Leftist politics is a range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy as a whole or certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in society whom its adherents perceive as disadvantaged relative to others as well as a belief that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished through radical means that change the nature of the society they are implemented in. The term "left" originated in the 18th century during the French Revolution, where those who sat on the left of the chair of the parliamentary president supported the revolution and a secular republic, and opposed the monarchy of the old regime.
The following positions are typically associated with left-wing politics:
- Support for social welfare programs
- Support for labor unions
- Support for progressive taxation
- Support for environmental protection
- Support for civil rights and civil liberties
- Support for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights
- Support for universal healthcare
- Support for public education
In modern politics, the term "left" typically applies to ideologies and movements to the left of classical liberalism, supporting some degree of democracy in the economic sphere. Today, ideologies such as social liberalism and social democracy are considered to be center-left, while the Left is typically reserved for movements more critical of capitalism, including the labor movement, socialism, anarchism, communism, Marxism, and syndicalism, each of which rose to prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, the term "left-wing" has also been applied to a broad range of culturally liberal social movements, including the civil rights movement, feminist movement, LGBT rights movement, abortion-rights movements, multiculturalism, anti-war movement, and environmental movement as well as a wide range of political parties.
