Left-conservatism
Left-conservatism is a political ideology that combines left-wing economic stances with social conservatism. The ideology is sometimes referred to as socialist conservatism, though these terms are not necessarily identical in meaning.
Often manifesting itself in Old Left–inspired Marxist parties, left-conservatism places a greater emphasis on collectivism and class struggle while rejecting left-wing cultural issues and identity politics. Supporters of the ideology uphold Marxian economics, socialist economics or Keynesianism and generally hold negative views on the New Left, intersectionality, abortion, drugs, bourgeois feminism, LGBT rights, environmentalism, immigration and the abolition of capital punishment.
Some left-conservatives view class struggle as having evolved into a struggle between civilizations.
Overview
Left-conservatism is a syncretic political ideology that synthesizes left-wing economics and a vanguardist approach to social justice with socially conservative stances such as the defense of the family and traditional conservative values, opposition to abortion rights, opposition to immigration, and an opposition to the legalization of drugs, sex work, and certain alcoholic beverages. Left-conservatism is often associated with gender-critical feminist, antiglobalist, left-wing populist, and left-wing nationalist political groups. Left-conservative groups typically espouse anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-Americanist, anti-Western, Eurosceptic, and anti-environmentalist views. Left-conservative views on Zionism are varied.The conservative-left is often compared to the Old Left and is influenced by historical Marxist–Leninist movements. The Marxist–Leninist countries of the "real socialism" tradition were often characterized by a union of communist and socially conservative policies, which their leaderships dubbed in line with the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on issues such as homosexuality, bourgeois feminism, patriarchy, abortion, contraception, and prostitution.
Per country
Africa
South Africa
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party is a self-proclaimed socialist and left-wing populist party in South Africa founded by Jacob Zuma. The party participates in the Progressive Caucus led by the Marxist–Leninist Economic Freedom Fighters party. It has been described as a "radical left-wing party" for its support of socialist and populist causes, but is also described as conservative-left or as being part of the right-wing to far-right due to its use of anti-foreigner and anti-LGBT rhetoric. The party supports monarchism and looks to expand the powers of traditional tribal monarchs in South Africa.Tanzania
The ruling Tanzanian Chama Cha Mapinduzi party has been described as both centre-left and conservative. Originally an African socialist party and a supporter of the Ujamaa system, it has since transitioned to supporting a mixed economy, while adopting more conservative stances on cultural issues, including homosexuality and birth control.Asia
Cambodia
The Cambodian People's Party has been described as a left-conservative party. CPP previously adhered to Buddhist socialism and Marxism–Leninism, before embracing conservatism and monarchism in 1991. Despite the ideological shift, the party continues to follow the "principles of Leninist party organization" and retains a "communist party structure pervading all administrative levels and institutions in Cambodia". The party is additionally considered to have "embedded the legacy of communism based on Marxist-Leninist ideology" into its party policies, as it continues to use socialist-oriented rhetoric and policies to maintain legitimacy, such as through promoting gender egalitarianism and establishing state-backed organizations such as the Kampuchea Revolutionary Women's Association. The CPP hosted a Socialist International meeting in 2004, remains a close ally of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and most party members are former communists.China
In China, orthodox Marxist ideological bureaucrats who opposed the Chinese economic reforms were simultaneously regarded as both left-wing and conservative. The left-conservative faction of the post-reform and opening up Chinese Communist Party is represented by the supporters of Chen Yun, Deng Liqun, and Xi Jinping Thought within the party. However, Xi Jinping is also considered a "traditionalist" or "neoauthoritarian" politician; CCP's neoauthoritarianism was described as right-wing by Yuezhi Zhao. Jiang Shigong, a neoauthoritarian thinker, is a "conservative socialist" exponent of Xi Jinping Thought and is opposed to liberalism in China.According to studies conducted by the Cato Institute and Stanford University, Chinese citizens who support socially conservative and nationalist policies are more likely to support economic socialism and oppose capitalism; while Chinese who support globalization and socially progressive policies are more likely to support free-market capitalism.
Iran
The "Khomeinist Left" or "Islamic Left" played a crucial role in the early years of the Iranian Revolution, advocating for social justice and anti-imperialism. They combined cultural and religious conservatism with left-wing economic policies. The Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line was a leading organization within the Khomeinist Left, which led the Iran hostage crisis. However, many figures within the Khomeinist Left have become Islamic liberal "Reformists" since the 1990s.In the 1990s, as the "Reformists" increasingly embraced market liberalism, the political space for the Islamic Left was largely vacated. This created a vacuum that was filled in the 2000s by the right-wing populism of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Emerging from the Islamic conservative "Principlists", Ahmadinejad maintained a hardline stance on Islamic social values and national sovereignty while simultaneously pursuing an economic agenda of massive wealth redistribution and anti-elitist rhetoric. Scholars have characterized this synthesis as "plebeian conservatism" or "radical conservatism" due to its departure from the pro-market stances of the traditional Iran's Islamic Right. Consequently, his movement has been described as a form of left-conservatism, though within the Iranian establishment, it was later marginalized and pejoratively labeled as the "deviant current" by more traditionalist Principlists.
Europe
Denmark
The Social Democrats have been described as left-conservative under the leadership of Mette Frederiksen. Under her leadership, the party adopted an oppositional stance on immigration, particularly in regards to immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, framing it as a response to the perceived negative aftereffects of globalization. It has also generally downplayed certain sociocultural issues, such as gender and race, in its programme.France
The views of Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist Party, have been described as left-conservative. Roussel frames communism as a patriotic French movement, supports nuclear power, and opposes the French welfare state and "handout left".Germany
In the modern politics of Germany, the term Querfront is often used to refer to movements and ideologies which aim to combine the stances of the economic left and the conservative right. The most notable German Querfront publications are Compact, which is run by former left-wing activist Jürgen Elsässer, and Manova News, operated by Jens Wernicke. During the COVID-19 protests in Germany, left-wingers and conservatives sometimes protested together against the German government's prevention measures.File:2024-08-19 Event, Thüringer Wahlkampftour-Start des BSW in Eisenach STP 2965 by Stepro.jpg|thumb|left|Sahra Wagenknecht speaking at a BSW electoral campaign event, 2024
Sahra Wagenknecht and her Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance political party are noted for their "conservative leftist" outlook. BSW's platform emphasizes a redistributionist economic program and policies favoring the economic interests of the working class while adopting conservative stances on cultural issues. Wagenknecht criticized the democratic socialist Die Linke party for ceasing "to reflect the outlook of poorer Germans" and for intolerant "wokeness".
Greece
The Communist Party of Greece rejects the ideas of the New Left, generally maintaining left-conservative and Marxist–Leninist positions. KKE voted against the introduction of same-sex civil unions in 2015, but has also criticized homophobia and discrimination in general.Despite criticizing homophobia, KKE envisions Greek communist society as promoting heteronormativity and having little room for non-heterosexuals, with the party stating: "With the formation of a socialist-communist society, a new type of partnership will undoubtedly be formed—a relatively stable heterosexual relationship and reproduction".
Italy
There existed a left-conservative current in the Italian Communist Party. Italian public intellectual Pier Paolo Pasolini was expelled from the PCI for his open homosexuality. Pasolini himself would embrace left-conservative criticisms of the 1968 movement in Italy, believing the protests to be the result of the Italian economic miracle and subsequent rise of consumerism, modernity, and the permissiveness of divorce and abortion in Italian society.In 21st-century Italy, political commentators and politicians Diego Fusaro, Marco Rizzo, and Alessandro Di Battista have expressed left-conservative positions and cited Marxism when explaining their opposition to LGBTQ rights and legalization of illegal drugs.
Russia
Political scientist Nikolai Rabotyazhev described Russian left-conservatism as an extension of socialist ideologies writing: "the possibility of the existence of a political phenomenon such as left-wing conservatism is explained by the fact that conservative and socialist ideologies initially had numerous points of contact. Conservatism and socialism, in reaction to the process of modernization, rejected a liberal civilization based on individualism, rationalism, and the power of money."In Russia, the conservative-left is anchored in left-wing nationalist parties, such as the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which often mix a strong adherence to Orthodox Christianity and its moral principles with Soviet-style communist stances. The National Patriotic Forces of Russia attempts to unite left-nationalist and right-nationalist political groups in support of KPRF.
Rabotyazhev describes the Izborsky Club, a Russian conservative think tank, as being imbued with left-conservative thought, describing some members of the think tank as attempting to synthesize the Russian "red" and "white" traditions.
The term "left-wing conservative" was used by the Russian nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin in the founding declaration of his political party For Truth.