Centre-left politics
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Centre-left politics is the range of
The centre-left developed with the rest of the
Centre-left economics declined in popularity following the
Ideologies
The ideologies of the centre-left include social democracy,[1][2] social liberalism,[1][2] progressivism,[1][3] and green politics.[1][2][4] Centre-left politics often incorporate elements of libertarianism and occasionally favour limited state intervention.[1] As with all political alignments, the exact boundaries of centre-left versus far-left or centrist politics are not clearly defined and can vary depending on context.[2] Centre-left ideologies are common in stable political systems, which typically allow for political debate with an ideological centre.[5]
Social democracy
Social democracy is a
Social democracy has influenced the politics of nearly every major democracy,[12] though it has historically been most successful in the European Union,[13] where it was the predominant ideology from 1945 to 1973.[11] Sweden in particular has historically been closely associated with social democracy, as it was the first country to be led by a social democratic party,[8] and social democrats in Sweden continued to be relevant even after the ideology lost influence in other countries during the 1970s.[14] Social democracy also became a popular ideology in many African governments after the decolonisation of Africa.[15]
Social liberalism
Social liberalism, or left liberalism, overlaps significantly with social democracy.
Social liberalism was developed in the United Kingdom in the mid-20th century,
Progressivism
Progressivism is the support of continuous
Green politics
Green politics is an ideological movement that advocates a political focus on ecology and nonviolence.[26] It challenges modern industrialisation and institutions through a lens of social justice[27] while rejecting traditional political philosophy and organization.[28] Definitions of the scope of green politics may vary; it may be limited to explicitly environmentalist parties, or it may broadly cover political movements descended from New Left or left-libertarian ideas.[29] Besides environmentalism, green politics often includes support for disarmament,[30] ending nuclear power,[30] decentralized democracy,[31] feminism,[32] and immigration.[33]
Green politics developed from various left-wing ideologies, including social democracy and Marxism, in the 1970s.
Related ideologies
In addition to the most common centre-left ideologies, other ideologies are sometimes described as centre-left or have centre-left variants.
Though it is often associated with conservatism,[45][46] some elements of Confucianism invoke ideas that are associated with the centre-left in Western countries. Promotion of general welfare, supporting members of the family, and the ideal of the Harmonious Society all have implications for centre-left politics.[47] The welfare state of East Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan are sometimes described as Confucian.[48] These welfare systems have been influenced by Confucian familialism, which shifts some of the burden of welfare from the state to the family.[49]
Positions
Centre-left politics seeks
The immigration policies of centre-left groups vary depending on the political circumstances of a given country, and they may seek to greatly expand or greatly restrict immigration.[55] In principle, centre-left parties generally believe in multiculturalism and support high immigration.[56] The key issue of centre-left immigration policy is the balance between egalitarianism and pragmatism.[57] The centre-left often faces pressures from working class voters to restrict immigration to prevent competition over jobs and public services.[58] Other centre-left policies can also be negatively impacted by immigration, as a large increase in low-skilled workers can raise concerns about the increased price of public services, prompting spending cuts and roll-backs of centre-left welfare policies.[59]
Though positions on environmentalism are not consistent across centre-left parties, they are more likely to support environmentalist policies than centre-right parties.[4] Centre-left parties are popularly associated with environmental policies in the minds of voters, which earns them support in good economic conditions but loses them support in poor economic conditions.[51] Environmentalism is a major component of green politics.[26]
Economics
Centre-left groups generally support a
Centre-left politics often involve transfer payment systems, such as welfare and early childhood education, with the goal of creating higher employment while avoiding a welfare trap.[65] Closely associated with this is the implementation of a progressive tax, in which higher earnings are taxed at higher rates.[50] Some early centre-left groups supported gradual reform toward socialism, but this position is not supported by the centre-left in the 21st century.[1] The modern centre-left distinguishes between just and unjust capitalism, advocating for welfare state policies to create what it considers to be just capitalism.[66] Through the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the centre-left has been more likely to benefit electorally during periods of economic growth and suffer electorally in economic downturn.[51]
The core objective underlying centre-left economic policies,
The
History
Origins
The centre-left is descended from left-wing politics, which originated in the
Elsewhere in Europe, centre-left movements appeared from the 1860s, mainly in Spain and Italy. In Italy, the centre-left was born as coalition between the liberal Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour and the progressive Urbano Rattazzi, the heads respectively of the Right and Left groupings in Parliament. This alliance was called "connubio" ("marriage") for its opportunist characteristics.[77] Liberalism was typically associated with the centre-right in the late 19th century,[78] but liberal parties in France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom adopted left liberal policies through coalitions of middle and working class voters that survived until World War I.[79]
Progressivism developed as a school of thought within British and American centre-left politics in the mid-19th century. Early progressive thought developed from modernism and humanism, manifesting as calls for reform. It developed as a political movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries as it was adopted by social liberal and social democratic parties.[25] Unlike later social democratic movements, social democracy in the 19th century held socialist society as an eventual goal.[80] The first social democratic party was established in Germany in 1863.[12]
Early 20th century
Social democracy had developed as a major political movement in Europe by the early 20th century as a response to the strength of capitalism.[6] Challenging the idea that capitalism was nearing an implosion, reformist socialists such as Eduard Bernstein rejected Marxist ideas of historical materialism and class conflict,[81][9] and social democrats established themselves as a reformist alternative to the revolutionary left, arguing that societal improvements within capitalist democracy would better serve the working class.[6] This philosophy became widely popular among the European left after World War I, which had convinced many contemporary leftists that national identity was more important to the working class than class solidarity, which would render Marxism unviable. This was reinforced by the wave of democracy that followed, allowing socialists to participate in electoral politics.[81]
Social democrats made up the centre-left during the
Post-war politics
Centre-left ideas proliferated rapidly after the Great Depression and World War II. A post-war consensus formed among policymakers in Western Europe that rejected both classical liberalism and democratic socialism in favour of social democratic ideals.[85] With the end of fascism, countries in Western Europe adopted social democracy and liberal democracy.[86] Social democracy was widely adopted and implemented in much of Europe, both by centre-left and by traditionally centre-right parties.[9] Social liberalism was developed in the United Kingdom by liberal politicians such as John Maynard Keynes and William Beveridge, who advocated market restrictions to the benefit of the public.[20] Keynesian economics became the mainstream in Western Europe during the 1950s and 1960s,[86] while the social market economy was developed by social democrats in Germany at the same time.[20] As social democracy became influential in Europe, the United Nations considered the New International Economic Order plan that would facilitate social democratic governments in developing nations.[87]
Centre-left politics were historically unpopular in Latin America,[88] and left-wing candidates were kept out of power through both right-wing dictatorships and through conservative victories in fair elections.[89] In the mid-20th century, centre-left politics supported state-led development and industrialization in the region, which allowed redistributive and socially inclusive policies to be implemented. In East Asia, interventionism and developmental policy were adopted by right-wing parties rather than centre-left parties.[90]
Keynesian economics declined in popularity after the end of the post-war consensus, spurred by the
Late 20th century
Third Way politics developed as a prominent form of centre-left politics, beginning with the Australian governments of
Centre-left ideologies were among those uplifted by the
Ideological diversity developed in Africa after the end of the decolonization period, which had been dominated by far-left politics. Most post-colonial African political parties adopted some form of socialism or social democracy, though social democratic policies have seen limited success due to the unstable nature of democracy in Africa.[15]
Early 21st century
By the beginning of the 21st century, the centre-left had almost entirely overtaken further left groups in politics globally, with other forms of left-wing politics seeing little support in democratic nations.
The Great Recession exacerbated this trend, bringing significant challenges to the rule of centre-left parties, particularly those with social democratic leanings.[104][105] In Europe, this brought about a period of Pasokification in which social democratic parties saw large declines during the 2010s, largely being replaced by far-left and right-wing populist parties.[106] The centre-left's stance on immigration in Europe was one of multiculturalism, further pushing working class voters from the centre-left to the far-right.[107] In some cases, centre-left and centre-right politics in these countries became less distinct as political cleavages shifted toward populist versus traditional politics.[108] The Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa supported ideals often associated with social democracy and the centre-left.[109]
See also
- Centre-right politics
- Eco-capitalism
- Green liberalism
- Green libertarianism
- Hard left
- List of left-wing political parties
- Neoclassical liberalism
- Soft left
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