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The New Left were the left-wing movements in different countries in the 1960s and 1970s that, unlike the earlier leftist focus on union activism, instead adopted a broader definition of political activism commonly called social activism. The labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change The U. S. "New Left" is associated with college campus mass protest movements and radical leftist movements. The British "New Left" was an intellectually driven movement which attempted to correct the perceived errors of "Old Left" parties in the post-WWII period. The Old Left is a term used to describe classic 1930s-era Western Leninists Trotskyists and Stalinists to differentiate them from the Marxists of The movements began to wind down in the 1970s, when activists either committed themselves to party projects, developed social justice organizations, moved into identity politics or alternative lifestyles or became politically inactive. Social justice, sometimes called civil justice, refers to the concept of a Society in which Justice is achieved in every aspect of society rather than Identity politics is Political action to advance the interests of members of a group whose members are oppressed by virtue of a shared and marginalized Identity (such

Contents

Origins

The confused response of the Communist Party of the USA and the Communist Party of Great Britain to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 created a crisis of confidence in party decision making. The Communist Party of the United States of America ( CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist Political party in the United States. The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB was the largest Communist party in the United Kingdom, though it never became a mass party like the Communist parties of The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 ( Hungarian: 1956-os forradalom) was a spontaneous nationwide Revolt against the Stalinist government of Independent Marxist intellectuals began to develop a more individualistic approach to leftist politics, which was opposed to the perceived bureaucratic and inflexible politics of the pre-war leftist parties. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In Western Europe, these new developments occurred both inside and outside social democratic and Communist parties, contributing toward the development of eurocommunism. Eurocommunism was a new trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that The New Left in the U. S. was primarily a continuation of the progressive movement and fueled by grass roots movements on college campuses. Progressivism is a term that refers to a broad school of international social and political philosophies. The New Left in the United Kingdom emerged through the links between dissenting Communist Party intellectuals and campus groups.

In Britain

As a result of Khrushchev's Secret Speech denouncing Stalin and the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, many left the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) for various Trotskyist groupings or the Labour Party. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following On the Personality Cult and its Consequences (О культе личности и его последствиях commonly known as the Secret Speech or the Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 ( Hungarian: 1956-os forradalom) was a spontaneous nationwide Revolt against the Stalinist government of The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB was the largest Communist party in the United Kingdom, though it never became a mass party like the Communist parties of Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the

The British New Left concentrated on the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and global justice. Global justice is an issue in Political philosophy arising from the concern that "we do not live in a just world Some within the British New Left joined the International Socialists, which later became Socialist Workers Party while others became involved with groups such as the International Marxist Group. The Socialist Workers Party ( SWP) is the largest political party of the Far left in Britain that stands in the revolutionary socialist tradition See also the International Marxist Group (Germany. The International Marxist Group (IMG was a Trotskyist Political party Trotskyist Tariq Ali, who played a role in some of the New Left protests of this era, documents his involvement in his book Street Fighting Years. Tariq Ali ( Arabic: طارق علی) (born October 21, 1943) is a British - Pakistani historian novelist filmmaker

The Marxist historian E. P. Thompson established a dissenting journal within the CPGB called Reasoner. Edward Palmer Thompson ( February 3, 1924, Oxford &ndash August 28, 1993, Worcester) was an English historian Once expelled from the party, he began publishing the New Reasoner from 1957. During the crisis of the 1950s within the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB John Saville and E In 1960, this journal merged with the Universities and Left Review to form the New Left Review. The New Left Review is a political Journal, founded in 1960 in the UK after the editors of the New Reasoner and the The New Left Review is a political Journal, founded in 1960 in the UK after the editors of the New Reasoner and the These journals attempted to synthesise a theoretical position of a revisionist, humanist, socialist marxism, departing from orthodox Marxist theory. The term "revisionism" is also used to refer to other concepts Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Orthodox Marxism is the term used to describe the version of Marxism which emerged after the death of Karl Marx and acted as the official philosophy of the This publishing effort made the ideas of culturally oriented theorists available to an undergraduate reading audience. The New Left Review popularised the Frankfurt School, Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser and other forms of Marxism. The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist Critical theory, Social research, and Philosophy. Antonio Gramsci ('ɡramʃi ( January 23, 1891 &ndash April 27, 1937) was an Italian Philosopher, Writer, Louis Pierre Althusser (Pronunciation altuˡseʁ ( October 16, 1918 – October 22, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Other periodicals like Socialist Register, started in 1964, and Radical Philosophy, started in 1972, have also been associated with New Left theory and published a range of important writings in this field. Socialist Register is an annual journal It was founded in 1964 by Ralph Miliband and John Saville. Aims The frontispiece declaration of the first issue outlined the aims of the group and its magazine "Contemporary British philosophy is at a dead end

As the campus orientation of the American New Left became clear in the mid to late 1960s, the student sections of the British New Left began taking action in these areas. The London School of Economics became a key site of British student militancy (Hoch and Schoenbach, 1969). The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the The influence of the May 1968 events in France were also felt strongly throughout the British New Left. The politics of the British New Left can be contrasted with Solidarity, UK, which continued to focus primarily on industrial issues. Solidarity was a small Libertarian socialist Organisation and Magazine of the same name in the United Kingdom.

1960s in the United States

In the United States, the "New Left" was the name loosely associated with liberal, sometimes radical, political movements that took place during the 1960s, primarily among college students. The origin of the movement is largely based on the original progressive movement. Progressivism is a term that refers to a broad school of international social and political philosophies. The term "New Left" can be traced to an open letter written in 1960 by sociologist C. Wright Mills entitled Letter to the New Left. Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" Charles Mills ( August 28, 1916, Waco Texas &ndash March 20, 1962, West Nyack New York) was an American Mills argued for a new leftist ideology, moving away from the traditional ("Old Left") focus on labor issues, towards more personalized issues such as opposing alienation, anomie, and authoritarianism. The Old Left is a term used to describe classic 1930s-era Western Leninists Trotskyists and Stalinists to differentiate them from the Marxists of The labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better In Sociology and Critical social theory, alienation refers to an individual's estrangement from traditional community and others in general Anomie, in contemporary English language is a sociological term that signifies in individuals an erosion diminution or absence of personal norms standards or values Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union Put differently, Mills argued for a shift from traditional leftism, toward the values of the Counterculture. Counterculture (also " counter-culture " is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a Cultural group, or

The New Left opposed the prevailing authority structures in society, which it termed "The Establishment," and those who rejected this authority became known as "anti-Establishment. " The New Left did not seek to recruit industrial workers, but rather concentrated on a social activist approach to organization. Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change Many in the New Left were convinced that they could be the source for a better kind of social revolution. The term social revolution may have different connotations depending on the speaker

Most New Left thinkers in the U. S. , to varying degrees, were influenced by the Vietnam war and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China was a struggle for power within the Communist Party of China that manifested into Like the British New Left, they also believed that the Secret Speech drew attention to problems with the Soviet Union, but unlike the British New Left, they did not turn to Trotskyism or social democracy as a result. On the Personality Cult and its Consequences (О культе личности и его последствиях commonly known as the Secret Speech or the Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left Some in the U. S. New Left argued that since the Soviet Union could no longer be considered the world center for proletarian revolution, new revolutionary Communist thinkers had to be substituted in its place — Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro were identified as key contributors to this new framework. Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led For the city named after him see Ho Chi Minh City. Hồ Chí Minh (name Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until

Other elements of the U. S. New Left were anarchist and looked to libertarian socialist traditions of American radicalism, and investigated the Industrial Workers of the World and previous union militancy. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that aim to create a society without political economic or social hierarchies – a society in which all violent The Industrial Workers of the World ( IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio, USA This group coalesced around the historical journal Radical America and in grouplets. American Autonomist Marxism was also a child of this stream the U. Autonomism refers to a set of Left-wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. S. New Left, for instance in the thought of Harry Cleaver. Harry Cleaver is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin where he teaches Marxism and Marxist economics.

The U. S. New Left both influenced and drew inspiration from black radicalism, particularly the Black Power movement and the more explicitly left-wing Black Panther Party. Black Power is a racially based Political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxist / Maoist African-American organization established The Panthers in turn influenced other similar militant groups, like the Young Lords, the Brown Berets and the American Indian Movement. The Young Lords, later Young Lords Organization and in New York (notably Spanish Harlem) Young Lords Party, was a Puerto Rican nationalist The Brown Berets were a Chicano nationalist Activist group of young Mexican Americans during the Chicano Movement in the late sixties and throughout The American Indian Movement ( AIM) is an Indian Activist organization in the United States.

Students for a Democratic Society

Main article: Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)

The organization that really came to symbolize the core of the New Left was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Students for a Democratic Society ( SDS) was historically a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations Students for a Democratic Society ( SDS) was historically a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations In 1962, Tom Hayden wrote its founding document, the Port Huron Statement, which issued a call for "participatory democracy" based on nonviolent civil disobedience. Thomas Emmet Hayden (born December 11 1939) is an American social and political activist and politician most famous for his involvement The Port Huron Statement is the Manifesto of the American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS written primarily by The SDS marshaled anti-war, pro-civil rights and free speech concerns on campuses, and managed to bring together liberals and more revolutionary leftists. The SDS became the leading organization of the antiwar movement on college campuses during the Vietnam War, and during the course of the war became increasingly militant. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia For the British newspaper and Marxist organization see Militant tendency. As opposition to the war grew stronger, the SDS became a nationally prominent political organization, but opposing the war became an overriding concern that overshadowed many of the original issues that had inspired SDS.

In 1968 and 1969, as its radicalism reached a fever pitch, the SDS began to split under the strain of internal dissension and increasing turns toward Maoism. Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader Along with adherents known as the New Communist Movement, some extremist illegal factions also emerged, such as the Weather Underground Organization. The New Communist Movement (NCM was a Marxist-Leninist political movement of the 1970s and 1980s in the United States. Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization, was an American Radical left organization

International movements

The Prague Spring was legitimised by the Czech government as a reformist movement to revitalise Czechoslovak socialism. The Prague Spring ( Czech: Pražské jaro, Slovak: Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The 1968 events in the Czech Republic were driven forward by industrial workers, and were explicitly theorized by active Czech unionists as a revolution for workers' control. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious"

The driving force of near-revolution in France in May 1968 were students inspired by the ideas of the Situationist International, which in turn had been inspired by Socialisme ou Barbarie. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Situationist International ( SI) was a small group of international political and artistic Agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the Socialisme ou Barbarie (Socialism or Barbarism was a French-based radical Libertarian socialist group of the post- World War II period (the name comes from Both of these French groups placed an emphasis on cultural production as a form of production. Unlike the New Left, the sphere of culture was not unrelated to productivity.

While the Autonomia in Italy have been called New Left, it is more appropriate to see them as a unique response to the failure of the Italian PCI and PSI to deal with the new Italian industrial working class in the 1950s. Autonomism refers to a set of Left-wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Autonomia was a result of traditional, industrially oriented, communism retheorising its ideology and methods. Unlike most of the New Left, Autonomia had a strong blue-collar arm, active in regularly occupying factories.

The Provos were a Dutch counter-cultural movement of mostly young people with anarchist influences. Counterculture (also " counter-culture " is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a Cultural group, or

Criticism of the legacy

As many of those who supported the New Left in the 1960s are now in charge of the kinds of institutions they once opposed, conservative opponents argue that their assumptions - which are sometimes described as politically correct multiculturalism - are now the establishment orthodoxy. Political correctness (adjectivally politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term applied to Language, ideas policies or behavior The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified In what has been described as the culture wars, conservative critics of this orthodoxy such as Allan Bloom and Roger Scruton assert that New Left radical egalitarianism is motivated by anti-Western nihilism. The culture war (or culture wars) in American usage is a metaphor used to claim that political conflict is based on sets of conflicting values Allan David Bloom (14 September 1930 in Indianapolis Indiana &ndash 7 October 1992 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American Philosopher, Roger Vernon Scruton (born 27 February 1944) is an English Conservative Philosopher. Political radicalism or simply radicalism is adherence to radical views and principles in Politics. Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have The Revisionist Western, Modern Western or Anti Western traces to the late 1960s and early 1970s as a sub- Genre of the Nihilism (from the Latin nihil, nothing is a philosophical position that argues that Existence is without objective meaning Purpose

Inspirations and influences

Key figures

Other associated people

See also

External links

British New Left periodicals

British New Left articles

Further reading

General

UK

U. International Socialism (ISJ is a Quarterly Journal of Socialist Theory published by the Socialist Workers Party (Britain S.

Canada

For a discussion on the rise and fall of the 60s movement in Canada, USA and Germany see: Levitt. C (1984) Children of Privilege. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario.

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