Leftist

The term Leftist refers to someone on the 'left' side of the political spectrum. Politics on the 'left' usually imply challenging the traditional system of a society, in order to defend the interests of people who are poor, or who consider themselves oppressed, or inadequately represented, under the traditional ruling institutions. Compare: rightist.

Of course, it is not obvious that there is just one dimension of political thought, so that people can unambiguously be classified as 'right' or 'left'. Nonetheless, the left/right description of the political spectrum is widely recognized.

The origin of this term comes from the National Assembly in France just before the French Revolution. More liberal members, who supported political rights for all classes of society, would sit on the left side of the assembly hall in which they met. More conservative members, who supported the return of the monarchy, would sit towards the right. Those who had been offended by their own party would frequently stand up and walk over to the other side of the hall in order to make a political statement.

The word 'liberal' is often used in the US to mean 'leftist'. But this is inconsistent with the original meaning of the word liberal.

External links

• V. I. Lenin, "Left-Wing" Communism, An Infantile Disorder (1920) V. I. Lenin, Selected Works, English edition, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1952, Vol. II, Part 2.

Compare: Rightist