What is the definition of "left" ?

[Murder for life]

What does "left" mean in the sense of politics. How can "left" be identified. What are the values ?

Some parties call themselves left but actually they are not. What important variables define this ?

[PhoenixAsh]

Depending on who you ask...Either socially or economically progressive...or both.

Values can vary tremendously. And most of it is determined by a losely fixed point within culture/country or from a political perspective.

[GoddessCleoLover]

According to a class analysis-based system, the "left" advocates for the working classes, while the "right" prefers a bourgeois "market" based economy. The OP has only posted once, why does it say "banned" under her/his S/N?

[Caj]

Historically the left has always been the composition of ideologies advocating the revolutionary overthrow and expropriation of the ruling class(es) by the lower class(es). The right has always been the futile, pro-ruling class reaction against the left. In the French Revolution (to which the left-right dichotomy owes its origin) the bourgeoisie was a leftist force against the right-wing aristocracy, nobility, feudal landlords, and clergy. With the overthrow of these latter ruling classes, the bourgeoisie established itself as the new ruling class, becoming the new representatives of the right in the process. With the rise of the bourgeoisie came the creation of a new lower class: the proletariat. Today the left manifests itself as those ideologies advoating the revolutionary overthrow of the bourgeoisie by the proletariat.

[Blake's Baby]

The point about the French Assembly was that the representatives of the populists sat on the left of the chamber and the representatives of the vested interests sat on the right of the chamber. Thus whether you were 'left' or 'right' meant whether you supported populist measures or reactionary measures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left%E2%80%93right_politics#History_of_the_terms - it's kinda all there.




... The OP has only posted once, why does it say "banned" under her/his S/N?

They sussed out how to give themselves a custom title in their profile? Kontrrazvedka (for instance) also has 'banned' as a title, for that reason.

It might be a sock-puppet for someone already banned of course.

Then again, they may just expect that they will soon be banned.

[Vyacheslav Brolotov]

In broader terms than presented above, the left advocates increased egalitarianism and progress. This suggested progress can be either revolutionary or reformist. I say this because not all leftists are revolutionary leftists like us, but some can also be reformist Bernsteinists, liberal Democrats, Green Party members, and modern Social Democrats. They are still considered to be on the left end of the political spectrum, we are just much farther left than them on that same spectrum :).

Anyways, some leftists (not us) do support the bourgeoisie. Think of the liberal Democrats and the American progressives. They do not want to get rid of capitalism like us, they just want to reform it.

[MajorGeneralPineapple]

I think the left represents a commitment to the eventual establishment of an egalitarian society--- or at least, someone on the left is closer to championing egalitarianism than someone on the right. I think that the right is reactionary, and thus defined not by any core values but rather by its opposition to the left. In other words, the right represents whatever, at any given time, is standing between us and communism.

[The Idler]

Left is distributing power as widely as possible, the more left you are, the more widely you want power distributed.

[Vyacheslav Brolotov]

Left is distributing power as widely as possible, the more left you are, the more widely you want power distributed.

Then why am I a Marxist-Leninist who believes in one-party socialist systems. I want to distribute power only to the proletariat and their vanguard.

[Caj]

Then why am I a Marxist-Leninist who believes in one-party socialist systems. I want to distribute power only to the proletariat and their vanguard.

I think that would still be distributing power much wider than it is currently. Besides, you regard that as a temporary scenario, right? Once classlessness is established, at which point the proletariat will no longer exist as a distinct class, won't power be truly distibuted as widely as possible?

[Vyacheslav Brolotov]

I think that would still be distributing power much wider than it is currently. Besides, you regard that as a temporary scenario, right? Once classlessness is established, at which point the proletariat will no longer exist as a distinct class, won't power be truly distibuted as widely as possible?

Touche.

[NewLeft]

Depending on who you ask...Either socially or economically progressive...or both.

What does this mean? Every social issue is an economic issue.. This dichotomy is a right-libertarian construction.