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Left communism, or the communist left, is a position held by the left wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices espoused by Marxist–Leninists and social democrats.[1] Left communists assert positions which they regard as more authentically Marxist than the views of Marxism–Leninism espoused by the Communist International after its Bolshevization by Joseph Stalin and during its second congress.[2][3][4]
There have been two primary currents of left communism since World War I, namely the Italian left and the Dutch–German left. The Italian left tends to follow Bordigism and considers itself to be "more Leninist than Lenin"[citation needed], but denounces Marxism–Leninism as a form of bourgeois opportunism materialized in the Soviet Union under Stalin. The Dutch–German left split from Vladimir Lenin prior to Stalin's rule and supports a firmly council communist and libertarian Marxist viewpoint as opposed to the Italian left which emphasised the need for an international revolutionary party.[5] The Italian current of left communism was historically represented by the Italian Socialist Party and the Communist Party of Italy but today is embodied in the Internationalist Communist Party of Italy, International Communist Party, and the International Communist Current. The Dutch–German current of left communism was historically represented by the Communist Workers' Party of Germany, General Workers' Union of Germany, and the Communist Workers' International.
Left communism differs from most other forms of Marxism in believing that communists should not participate in democratic elections, and some argue against participating in trade unions. However, many left communists split over their criticism of the Bolsheviks. Council communists criticised the Bolsheviks for use of the party form and emphasised a more autonomous organisation of the working class, without political parties.
Although she was murdered in 1919 before left communism became a distinct tendency, Rosa Luxemburg has been heavily influential for most left communists, both politically and theoretically. Proponents of left communism have included Herman Gorter, Antonie Pannekoek, Otto Rühle, Karl Korsch, Amadeo Bordiga and Paul Mattick.[2] Other proponents of left communism have included Onorato Damen, Jacques Camatte, and Sylvia Pankhurst. Later prominent theorists are shared with other tendencies such as Antonio Negri, a founding theorist of the autonomist tendency.[6]
- ^ Bordiga, Amadeo (1926). The Communist Left in the Third International. Retrieved 23 September 2021 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Gorter, Hermann; Pannekoek, Antonie; Pankhurst, Sylvia; Rühle, Otto (2007). Non-Leninist Marxism: Writings on the Workers Councils. St. Petersburg, Florida: Red and Black Publishers. ISBN 978-0-9791813-6-8.
- ^ Bordiga, Amadeo. Dialogue with Stalin. Retrieved 15 May 2019 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
- ^ Kowalski, Ronald I. (1991). The Bolshevik Party in Conflict: The Left Communist Opposition of 1918. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave MacMillan. p. 2. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-10367-6. ISBN 978-1-349-10369-0.
- ^ Bourrinet, Philippe. "The Bordigist Current (1919-1999)". Archived from the original on 20 January 2022.
- ^ Negri, Antonio (1991). Marx beyond Marx: Lessons on the Grundrisse. Translated by Ryan, Michael. New York: Autonomedia.