Left communism

Not to be confused with the Left Opposition, a Russian communist faction led by Leon Trotsky in the 1920s.

"Left Communists" redirects here. For the historical groups, see Left Communists (Soviet Russia) and Left Communists (Weimar Republic).

Left communism, or the communist left, describes a range of positions held by the left wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices held by Marxist–Leninists, Trotskyists, and social democrats. Left communists assert positions which they regard as more authentically Marxist than the views of Marxism–Leninism espoused by the Communist International after its Bolshevisation by Joseph Stalin and during its second congress. There have been two primary currents of left communism since World War I, namely the Italian left and the Dutch–German left.

The Italian communist left is primarily made up of the Bordigist current and the Damenite current. These two currents mainly differ on the national question and the role of the communist party during a revolutionary period, with Bordigists considering themselves to be Leninist and Damenites considering themselves to be Luxemburgist. Both currents denounce Marxism–Leninism as a form of bourgeois opportunism materialized in the Soviet Union under Stalin. The Italian current of left communism was historically represented by the Italian Socialist Party and the Communist Party of Italy, but today is embodied in the Internationalist Communist Party of Italy, International Communist Party, and the International Communist Current.

The Dutch–German left split from Vladimir Lenin prior to Stalin's rule and supports a firmly council communist viewpoint, as opposed to the Italian left which emphasised the need for an international revolutionary party. The Dutch–German current of left communism was historically represented by the Communist Workers' Party of Germany, General Workers' Union of Germany, and the Communist Workers' International.

Left communism mainly differs from most other forms of Marxism in believing that communists should not participate in bourgeois democratic elections, and some argue against participating in trade unions. However, many left communists split over their criticism of the Bolsheviks. Council communists criticised the Bolsheviks for use of the party form, and emphasised a more autonomous organisation of the working class, without political parties.

Although she was murdered in 1919, before left communism became a distinct tendency, Rosa Luxemburg has been heavily influential for most left communists, both politically and theoretically. Proponents of left communism have included Herman Gorter, Anton Pannekoek, Otto Rühle, Karl Korsch, Amadeo Bordiga, Paul Mattick, Onorato Damen, Jacques Camatte, and Sylvia Pankhurst. Later prominent theorists are shared with other tendencies, such as Antonio Negri, a founding theorist of the autonomist tendency.