The Future of the Left—Some Preliminary Reflections
The Rise of Rightist Domination and Extremism
I lack knowledge and experience in politics and economics. However, based on whatever news I have had of events and trends around the world, combined with my own experiences and observations over the course of my life, I find myself increasingly alarmed.
Among other things, one notes the increasing resurgence of the Right, manifesting in extreme forms, such as the increasing concentrations of wealth and power, the consequent growth of inequalities, the very close, incestuous relationships between big capitalists, government, and military industries, the associated capture of the mainstream media, the rise of authoritarian governments headed by dictatorial “strongman” figures, exclusive hyper-nationalism, incitement of divisive and violent ethnic conflicts, the demonization of minorities, and the persecution of those who try to speak out against oppression and exploitation, or try to act against these.
This persecution is directed not only against the few who resort to armed resistance, which is to be expected, but also to those whose attempts at resistance to discrimination, subjugation, dispossession, injustice and violence are through the courts, through organizing of collective movements, theough peaceful protests and publicity, and through other nonviolent means.
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Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
Because of all of this and more, many of us are searching for some means of hope for humans and others in our times as well as for those who will hopefully survive and succeed us.
In this context, I find myself returning to the ideals and practices most clearly expressed and utilized by what came to be known (by a historical accident of seating in the French parliament during the French Revolution of the late 18th century) as “the Left”.
In particular, I find great value in the three basic principles, ideals or impulses articulated, in that early revolution, as “liberty, equality and fraternity”. I believe that these should form an essential part of the basis of our interactions with at least others of our own species, with each of these three impulses being constrained by the other two.
One could go into some detail about this, but I will leave that for now as a mental exercise for the reader.
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Difficulties and Mistakes
That being said, if one looks back at the known history of the Left, including what became of the French Revolution itself, and how the later “communist” revolutions, beginning in Russia in 1918, ran their courses, one has to pause and reflect, with some sobriety, on the difficulties encountered and the mistakes made. How can we learn from and avoid these difficulties and mistakes?
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Current Problems
Looking next at the current state of what is left of the Left, one notices several things, including the following:
a) Most countries, including the affluent ones, had not only retained significant levels of inequality of income, wealth, opportunity, and access to resources, but have, over much of the past four decades, been moving steadily towards increasing levels of these.
b) There has been disarray and disunity within the ranks of the Left, at the local, national, and global levels.
c) There has been a movement, especially in the more affluent countries, away from the prior main focus of the Left. This had been on reducing economic inequality and exploitation. Over time, the focus has shifted more towards what has come to be known as “identity politics”.
Each of the longstanding issues associated with our less pliable human identities, such as ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, surely deserves attention. Among many other things, the following, well publicized movements come to mind:
- the struggle for voting rights for women;
- the attempts to combat the very long legacy and consequences of caste discrimination in India;
- the struggle for basic civil rights and against segregation and other forms of discrimination by African Americans in the U.S.A.;
- the struggle against apartheid rule and its consequences in South Africa;
- the attempts by gays, lesbians and others to be free of discrimination and gain basic rights all over the world.
However, increasingly, these struggles have become disconnected from the struggles on the more universal economic issues that affect the majority of human populations, even in the affluent countries.
d) What is worse, the increasing focus of the Left on “social issues” has increasingly served divisive ends, disuniting us and distracting us from the core, common economic issues.
This diversion of focus, away from unifying economic issues, has served to deepen some of the very divisions that had long hindered the formation of united fronts, at local, national and global levels, across all sorts of borders, to secure better deals for ordinary working people, and to free them from oppression and exploitation.
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Destruction of the Biosphere, including through Extinctions, and of Human Communities, including through Genocides
I had not mentioned the "environmental issues" that include such cataclysmic things as manmade climate change as well as a host of other things associated with pollution, destruction of habitats and extinction of species. Clearly, these affect all of us to varying degrees and need to be recognized and addressed.
There are at least two dangers associated with this. The first is that of ignoring or dismissing these issues, no matter how lethal their consequences. The second is that of making these into niche issues, that are perceived, rightly or wrongly, as things that matter to only the affluent classes, ignoring both the basic needs of the others, and the very real adverse impacts of human activities, potentiated by technology, on their lives.
I had also not mentioned the destructive, atomizing effects of economic pressures on communities and even families. These issues deserve a separate discussion, including things such as the physical and cultural genocides, within our own species, that have been ongoing for several centuries and show no sign of abating.
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What to Do?
Finally, looking forward, can the Left still contribute in meaningful, practical ways to increasing the chances of human happiness? Can it do the same for the long-term survival of our species, along with that of all the others? If the answers to both of these two basic questions are “yes”, then how can this be done?
2024 April 12th, Fri.
Berkeley, California
