Left-conservatism[a] is apolitical ideology that combines left-wingeconomic stances withsocial conservatism. The ideology is sometimes referred to associalist conservatism,[b] though these terms are not necessarily identical in meaning.[1] Some left-conservatives viewclass struggle as having evolved into a struggle between civilizations.[2]
Often manifesting itself inOld Left–inspiredMarxist parties, left-conservatism places a greater emphasis oncollectivism and class struggle while rejecting left-wingcultural issues andidentity politics.[3] Supporters of the ideology upholdMarxian economics,socialist economics orKeynesianism and generally hold negative views on theNew Left,intersectionality,abortion,drugs,bourgeois feminism,LGBT rights, environmentalism, immigration and the abolition of capital punishment.
Left-conservatism is asyncreticpolitical ideology that synthesizes left-wing economics and avanguardist approach tosocial justice withsocially conservative stances such as the defense of the family andtraditional conservative values,opposition to abortion rights,opposition to immigration, and an opposition to thelegalization of drugs,sex work, and certain alcoholic beverages.[4][5][6][7][8] Left-conservatism is often associated withgender-critical feminist,antiglobalist,left-wing populist, andleft-wing nationalist political groups. Left-conservative groups typically espouseanti-capitalist,anti-imperialist,anti-Americanist,anti-Western,Eurosceptic, andanti-environmentalist[c] views.[11][12] Left-conservative views onZionism are varied.[d]
The conservative-left is often compared to theOld Left and is influenced by historicalMarxist–Leninist movements. The Marxist–Leninist countries of the "real socialism" tradition were often characterized by a union ofcommunist and socially conservative policies, which their leaderships dubbed in line with the ideas ofKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels on issues such as homosexuality,bourgeois feminism,patriarchy, abortion,contraception, and prostitution.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
TheuMkhonto weSizwe Party is a self-proclaimed socialist andleft-wing populist party in South Africa founded byJacob Zuma.[22][23] The party participates in theProgressive Caucus led by theMarxist–LeninistEconomic Freedom Fighters party.[24] It has been described as a "radical left-wing party" for its support of socialist and populist causes,[25][26] but is also described as conservative-left or as being part of theright-wing tofar-right due to its use ofanti-foreigner andanti-LGBT rhetoric.[27] The party supportsmonarchism and looks to expand the powers of traditional tribal monarchs in South Africa.[28]
The ruling TanzanianChama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party has been described as both centre-left[29] and conservative.[30] Originally anAfrican socialist party and a supporter of theUjamaa system, it has since transitioned to supporting amixed economy, while adopting more conservative stances on cultural issues, including homosexuality[31][32][33] and birth control.[34]Social conservative policies within the CCM were especially prominent underJohn Magufuli, who served as President of Tanzania from 2015 to his 2021 death.[35]
TheCambodian People's Party (CPP) has been described as a left-conservative party.[36] CPP previously adhered toBuddhist socialism andMarxism–Leninism,[37] before embracing conservatism[38] andmonarchism in 1991.[39][40] Despite the ideological shift, the party continues to follow the "principles of Leninist party organization" and retains a "communist party structure pervading all administrative levels and institutions in Cambodia".[41][42] The party is additionally considered to have "embedded the legacy of communism based on Marxist-Leninist ideology" into its party policies, as it continues to use socialist-oriented rhetoric and policies to maintain legitimacy, such as through promotinggender egalitarianism and establishing state-backed organizations such as the Kampuchea Revolutionary Women's Association.[43] The CPP hosted aSocialist International meeting in 2004, remains a close ally of theCommunist Party of Vietnam, and most party members are former communists.[44]
In China, orthodox Marxist ideologicalbureaucrats who opposed theChinese economic reforms were simultaneously regarded as both left-wing and conservative.[45] The left-conservative faction of the post-reform and opening upChinese Communist Party (CCP) is represented by the supporters ofChen Yun,Deng Liqun, andXi Jinping Thought within the party.[46][47][45] However,Xi Jinping is also considered a "traditionalist" or "neoauthoritarian" politician;[48][49][50] CCP'sneoauthoritarianism was described as right-wing byYuezhi Zhao.[51]Jiang Shigong, a neoauthoritarian thinker, is a "conservative socialist" exponent of Xi Jinping Thought and is opposed toliberalism in China.
According to studies conducted by theCato Institute andStanford University, Chinese citizens who support socially conservative andnationalist policies are more likely to support economic socialism and opposecapitalism; while Chinese who supportglobalization andsocially progressive policies are more likely to supportfree-market capitalism.[52][53]
The "Khomeinist Left" (Persian:چپ خمینیست,romanized: Chap-e Khomeynīst) or "Islamic Left" (Persian:چپ اسلامی,romanized: Chap-e Eslami) played a crucial role in the early years of theIranian Revolution, advocating forsocial justice andanti-imperialism. They combined cultural and religious conservatism (strict adherence to Islamic law and theVelayat-e Faqih) with left-wing economic policies. TheMuslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line was a leading organization within the Khomeinist Left, which led theIran hostage crisis. However, many figures within the Khomeinist Left have becomeIslamic liberal "Reformists" since the 1990s.[54][55][56][57][58]
In the 1990s, as the "Reformists" increasingly embracedmarket liberalism, the political space for the Islamic Left was largely vacated. This created a vacuum that was filled in the 2000s by theright-wing populism ofMahmoud Ahmadinejad. Emerging from the Islamic conservative "Principlists", Ahmadinejad maintained a hardline stance on Islamic social values and national sovereignty while simultaneously pursuing an economic agenda of massive wealth redistribution andanti-elitist rhetoric. Scholars have characterized this synthesis as "plebeian conservatism" or "radical conservatism" due to its departure from the pro-market stances of the traditional Iran's Islamic Right. Consequently, his movement has been described as a form of left-conservatism, though within the Iranian establishment, it was later marginalized and pejoratively labeled as the "deviant current" by more traditionalist Principlists.[59][60][61]
TheSocial Democrats have been described as left-conservative under the leadership ofMette Frederiksen.[62][63] Under her leadership, the party adopted an oppositional stance on immigration, particularly in regards to immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, framing it as a response to the perceived negative aftereffects ofglobalization.[64][65][66] It has also generally downplayed certain sociocultural issues, such as gender and race, in its programme.[67][68]
The views ofFabien Roussel, national secretary of theFrench Communist Party, have been described as left-conservative.[13] Roussel frames communism as apatriotic French movement, supportsnuclear power, and opposes theFrench welfare state and "handout left".[13]
In the modern politics of Germany, the termQuerfront is often used to refer to movements and ideologies which aim to combine the stances of the economic left and the conservative right. The most notable GermanQuerfront publications areCompact, which is run by former left-wing activistJürgen Elsässer,[69][70][71] andManova News, operated by Jens Wernicke.[72][73] During theCOVID-19 protests in Germany, left-wingers and conservatives sometimes protested together against the German government's prevention measures.[74]
Sahra Wagenknecht and herSahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) political party are noted for their "conservative leftist" outlook.[75][76][77][78][79][80] BSW's platform emphasizes aredistributionist economic program and policies favoring the economic interests of the working class while adopting conservative stances on cultural issues.[13] Wagenknecht criticized thedemocratic socialistDie Linke party for ceasing "to reflect the outlook of poorer Germans" and for intolerant "wokeness".[13]
TheCommunist Party of Greece (KKE) rejects the ideas of theNew Left, generally maintaining left-conservative andMarxist–Leninist positions.[81][82][83] KKE voted against the introduction ofsame-sex civil unions in 2015, but has also criticizedhomophobia and discrimination in general.[84][85]
Despite criticizing homophobia, KKE envisions Greekcommunist society as promotingheteronormativity and having little room fornon-heterosexuals, with the party stating: "With the formation of a socialist-communist society, a new type of partnership will undoubtedly be formed—a relatively stable heterosexual relationship and reproduction".[86]
There existed a left-conservative current in theItalian Communist Party (PCI).[14] Italianpublic intellectualPier Paolo Pasolini was expelled from the PCI for his open homosexuality.[87] Pasolini himself would embrace left-conservative criticisms of the1968 movement in Italy, believing the protests to be the result of theItalian economic miracle and subsequent rise ofconsumerism,modernity, and the permissiveness of divorce and abortion in Italian society.[88]
In 21st-century Italy, political commentators and politiciansDiego Fusaro,Marco Rizzo, andAlessandro Di Battista have expressed left-conservative positions and cited Marxism when explaining their opposition toLGBTQ rights andlegalization of illegal drugs.[89][90][91][92][93]
Political scientist Nikolai Rabotyazhev described Russian left-conservatism as an extension ofsocialist ideologies writing: "the possibility of the existence of a political phenomenon such as left-wing conservatism is explained by the fact that conservative and socialist ideologies initially had numerous points of contact. Conservatism and socialism, in reaction to the process of modernization, rejected a liberal civilization based on individualism, rationalism, and the power of money."[94]
In Russia, the conservative-left is anchored inleft-wing nationalist parties, such as theCommunist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), which often mix a strong adherence toOrthodox Christianity and its moral principles withSoviet-style communist stances.[94] TheNational Patriotic Forces of Russia attempts to unite left-nationalist andright-nationalist political groups in support of KPRF.[95][96][97]
Rabotyazhev describes theIzborsky Club, aRussian conservativethink tank, as being imbued with left-conservative thought, describing some members of the think tank as attempting to synthesize the Russian "red" and "white" traditions.[94]
The term "left-wing conservative" was used by theRussian nationalist writerZakhar Prilepin in the founding declaration of his political partyFor Truth.[98]
Historically, theLabour Party included a strong socially conservative element. From its inception, the party consisted of a broad coalition of the moreprogressive middle classintelligentsia and the more socially conservativeworking classes andtrade unions.[99][100] This coalition was enabled by Labour'ssocialist orsocial democratic policy agenda and its links to the trade union movement in the era of mass union membership, which enabled the inclusion of socially conservative voices in the party, particularly social conservatives in the working class who saw Labour's socialist and left-wing economic policies as improving their living standards and felt no affinity to the traditionally upper classConservative Party.[101][100]
Labour's left-conservative element was very influential in the party's early years, as exemplified by the rise of trade union leaders likeErnest Bevin andJ. H. Thomas in early Labour governments, but became increasingly overshadowed by the more progressive middle-class wing of the party who came to dominate its leadership from the middle of the 20th century.[102] At the behest of theFabian Society and its influential leaderSidney Webb, the early Labour Party crafted an agenda designed to appeal to the socially conservative working classes in particular, leading to the adoption of agradualist andpragmatic approach to socialism which continues into the present day, by which the party aims to reform capitalism rather than abolish it.[99] However, the conservative-left started to fall out of fashion for progressivism by the time Labour prime ministerClement Attlee came to power in 1945.[102] Nonetheless, Attlee himself was known to hold socially conservative views, and his government was often criticised for taking a conservative approach on the military,foreign policy and thecivil service.[103][104] Labour also continued to adopt more socially conservative stances on certain issues, embracing patriotism and championingopposition to immigration andEuroscepticism. These were eventually toned down or superseded by progressive stances at the turn of the 21st century as the party shifted away from socialism towardssocial liberalism in the 1980s and 1990s.[104]
Since the 21st century, the coalition of social conservatives and progressives in the Labour Party has come under strain with the emergence of theBrexit andScottish independence movements and rising anti-immigration sentiment among the white working class, in contrast to the more accepting attitudes of the more progressive Labour leadership and itspro-European andunionist stances. This has led to apolitical shift with much of Labour's traditional working class voting base abandoning Labour and turning towards theConservative Party andReform UK because of a sense of disillusionment with the party, seen with the loss of the predominantly working class Labour-votingred wall to the Conservatives in the2019 general election.[102] The loss of this working class base has also been attributed to Labour's economic shift to the right in the 1990s and 2000s underTony Blair andGordon Brown during theNew Labour era and again in the 2020s underKeir Starmer, which led to the creation of the left-conservativeBlue Labour movement, a faction in the party which seeks to promote left-wing economics and social conservatism to reconnect Labour with this base.[101][105][106] Despite Starmer's economic conservatism, the Blue Labour movement is widely seen as exerting significant influence over his social policies, including opposition to immigration, an emphasis on nationalism and patriotism, andopposition totransgender rights.[105][107]
A separate left-conservative tradition existed in the United Kingdom, known asToryanarchism, which was expressed byGeorge Orwell and theIndependent Labour Party.[108][109][110][111] More recently, theWorkers Party of Britain, a left-conservative party led by former MPGeorge Galloway, was founded in 2019 and saw Galloway return toUK Parliament temporarily after winning the2024 Rochdale by-election.
TheEcologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), a Mexican centre-left environmentalist party that is part of theSigamos Haciendo Historia electoral coalition with theprogressiveMorena party andMaoistLabor Party,[112][113][114] maintains left-conservative andgreen conservative positions. In 2008, the PVEM initiated an advertising campaign in favor of reintroducing thedeath penalty in Mexico.[115][116] During a 2009 interview, PVEM candidate Gamaliel Ramirez verbally attacked an openly gay candidate for mayor ofGuadalajara and called forcriminal laws against homosexuality to be established.[117] That same year, during the2009 Mexican legislative election, the party campaigned in favor of the death penalty for murderers and kidnappers and for the extension of school hours.[118][119]
TheProhibition Party is apolitical party in the United States founded in 1869 known for itsopposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and for being an integral part of thetemperance movement.
Although it was never one of the leading parties in the United States, the Prohibition Party was an important force in theThird Party System during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The organization declined during theProhibition Era in the United States but saw a rise in vote totals following the repeal of theEighteenth Amendment in 1933. However, followingWorld War II it declined, with1948 being the last time its presidential candidate received over 100,000 votes and1976 being the last time the party received over 10,000 votes. Its platforms throughout the 19th century supportedprogressive andpopulist positions includingwomen's suffrage, equal racial and gender rights,bimetallism, equal pay, and an income tax.[120] The platform of the party today isprogressive on economic issues in that it supportsSocial Security andfree education, but isconservative on social issues, such as supporting temperance and advocating for aconsistent life ethic. The party also advocates forenvironmental stewardship.[121][122]
A study found that that 12% of voters who supporteddemocratic socialistBernie Sanders in the2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries voted forright-wing populist candidateDonald Trump in the2016 U.S. presidential election.[123] Compared to averageDemocratic Party voters, Sanders–Trump voters were much moreconservative on racial and social issues. Over 40% of Sanders–Trump voters disagreed thatwhite people have advantages, compared to less than 10% of Sanders voters who voted for Bernie's rivalHillary Clinton.[124] Compared to the average Sanders voter, Sanders–Trump voters tend to bewhite and older. ACCES survey showed that only between 17% and 18% of Sanders–Trump voters identified themselves as ideologicallyliberal, with the rest either identifying asmoderate orconservative.[124] In the VOTER survey conducted byYouGov, Sanders–Trump voters rated minority groups less favorably than Sanders-Clinton voters; this includedLatinos,Muslims andLGBT people.[102] Jeff Stein ofVox suggested that many Sanders–Trump voters may have beenReagan Democrats who were white and pro-union.[124] Political scientistJohn M. Sides suggested that many Sanders–Trump voters were unlikely to support Clinton in the first place.[102] Writing inRealClearPolitics, Tim Chapman, executive director of conservative advocacy groupHeritage Action, suggested that both Trump and Sanders had strongpopulist appeal, especially to working class voters in theheartland, despite their starkly different policies.[125]
According to a March 2020ABC News/Washington Post poll, 15% ofSanders 2020 campaign supporters planned to vote for Trump.[126] Citing exit polls on the2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary,Washington Examiner columnistTimothy P. Carney suggested that Sanders voters were demographically similar to Trump voters.[127] In 2020,Brian Schaffner suggested that Sanders' appeal toSanders–Trump voters was due to his outsider status, his populist policies, and his targeting of issues which affected groups of people Trump attempted to court in his2016 campaign.[128]
In late 2022, American political commentatorsJackson Hinkle andHaz Al-Din began advocating for the idea of "MAGA Communism". Hinkle was aBernie Bro and supporter ofMuammar Gaddafi,[129][130][131] while Al-Din had heldWestern Marxist andBordigist views before embracing Marxism–Leninism.[132][133]Vice described MAGA Communism as a "swirl of social conservatism, patriotism and subversive energy".[134] Hinkle and other supporters of the idea argued that those who care about theAmerican working class should ally with theMAGA movement, which they considered to be the largestanti-establishment movement in the United States, to incite apopulist revolution.[135] When Hinkle was questioned on whether he actually supportedcommunism; he said that the United States can learn from theSoviet Union andCommunist China, thatMarxism–Leninism has historically been conservative, and that what he described as modern communism's "liberal-leftist values" are a perversion "funded by George Soros".[134] A core belief of MAGA Communism is opposition toNATO in favor of supporting a "multipolar axis", which is to include Russia,North Korea, andIran.[136] MAGA Communists support Marxism–Leninism, criticizeidentity politics, denounceAmerican imperialism,oppose Zionismand U.S. support for Israel, and dismissclimate change concerns as "virtue-signaling" and "green fascism".[136][137]
On July 21, 2024, Hinkle and Al-Din announced the launch of theAmerican Communist Party (ACP), which espousessocially conservative views.[138] TheCommunist Party of the Russian Federation stated that ACP "relies strictly on class struggle, rather than on 'identity politics' – the so-called gender, race, and sexual struggles that are so popular today in America and Western Europe."[139] ACP positions itself as apatriotic andanti-revisionist alternative to theCommunist Party USA and other existing Americancommunist parties.
John Fetterman, aseniorUnited States senator fromPennsylvania and member of the Democratic Party, was described in 2024 as part the conservative-left for his support ofborder security andpositive U.S. relations with Israel, and for his opposition to the American far-left.[13]
TheGroyper Army, an Americanalt-right andpaleoconservative group led byNick Fuentes, was described byRod Dreher inThe European Conservative as a "right-wingLeninist movement".[140] Dreher claimed in 2025 that around 30–40 percent ofRepublican Party staffers under 30 years old in Washington, D.C. were Groypers.[141] In November 2025, Groypers celebrated the victory ofZohran Mamdani, a member of theDemocratic Socialists of America, in the2025 New York City mayoral election, for their sharedanti-Zionist views.[142]
Workers' Party member and formerPresident of BrazilDilma Rousseff maintained left-conservative stances on abortion, thelegalization of marijuana, and other social issues.[143]
TheWorkers' Cause Party, a BrazilianTrotskyist party, expresses areligious conservative opposition toLGBTQ rights and denounced the criminalization oftransphobic speech as an attack on thefreedom of religion, with a party publication stating: "A citizen can no longer profess their religion if they believe that 'transsexuals' and homosexuals are, in their view, an anomaly and contrary to God's law. [Yet] The overwhelming majority of religions—if not all—share this understanding."[144] The party defends the progressive function of religion, stating: "Marxists, who aren't religious, never said we should force people to abandon their religion. That's absurd! Why would someone do that? They believe in God, they've had their littlechurch since childhood, they were born there [...] If you're active in the labor movement, you'll never go to workers and raise issues with their religion."[145] It also defendsIslam andIslamic fundamentalist groups likeAl-Qaeda and theTaliban, stating "Islam is not a repressive religion. Generally speaking, it is even more progressive than Christianity. [...] Islam is the religion of countries oppressed by imperialism", and describingIslamist militants, likeOsama bin Laden, as "an example of selflessness, conviction, [and] disposition".[146][147][148]
TheCommunist Party of Peru – Shining Path (PCP), aMarxist–Leninist–Maoist militant group in Peru, has been accused ofopposing LGBT rights and engaging inviolence against LGBT people. Between 1989 and 1992, the Shining Path and fellow communist groupMRTA killed up to 500 "non-heterosexual" people.[149] According to one woman who was kidnapped by the Shining Path in 1981, a homosexual man's penis was cut into pieces before he was murdered by the group. The Shining Path defended its actions by saying that LGBT individuals were not killed because of their sexual identity, instead, they were killed because of their "collaboration with the police."[150][151]
The Shining Path has denied allegations ofhomophobia or overt violence against LGBT people, stating, "It is probable that the PCP has executed a homosexual, but rest assured that it was not done because of their sexual orientation but because of their position against the revolution... Our view is that homosexual orientation is not an ideological matter but one of individual preference... Party membership is open to all those who support the cause of communist revolution and the principles of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism,Gonzalo Thought, regardless of what their sexual preferences may be."[152]
TheMilitarized Communist Party of Peru (MPCP), an offshoot of the Shining Path that follows Marxism–Leninism–Maoism andXi Jinping Thought,[153][154][155] openly espouses socially conservative andanti-LGBT views.[156][157][158] On May 23, 2021, the MPCP carried out theSan Miguel del Ene attack, leaving behind leaflets that stated the attack was carried out to "cleanVRAEM and Peru" of outcasts, "parasites and corrupts" as well as "homosexuals, lesbians, drug addicts" and "thieves".[156] The leaflets additionally called for a boycott of the2021 Peruvian general election, accusing Peruvians who planned to vote forKeiko Fujimori of theright-wing populistPopular Force party of treason.[159][160]
In 2018, the MPCP announced an alliance with theethnocaceristPlurinational Association of Tawantinsuyo Reservists (ASPRET), called theUnited Democratic Andean Revolutionary Front of Peru.[161] In 2022, the alliance was terminated over ASPRET's disagreements with the MPCP's alleged ties to Free Peru.[162]
BothPedro Castillo andVladimir Cerrón, leaders of theMarxistFree Peru party,[163] have taken conservative stances on social issues,[164][165] including opposingsame-sex marriage, supporting existing restrictions onabortion in Peru, and voicing an opposition to the discussion ofgender issues in school curricula.[165][166][167] While Free Peru is officially opposed toFujimorism,[168]IDL-Reporteros reported that the party had formed an alliance with right-wing Fujimorists in the government due to their widespread power within Peru's institutions.[169]
Zuma said he would vote for the radical new left-wing Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) party, named after the ANC's old armed wing, and urged all South Africans to reject the ANC.
TEMBISA, South Africa – Supporters of South Africa's embattled former president Jacob Zuma's newly-formed radical left-wing party said Sunday they hope he might soon be the country's leader again, even though he failed to show up at their rally.
Historically a left-wing champion of African socialism, the party has since moved to a more centre-left position.
But, the rift is not between the CPP and the opposition: the rift is between the conservatives—whether leftist, represented by the CPP, or rightist, represented by the FUNCINPEC and part of the opposition represented by Kem Sokha—and, on the other side, the SRP, which represents the real Republicans and anti-royalist, anti-monarchy people.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)Wang Huning, had fashioned the neo-authoritarian creed Xi was busy putting into practice.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)NPR reported that political opposition to the bill was present within the Hellenic Parliament, though limited to small far-right parties and the socially conservative Communist Party.
The rather unusual far-right outliers for the Greek party system in the 2000s pertain to the Greek Communist Party (KKE), an orthodox Marxist-Leninist party with underpinnings of social conservatism.
BSW has been placed in a tradition of "Old Left" parties that retain the social conservatism of the Soviet era. Communist and social democracy across Europe fall into this vein, like the Communist Party of Greece, which has campaigned against same-sex marriage parties in the country.
The group's intellectual, such as it is, heft seems to come from Al-Din, the ACP's Executive Chairman and the force behind the YouTube show Infrared. Al-Din is apparently the source of the seemingly-paradoxical ideology—"MAGA communism"—for which he and Hinkle are known. The "MAGA" reference is enough for many commentators to describe Hinkle and his co-thinkers as "right" or "far-right," but although the group orients to Trump's working-class following, these really are creatures of the left. They call themselves "Marxist-Leninists," brandish a modified hammer-and-sickle symbol, denounce Democrats and Republicans, and invoke proletarian causes and history and Marxist theory.
And here's where it gets darker: this contagion is no longer confined to the left. The ideological lines between extremes are collapsing. You can see it in places like X (formerly Twitter), where Nick Fuentes' followers—the "Groypers," an openly antisemitic network steeped in neo-Nazi ideology—actually celebrated Mamdani's victory. They recognized a shared enemy: Israel, and by extension, Jews.
Casting himself as a man of the people, Mr Castillo was rarely seen without the traditional white, broad-rimmed hat of his Cajamarca region, and a huge inflatable pencil, the symbol of his Marxist Free Peru party which also represents his background in education.
