, became one of the main figures of Italian Communism.[32] TheCold War began shortly after, and Communist parties again became poorly regarded.[174] The Soviet-backedCommunist Party of Germany emerged from World War II as a minor party inWest Germany, but it lost popularity over the following years and was banned in 1956.[175]
TheCold War began when a major diplomatic rift occurred between liberal Western nations, led by the United States, and communist nations, led by the Soviet Union. Communist parties were effectively outcast within the West, and most were aligned with Stalinism and the Soviet Union.[176] The United States pressured other nations to purge Communist parties from their governmentsin 1947, and the Italian government created itsconventio ad excludendum [it] that effectively disallowed theItalian Communist Party from taking power.[174] The number of West European communists declined significantly, with only France, Italy, and briefly Finland retaining a notable communist presence. Under Soviet pressure, Eastern European communists remained dominant and became Stalinised.[177] By the mid-1950s, theItalian Socialist Party was the most influential anti-communist far-left party in Europe.[178] Violent revolution was discouraged as the Cold War began, emanating from fears that Western nations would intervene.[106]
The Soviet Union's influence during and afterWorld War II spread Communism, directly and indirectly, to the rest ofEastern Europe and intoSoutheast Europe.[179] Several of these countries becamepeople's democracies, which maintained some liberalmixed economies before eventually coming under the influence of Stalinism.[31] New communist governments were formed inAlbania,Bulgaria,Czechoslovakia,East Germany,Hungary,Romania, andYugoslavia.[179] Most far-left governments adopted the Leninist system of vanguardism. China and North Korea took on the Marxist—Leninist variant that developed under Stalin's rule of the Soviet Union.[180] The development ofpost-industrial society andpostmaterialism in Western Europe caused many of the traditional sectors associated with communism to dissipate.[63] Communist International had been dissolved in 1943, and it was replaced byCominform as the main communist international in 1947. This lasted until 1956.[110]
While Soviet-style Communist parties dominated the far left in the 1920s through the 1950s, the far left became more diverse during the Cold War.Eurocommunism, a gradualist and democratic approach to socialism, developed in the 1960s and was supported by the Communist Partiesof France andof Italy. Other far-left ideologies formed their ownparty families.[149]
Communist movements resurged in Central America during the 1940s and 1950s despite repression from authoritarian governments, and Marxism–Leninism lost influence among these groups.[181] ThePeople's Vanguard Party in Costa Rica aligned with the winning coalition in the1944 general election.[141]
FollowingStalin's death, the workers of several Eastern European countries staged revolutions against Communist rule, which were suppressed by the Soviet military.[182] Many of these countries were led by Stalinist rulers, who were forced out and replaced by the subsequent Soviet government.[183] Yugoslavia distanced itself as a neutral Communist nation, aligned with neither the East nor the West.[184]
Arab socialist groups took power in the Middle East during the 1950s and 1960s, and they persecuted the preexisting Marxist groups to replace them as the region's predominant far-left movement.[139] TheJapanese Communist Party, supportingscientific socialism, was the far-left opposition to the dominantLiberal Democratic Party of Japan in the 1950s.[185] Indonesia's far left was destroyed ina series of anti-communist mass killings in the mid-1960s, ending theCommunist Party of Indonesia.[109]
TheChinese Communist Party had been active since 1921, but it did not seize power in China until its victory in theChinese Civil War in 1949.[186] As with the Soviet Union, the newly formed People's Republic of China carried out purges of political enemies, killing millions of landowners. The peasants were not targeted, however, instead using them as a base of political support.[187] In the late 1950s and early 1960s, China under the rule ofMao Zedong distanced itself from the Soviet Union.[188] Maoism grew in popularity as an alternative to Soviet-style communism, but it did not result in any stable governments outside of China.[28] At the same time, North Korea andNorth Vietnam were established as communist governments, triggering theKorean War and theVietnam War against South Korea andSouth Vietnam, respectively.[189] By the late 1970s, Maoism in China was replaced bythe ideology ofDeng Xiaoping, which restored the private sector and market pricing.[190]
Many European Communist parties were fractured by different Marxist ideologies beginning in the 1950s, with the greatest challenges coming from Maoist and Trotskyist factions. Some European Communist parties saw Maoism as non-hierarchal and internationalist and adopted it for these reasons, but European Maoism only became a major force in theAlbanian Party of Labour.[171] Trotskyists gained influence among the European far left in the late 1960s and early 1970s, particularly in France and the United Kingdom, but it was plagued by inter-fighting, which limited its reach.[191] TheCommunist Party of Finland lost its influence in the 1960s as a schism emerged between pro-Soviet and pro-modernisation factions.[192]
Left-wing nationalist movements developed in colonial territories in the 1960s, leading to rapid decolonisation,[178] though traditional far-left ideas played a relatively small role in independence activities.[193]
Two major Latin American far-left ideologies emerged in the 1960s:Guevarism andLatin American liberation theology. Guevarism emerged from theCuban Revolution. The revolution's success dispelled the common belief among communists that socialist revolution could only occur after democratic and anti-imperialist reformist movements were successful.[30] Many guerrilla militant groups formed in Central America over the following decades, triggering theGuatemalan Civil War and theSalvadoran Civil War.[194] TheSandinista National Liberation Front led theNicaraguan Revolution in 1979 and held power in Nicaragua until it was voted out in the1990 general election.[195]Latin American liberation theology came amid theSecond Vatican Council and theSecond Episcopal Conference of Latin America, popularising far-left ideas among some Catholic Churches in the region.[36]
In the mid-20th century, agricultural workers, the unemployed, and white-collar workers replaced industrial workers as the main far-left demographics in Western Europe. Highly educated people surpassed blue-collar workers as the primary far-left demographic by the end of the 1960s.[118] The New Left developed in Western Europe as an alternative to orthodox Communism in the 1950s, taking positions on social issues andidentity politics.[63] It was unable to overcome traditional Communist parties except those of Scandinavia, where Communists were already sympathetic to ideas like Eurocommunism and humanism.Communist Party of Denmark leaderAksel Larsen was expelled from his party for his opposition to the 1956Soviet invasion of Hungary, so he formed theSocialist People's Party that became the new dominant far-left force in Danish politics.[171] The rise of the New Left was associated with the rise ofnew social movements and thecounterculture of the 1960s, which also saw the revival of anarchism.[196] The Western far left as a whole resurged in the 1960s and 1970s asAmerican hegemony and capitalist systems came under scrutiny. There were periods of civil unrest and youth revolts in several European nations.[178] TheVietnam War was a catalyst for New Left activity.[197]Green politics developed as an offshoot of the New Left, but it wasderadicalised by the end of the 20th century and became a centre-left movement.[55]
New far-left socialist parties were formed across Western Europe, many Communist parties cut ties with the Soviet Union, and other Marxist movements such asMaoism,Trotskyism, andworkerism gained a presence in several countries' politics.[198] Maoism significantly influenced far-left movements around the world in the 1970s and 1980s.[199]Eurocommunism developed in response to the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s to provide a democratic alternative for far-left ideas. It supports the expansion of European-stylewelfare states and mixed economies until they resemble communist society.[26] ThePeople's Alliance of Iceland had remained electorally relevant by avoiding Soviet influence and adopted Eurocommunism to some success.[32] The spread of Eurocommunism meant that Soviet-aligned communist parties declined in Western Europe.[110] It proved unable to maintain its influence by the 1980s as its supporters were unable to reconcile vanguardism with political pluralism.[32]
Smaller far-left groups revitalised interest in revolutionary communism in Western Europe.[200] Maoist groups called theK-Gruppen emerged from thestudent movement in Germany.[175] Maoist and Trotskyist groups briefly flourished in France in the 1960s amid theFrench student movement and opposition to theAlgerian War.[201] Italian Marxists likeAntonio Negri introducedautonomism later in the decade.[33] Support for the 1960s-era far left declined by the 1970s, giving violent revolutionaries more influence in the movement which further its decreased support.[202]Earth First! emerged in the 1980s in the United States, combining radical environmentalism with other far-left social issues.[70]
TheCommunist and Allies Group existed as atransnational political party in the European Union during the 1970s and 1980s.[203] Far-left parties had representation in the Nordic countries during the Cold War.[147] In Sweden, a practice developed between the 1970s and the 1990s where social democrats would vote for the formerly CommunistLeft Party so left-wing coalitions could be formed.[174] ThePortuguese Communist Party and thePortuguese Democratic Movement played a major role in theCarnation Revolution.[147] The French Communist Party was included in the French government ofFrançois Mitterrand in the early 1980s. This wave of European far-left support dissipated in the 1980s as workers lost influence in the economy,neoliberalism became dominant, and the United States re-exerted influence over Europe.[204] As the economies of developed nations shifted, the far-left aligned with the workers of large corporations as opposed to small businesses and subcontractors.[15]
Arabic far-left groups reemerged in the 1980s and 1990s, but they often aligned with the traditional authoritarian governments as a means to opposeIslamism. This prevented them from creating a party structure and caused leftists to act through decentralised movements.[205] Far-leftArab socialists were one of two groups alongsideArab nationalists that made up theNew Arab Left, which began in Palestine and influenced other left-wing movements in theArab world.[206]Hadash formed as a communist coalition in Israel with a focus onthe country's Arab population.[207]Kurdish nationalism emerged as the predominant far-left ideology in Turkey aftera period of political violence andthe subsequent coup eradicated the previous leftist groups in 1980.[208]
Communist nations in Europe struggled economically in the 1980s, and many faced popular revolts.[209] The Soviet Union moved away from ideas of international communism as such efforts came to be seen as too inconvenient.[24] Soviet leaderMikhail Gorbachev effectively abandoned communism, leading the nation toward liberalism in its final years.[85] The final Soviet-led international communist meeting was held in November 1987 to mark the seventieth anniversary of the October Revolution. It included not only communist parties, but other left-wing parties as the Soviet policy of socialism in one country disintegrated.[210]
Communist and socialist parties severely declined in Western Europe after thedissolution of the Soviet Union.[211][212][213] Many communist parties were unable to survive once the Soviet Union no longer existed to finance them.[214] The far-left was challenged by theneoliberal consensus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Intergovernmental institutions and increasing globalisation embedded neoliberal economics into the global economy, making it harder for the far-left to work against it.[215] Theend of history theory was proposed byFrancis Fukuyama, asserting that the neoliberal consensus effectively ended far-left politics[216] They remained largely irrelevant for several years until a period of regrowth toward the end of the 1990s.[217] Many of the communist parties effectively disappeared from politics, while others rebranded or moderated.[218][212] The European transnational political party Communist and Allies Group split in 1989 asLeft Unity and theEuropean United Left, and the latter merged with theNordic Green Left Alliance to formGUE/NGL in 1994.[203] TheParty of the European Left emerged in 2004.[219]
In many Eastern European countries, communist parties were banned by the new governments.[220] Most communist parties in Eastern Europe moved toward the centre-left.[221] TheSocialist Party of Ukraine was the only electorally relevant democratic socialist movement of Eastern Europe, but it also moved away from socialism over time.[222] Those that remained communist held more influence than their counterparts in Western Europe.[223] Moldova was an exception to the rejection of communism, where the communists won presidential elections throughout the 2000s.[223]
As the social democratic vote was already contested by green parties and the New Left, formerly communist parties in Western Europe often shifted toward democratic socialism. Exceptions occurred in Italy and Poland, where the respective parties had already been moving toward social democracy.[224] Surviving far-left parties shifted toward domestic politics and made attempts to distinguish themselves from Soviet-style communism.[214] Parties like theCommunist Party of Greece maintained their adherence to traditional communism after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, while others like theCommunist Refoundation Party in Italy tried to introduce new communist ideas.[225] TheCommunist Party of the Russian Federation and theParty of Communists of the Republic of Moldova remained relevant in the former Soviet Union, while theCommunist Party of Bohemia and Moravia emerged as the most prominent communist party inEast-Central Europe.[223]
The far-left was able to rebuild limited support by the end of the decade.[217][77] Supporters of the far-left in Europe at this time were more likely to be professional workers, students, and the unemployed. The share of working class supporters declined as they sought other ideologies.[226] It appealed to anti-neoliberalism and tried to rebuild ties with the working class.[227] Most far-left parties in Europe prioritised a broader societal shift to the left instead of disputing individual policies.[228] Far-left parties in Europe became more amenable to joining coalitions.[229] Many of them became more open to reformist politics as a temporary means to combat neoliberalism.[230] Detailed platforms of societal reconstructions were avoided so as not to emulate Stalinism.[231] The far-left primarily expressed itself through movements led by unions, pacifists, andalter-globalisation advocates instead of traditional political parties.[232] Over time, unions became less involved in these and social activism became more common.[226] Despite his criticism of leftism,Ted Kaczynski became influential within green anarchism and anarcho-primitivism with his essayIndustrial Society and Its Future in the 1990s, which received attention because of Kaczynski's use ofletter bombs to forward the cause.[233][70]
Far-left parties reappeared inpost-Soviet states in response to voter frustration with the new governments. Leftist parties in Russia and theBalkans exchanged Marxism–Leninism for left-wing nationalism.[234] The Indonesian party system destabilised after thefall of Suharto in 1998, and the traditional leftist electorate—trade unions and peasant associations–did not develop political representation.[235]
Of the five Communist states that survived into the 21st century, three of them — China, Vietnam, and Laos — had restored private ownership and reintegrated with global capitalist markets[236] although state and public control continued as well. For instance,Peter Nolan argues that land in China was decollectivized but not privatised, with control of land remaining in the hands of the community.[237]
At the start of the 21st century, the far-left was associated with theglobal justice movement and supported populist leaders.[13] This reached its height with the1999 Seattle WTO protests and protests against the27th G8 summit in 2001,[238] which symbolised a growing rejection of the neoliberal consensus.[239] The movement began holding the annualWorld Social Forum in 2001. Its influence diminished following theSeptember 11 attacks, but it survived as a leading force inopposition to the Iraq War.[240]
Far-left violence decreased dramatically by the 21st century, with a limited presence remaining in developing nations and only a small number of isolated attacks in developed nations.[241] TheParty of the European Left was established in 2004 as a pan-European political party for the far-left.[219] The far-left parties during this time were rarely new creations, instead descending from earlier far-left parties of the 20th century.[242][243] Among the Europeangreat powers, Germany was the only one where the far-left made strong electoral performances in the 2000s, with the prominence of theParty of Democratic Socialism andWASG, which merged to becomeDie Linke in 2007.[244] While the Italian Communist Party was historically the most prominent communist party in Western Europe, the Italian far-left fractured and was dissolved into the centre-left in the 2000s.[245] The French far-left did not face significant gains or losses as other European far-left groups did at the time.[246] Left-wing populism experienced a surge at the start of the 21st century beginning with the rise ofHugo Chávez andEvo Morales in Latin America.[247]
The environmentalist left was targeted by the United States government inOperation Backfire during theGreen Scare in the 2000s, in which environmentalist groups carried out attacks and acts of sabotage.[233] The anonymous ultra-left works of theInvisible Committee in France were produced in 2008, advocating a unified resistance to capitalism during times of crisis.[248]Individualists Tending to the Wild was formed in Mexico as a self-describedeco-terrorism group in the 2010s.[249]
Leftist politics diminished in the Arab world by the 21st century as autocratic governments placedtoken opposition from leftist figures in the legislature.[250] Revolutionary left-wing politics were not prominent during the 2011Arab Spring,[251] although socialist groups played a role e.g. in theEgyptian revolution and anarchist ideas were put into practice in thelocal councils established as part of theSyrian revolution. In 2012, the autonomous regionRojava in northwestern Syria established self-governance based on an anarchist direct democracy at the local level and a one-party state at the regional level.[citation needed]
The 2010s also saw aglobal wave of protest movements againstausterity andfinance capitalism, including theOccupy movement and theindignados, in which radical left ideas were prominent.[citation needed]
The anti-industrialistZadists became active in France in the 2010s as they occupied and squatted on the sites of planned development projects.[252] Anarchist and autonomist movements were active during the FrenchYellow vests protests in 2018, where they competed with the far-right for control of the movement.[253]
Far-left parties became more prominent in democratic systems following theGreat Recession.[1] There is disagreement as to whether this is associated with an overall increase in support.[77] Some of these parties, such asLa France Insoumise in France,Podemos in Spain, andSyriza in Greece, deliberately incorporated populism into their identity.[254] At the same time, in theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States of America, populist movements formed aroundJeremy Corbyn andBernie Sanders.[255]Bernie Sanders gained support from the far-left in the2016 United States presidential election.[256]
When far-left parties took power, they were forced to work within national and international systems that prevented them from unilaterally changing the economic structure.[257] They moved their focus away from the long-term goal of socialism so they could seek broader support from anti-neoliberal coalitions. They adopted support for a left-libertarian welfare state based onKeynesianism and social justice as a temporary measure on the path toward socialist society.[258]
The communistProgressive Party of Working People controlled the government in Cyprus from 2008 to 2013.[259] Far-left parties in Greece, Portugal, and Spain made significant electoral gains in 2015, including Syriza taking control of the Greek government.[259] Gains beyond these countries were limited, asright-wing populism was instead boosted in other countries.[260]
Left-wing extremist activity is uncommon in 21st-century Europe.[261] It is even less common in Canada and the United States, where it aligns with movements likeAntifa andBlack Lives Matter as well asradical environmentalist and other social justice movements.[262] The far-left became more prominent in the United States in opposition toDonald Trump following the far-rightUnite the Right rally in 2017.[263] While the American far-left had developed over the previous years as a movement foreconomic justice, it shifted towardanti-racism as its primary cause, especially after themurder of George Floyd by police officers in 2020, which became a focal point of the anti-racism movement.[264]
The European far-left was split on the issue ofCOVID-19 lockdowns, in which some found government measures to be oppressive but others counter-protested against far-right opposition to the lockdowns.[93]
Historically, violence has been widely accepted on the far left as a means to enact societal change.[265] Theanti-authoritarian far left may consider violence justified in combatting repressive forces.[102] Revolutionary far-left groups might organise themselves into underground movements or carry out violent insurgencies. Insurgencies are only viable in developing nations where the state is not capable of defeating the group.[266] According to political scientistIgnacio Sánchez-Cuenca, as support for the far left decreases, violent groups shift their focus from attacks against the state to attacks for survival, such as freeing its members from prison.[202] However, many on the far left criticise the use of violence. For example, according to Sánchez-Cuenca,Leon Trotsky rejected the use of violence,[clarification needed] saying it does not benefit the working class like other measures such as striking.[267]
Many far-left student protest movements, typically associated with the New Left, formed violent revolutionary organisations between the 1960s and the 1980s. These included theNational Liberation Army in Colombia,Action Directe in France, theRed Army Faction in Germany, theRed Brigades in Italy, theJapanese Red Army,Shining Path in Peru, theRevolutionary Youth Federation of Turkey, andWeather Underground in the United States.[268] Other violent far-left groups formed in response to democratisation of their respective countries, including17N in Greece,FP-25 in Portugal, andGRAPO in Spain.[269] Left-wing militant groups were largely eradicated in the 1980s, and popular conceptions of terrorism began to focus onjihadism instead of far-left politics.[270] Other far-left militant organisations of the time included theCPI (Maoist),Montoneros,New People's Army,Prima Linea, and theTupamaros.[271][272][273] In 2021, the European Union considered theConspiracy of Fire Nuclei in Greece and theInformal Anarchist Federation in Italy to be the most serious far-left terrorism threats in Europe.[274]
According to Sánchez-Cuenca, 194 people were killed by anarchist attacks in the developed world between 1875 and 1925.[134] Some attacks targeted political leaders, while others such as theLiceu bombing were directed at civilians.[138] Most attacks carried out by radical environmentalists have targeted property, with attacks on individuals being rare.[275]
No far-left terrorist group or underground movement has ever been successful in fermenting a revolution; according to Sánchez-Cuenca all successful violent far-left revolutions[clarification needed] have been carried out by armed insurgent movements engaging inguerrilla warfare.[276] Insurgencies are able to control territory, protecting them from the state and giving them a population from which they can draw support.[277] These insurgencies have been successful in nations such asCambodia,Cuba,Nepal,Nicaragua, andNorth Vietnam.[29] The anarchist concept of propaganda of the deed has historically been ineffective, according to Sánchez-Cuenca, failing to increase awareness of the anarchist cause or reducing support for it.[278]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)The first major challenge to the Robespierrist C.P.S. came not from moderates or royalists, but from the extreme left the ultra-radical Hébertists.
Farmland was 'de-collectivised' in the early 1980s. This was not followed by the establishment of private property rights in land. Because the CCP wished to prevent the emergence of a landlord class, it did not permit the purchase and sale of farmland. Still in 1994, the Party 'adhered to the collective ownership of farmland'. The village community remained the owner, controlling the terms on which land was contracted out and operated by peasant households. It endeavoured to ensure that farm households had equal access to farmland, while the village government obtained part of the Ricardian rents from the land to use for community purposes. The Chinese government, through the communist party remained substantially in control of the de-collectivisation of farmland. Farmland was not distributed via a free market auction, which would have helped to produce a locally unequal outcome. Rather the massively dominant form was distribution of land contracts on a locally equal per capita basis
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