Left communism

Left communism is a current within Marxism that rejects parliamentary reformism and criticizes the Soviet Union and other states claiming to represent communism.

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Marxism: A political and economic tradition rooted in the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, centered on class struggle and historical change. Left communism develops within Marxism while challenging how other Marxists pursue revolution.
Russian Revolution: The revolutions of 1917 that ended imperial rule in Russia and brought the Bolsheviks to power. The revolution became the central test case for left communists’ theories of power and party rule.
Social democracy: A political tradition that pursues social equality and worker protections through democratic institutions and reform. Left communists reject social democracy’s parliamentary route as insufficient for abolishing capitalism.
Amadeo Bordiga: An Italian Marxist revolutionary and theorist who helped found the Communist Party of Italy. Bordiga shaped an influential left communist tradition critical of parliamentarism and Stalinism.
Class consciousness: Awareness among members of a social class of their shared interests and position in society. Left communists dispute whether party leadership can substitute for workers’ own political consciousness.
German Revolution of 1918–1919: A revolution that ended the German Empire and produced a contested republic after World War I. Its defeat helped shape left communist opposition to parliamentary compromise and social democracy.
Leninism: A Marxist political tradition emphasizing a disciplined revolutionary party and the seizure of state power. Left communists contest Leninist party leadership and the political methods associated with it.
Anton Pannekoek: A Dutch Marxist astronomer and revolutionary theorist associated with council communism. His writing made workers’ councils and autonomous class action central to left communist thought.
Proletarian revolution: A revolution in which the working class overthrows capitalist political and economic power. Left communism treats workers’ revolutionary self-activity as central to emancipation.
Communist International: An international organization founded in 1919 to coordinate communist parties and promote world revolution. Early left communist groups broke with its increasingly centralized tactics and leadership.