1945-1975: Openly socialist, yet reformist, active in trade unionism, peace movement and distrustful of the USSR.
Fate of this generation of leftists: Formed the left wing of Social Democratic Parties or right wing of the communist parties. Eventually, started dying out, getting integrated into social democracy like figures like Jeremy Corbyn and after 1990 mostly faded away.
1965-1980: Radical Liberal, focused on social progress over socialism, sexual liberation, youth rights, environmentalism. Strongly anti-soviet, but supportive of alternative communist movements like Hoxhaism, Trostkyism or Maoism. Of course, it ended abandoning these for social democracy or liberalism within this time period.
Fate of this generation of leftists: Got involved in neoliberal and neoconservative politics from the start after denouncing their previous radicalism, supported military interventions for "human rights" and cheered on the fall of the USSR as a "new start for socialism". Among those that remained communists, a large amount is the core of political cults that have managed to survive 1990.
1980-1989: Lifestylist, politics through subcultural belonging. Punks, red skinheads. Large influence of the LGBT+ rights movement, since it was gaining prominence and getting lowkey murdered by intentional neglect. Environmentalism (of the anti-nuclear kind) and the peace movement were the core of this era.
Fate of this generation of leftists: Faded away into obscurity and inactivity.
1989-2011: Anti-Globalization as the main focus of political activism; an opportunistic denunciation of the USSR and other AES (except Cuba), anti-racist and supportive of open borders. More anarchist than any previous post-war period of leftist activism and any successive period -> focus on creating dual power in isolated neighborhoods of large cities leading to the creation of pockets of leftist support like Hamburg-St.Pauli or Athens-Exarcheia.
Fate of this generation of leftists: mostly integrated into "democratic socialist" projects or back into liberalism. The Occupy movement was its last hurrah, after which a shift can be felt.
2011-2018: Not anti-globalization or critical of imperialism anymore (outside of small groups), yet still supportive of open borders. The main focus is anti-fascism and environmentalism, as well as LGBT+ politics. A recovery in manpower is felt since the 90s and enthusiasm is high, especially in the United States and United Kingdom.
Fate of this generation of leftists: yet unknown
2018-Now: Increased infighting on the base of campism (China/Russia good or cringe?), split of some groups based on revisionist positioning on core issues like Trans rights, nationalism or the coronavirus pandemic; widespread sense of disorientation on the question of "what is to be done?". Increased focus on third worldism, decolonization and indigenous rights, especially in North America. Moderate resurgence of union activity.
1945-1975: Openly socialist, yet reformist, active in trade unionism, peace movement and distrustful of the USSR.
We can actually put a hard end date on these guys: 1956, when the Soviets intervened in Hungary. De-stalinization really hurt western communist parties and then the intervention caused most of them to split into "hardline" and reformist tendencies, which all fizzled out or became decrepit (with help from the FBI). Also, communists in the west have a earlier history than 1945. In the 1930s the Communist Party was relatively popular in the US and had a civil rights emphasis. In the 1920s you had the first red scare. Debs and major union battles in the 1900-1910s, plus first peace movement. And the 1880s you see major anarchist activity and the Haymarket affair. Before that there are some scientific socialists but also a lot of utopian commune movements.
I am not a trot. Even if I were, going "haha get pickaxed" is a questionable response.
I know parties that split over the question "is China Socialist?". The DKP in Germany is one of them. In fact, the splinter group "Kommunistische Organisation" split like a month ago over the question of "should communists support Russia in the war in Ukraine?"
It absolutely is often a dogmatic view of either full embrace of the PRC/Russia or their denunciation as revisionist - regardless of their actual nature and a wedge issue in the left.
Earth First!, hardcore and queer culture are a single thread that connects the politics of the 80s to the politics of the 2010s. It's not that these people "faded into obscurity" or integrated into democratic socialist projects (although that does happen). They're often the backbones of modern left spaces as holders of institutional memory and funders of these projects.
Yeah say what you will about the OG New Left but at least you had funny figures and folks who supported Hoxha or Mao and called all the other Berkley reading groups revisionists.
My favorite Marxists.org index, just a hundred responses to one anothers articles in defunct marxists papers and various splits in splits in splits of SDS.
https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-7/index.htm
Main currents in the Western Left
1945-1975: Openly socialist, yet reformist, active in trade unionism, peace movement and distrustful of the USSR.
Fate of this generation of leftists: Formed the left wing of Social Democratic Parties or right wing of the communist parties. Eventually, started dying out, getting integrated into social democracy like figures like Jeremy Corbyn and after 1990 mostly faded away.
1965-1980: Radical Liberal, focused on social progress over socialism, sexual liberation, youth rights, environmentalism. Strongly anti-soviet, but supportive of alternative communist movements like Hoxhaism, Trostkyism or Maoism. Of course, it ended abandoning these for social democracy or liberalism within this time period.
Fate of this generation of leftists: Got involved in neoliberal and neoconservative politics from the start after denouncing their previous radicalism, supported military interventions for "human rights" and cheered on the fall of the USSR as a "new start for socialism". Among those that remained communists, a large amount is the core of political cults that have managed to survive 1990.
1980-1989: Lifestylist, politics through subcultural belonging. Punks, red skinheads. Large influence of the LGBT+ rights movement, since it was gaining prominence and getting lowkey murdered by intentional neglect. Environmentalism (of the anti-nuclear kind) and the peace movement were the core of this era.
Fate of this generation of leftists: Faded away into obscurity and inactivity.
1989-2011: Anti-Globalization as the main focus of political activism; an opportunistic denunciation of the USSR and other AES (except Cuba), anti-racist and supportive of open borders. More anarchist than any previous post-war period of leftist activism and any successive period -> focus on creating dual power in isolated neighborhoods of large cities leading to the creation of pockets of leftist support like Hamburg-St.Pauli or Athens-Exarcheia.
Fate of this generation of leftists: mostly integrated into "democratic socialist" projects or back into liberalism. The Occupy movement was its last hurrah, after which a shift can be felt.
2011-2018: Not anti-globalization or critical of imperialism anymore (outside of small groups), yet still supportive of open borders. The main focus is anti-fascism and environmentalism, as well as LGBT+ politics. A recovery in manpower is felt since the 90s and enthusiasm is high, especially in the United States and United Kingdom.
Fate of this generation of leftists: yet unknown
2018-Now: Increased infighting on the base of campism (China/Russia good or cringe?), split of some groups based on revisionist positioning on core issues like Trans rights, nationalism or the coronavirus pandemic; widespread sense of disorientation on the question of "what is to be done?". Increased focus on third worldism, decolonization and indigenous rights, especially in North America. Moderate resurgence of union activity.
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Tbh that never really went away IMO.
Arguably, that never went away. The shrinking manpower since 1983 didn't help either.
We can actually put a hard end date on these guys: 1956, when the Soviets intervened in Hungary. De-stalinization really hurt western communist parties and then the intervention caused most of them to split into "hardline" and reformist tendencies, which all fizzled out or became decrepit (with help from the FBI). Also, communists in the west have a earlier history than 1945. In the 1930s the Communist Party was relatively popular in the US and had a civil rights emphasis. In the 1920s you had the first red scare. Debs and major union battles in the 1900-1910s, plus first peace movement. And the 1880s you see major anarchist activity and the Haymarket affair. Before that there are some scientific socialists but also a lot of utopian commune movements.
1945 was an arbitrary starting point, yeah.
deleted by creator
I am not a trot. Even if I were, going "haha get pickaxed" is a questionable response.
I know parties that split over the question "is China Socialist?". The DKP in Germany is one of them. In fact, the splinter group "Kommunistische Organisation" split like a month ago over the question of "should communists support Russia in the war in Ukraine?"
It absolutely is often a dogmatic view of either full embrace of the PRC/Russia or their denunciation as revisionist - regardless of their actual nature and a wedge issue in the left.
Earth First!, hardcore and queer culture are a single thread that connects the politics of the 80s to the politics of the 2010s. It's not that these people "faded into obscurity" or integrated into democratic socialist projects (although that does happen). They're often the backbones of modern left spaces as holders of institutional memory and funders of these projects.
Yeah say what you will about the OG New Left but at least you had funny figures and folks who supported Hoxha or Mao and called all the other Berkley reading groups revisionists.
My favorite Marxists.org index, just a hundred responses to one anothers articles in defunct marxists papers and various splits in splits in splits of SDS. https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-7/index.htm