The Left
The broad political camp built around equality, social change, redistribution, secularism, and skepticism of established hierarchies — from social democrats to revolutionary communists.
Origin
The label comes from the seating arrangement of the French National Assembly in 1789: supporters of the king sat on the president's right, supporters of the revolution on his left. Within a few decades 'the left' had become the standard European label for parties pushing for democratic expansion, workers' rights, and (later) the welfare state. The modern left is wide — it includes Western European social democrats, US progressives, democratic socialists, Greens, and (further out) communists and anarchists. They disagree fiercely about how much to break with capitalism, but share a baseline commitment to reducing economic and social inequality.
Modern usage
Universal political shorthand. 'The Left' (capitalized), 'far-left,' 'centre-left,' 'left-wing,' 'lefties,' 'leftists' — used as identity and as insult depending on speaker. 'Woke' is the current right-wing label for a particular kind of cultural left. Outside actual politics, 'left-wing' has spread to describe positions in everything from Twitter discourse to comedy.
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