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What is the radical Left?

The radical Left is united by a shared endeavor to address the foundational roots of social injustices. It seeks to overthrow—not simply tweak—capitalist social relations. Leftists work towards the common goal of a stateless, classless society characterized by collective self-determination, worker control of production, and individual freedom and dignity.

In my historical approach, I emphasize active participation in antisystemic movements over theoretical distinctions. Yet clarification of differences is also necessary. Anarchists are antistate or libertarian socialists who advocate the reorganization of society into voluntary federations based in social equality and individual freedom. Syndicalists, who overlap substantially with anarchists, believe that revolutionary unions should prefigure the new world and act as the vehicles to re-organize society. The labels of socialism and communism are at times used interchangeably; this paper will follow the general approach of classifying socialists as those who pursue reformist strategies whereas communists advocate revolutionary seizure of state power by a vanguard party.

An undogmatic radical Left acknowledges significant ideological differences but manages to collaborate on common projects and struggles. Dogmatism and sectarianism have long been the bane of the Left, but the transnational history discussed in this article reveals alternative currents of theory and practice that are unconstrained by both national borders and rigid ideological lines. Indeed, transnational networks have often enabled non-sectarian connections and collaboration at multiple levels, stretching from Caribbean anarchist networks in the early twentieth century to the “provocative cocktail” of political traditions represented in the Zapatistas and other new social movements of the late twentieth century.

Read more in my recent article in Left History, "Radical Americas: A Hemispheric History of the Left" https://lh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/lh/article/view/39672

#history #anarchism #syndicalism #socialism #communism #radicalhistory