Far-Leftist Spectrum Dictionary

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The aim of this is to provide quick explanations for ideologies or theories which are held by left wing Revleft community members. Bare in mind that none of the descriptions can adequetly describe in fullness the ideas of each ideology. There have been links provided for further reading about the ideas listed.

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Anarchism

A philosophy advocating the abolition of all forms of hierarchical authority, including capitalism and the state. Anarchists are opposed to the idea, advocated by most Marxists, that a transitional dictatorship is necessary to achieve a classless society and instead argue for the simultanious abolition of capitalism & the state.

Further Reading

Basic Principles of Anarchism - Morpheus
Anarchism for Dummies - Comrade James
http://www.black-rose.com/articles-liz/intro-@.html
http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anar.../bakunin2.html
Pamplets about Anarchism
My Webpage
http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/a/n...n.htm#anarchism
The Anarchist Archive
The Anarchist International Information Service
Raise The Fist - Anarchism Defined

There are many different types of anarchism. Three types which have been prominent throughout the twentieth century are:

Anarcho-Communism/Libertarian Communism

A form of anarchism advocating the abolition of money and markets and the organizing of the economy along the lines of “from each according to ability, to each according to need”

Further Reading

Conquest of Bread - Peter Kropotikin
Anarcho-Communism - Punkerslut
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Embassy/8970/
http://www.zabalaza.net/texts/txt_ma...of_lib_com.htm
http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anarchism/mlc/

Anarcho-Syndicalism

Anarchism oriented towards unions and the labor movement

Further Reading

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/7017/...what_is_as.html
http://www.nucleus.com/~markv/aslinks.html
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Anarcho-Collectivism

A form of anarchism where markets are abolished and production is co-ordinated with collectives of workers syndicates.

Further Reading

http://www.struggle.ws/anarchists/bakunin.html

Bolshevik

The Marxist-Leninist party which led the Russian Revolution of 1917. Leading figures were V.I Lenin, L. Trotsky and J. Stalin.

Further Reading

http://www.marxists.org/subject/bolsheviks/index.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSbolsheviks.htm
Bolshevism, the road to revolution - Alan WoodsBolshevism, Fraudulent Practice Of Democratic Centralism - Albert Weisbord
The Bolsheviks and Workers Control
The Role of Bolshevik Ideology in the Birth of the Bureaucracy

Communism

1. Any philosophy advocating a classless, stateless society without money or markets organized according to the principle “from each according to ability, to each according to need” 2. In Orthodox Marxist theory it is stage of history coming after socialism (dictatorship of the proletariat) when the state has “withered away” and society is run according to the principle “from each according to ability, to each according to need”

Further Reading

What is Communism? - Redstar2000

Dialectics

A science used to explain the way nature and societies change. Karl Marx used dialectics to explain his theories on historical materialism. Marx's theory is often refered to as Dialectical Materialism.

Further Reading

What the heck is dialectics?
Dialectics for kids
Dialectics of Nature - Frederick Engels
What is Dialectical Materialism - Rob Sewell
Dialectical Materialism - John Pickard

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

Also called a “workers’ state.” In Orthodox Marxist theory, a state controlled by the workers and used to suppress the bourgeoisie. This will “wither away” during the transition from socialism to communism. The USSR, China and other not so notable states such as Vietnam, Cuba, Angola, Tanzania and Laos all claimed to be in this "dictatorship of the proletariat," none ever claimed to have achieved communism. In communism there would be no government.

Further Reading

http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/faq/dictp.html
http://www.geocities.com/youth4sa/pr...tatorship.html
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ber..._of_prole.html
http://www.marxists.org/archive/kaut...10s/dictprole/
http://www.marx2mao.org/Other/ODP77NB.html

Feminism

The belief and movement dedicated to womens rights and liberation.

Further Reading

Feminism Thread - Reply by SenoraChe
Feminism
http://eserver.org/feminism/index.html
Anarcho-Feminism Website
Class Struggle and Womens Liberation - Tony Cliff
FEMINISM: A MALE ANARCHIST'S PERSPECTIVE - Pendleton Vandiver

Historical Materialism

Karl Marx's theory on how history has developed.

Further Reading

A simple guide
What is Historical Materialism - Mick Brooks
http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/notebooks...aterialism.html
[url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works...bject/hist-mat/[/URL]
Historical Materialism - Stalin
The German Ideology - Karl Marx

Juche

The philosophy that man is the master of everything and decides everything. It has been applied to the principles used by the North Korean Socialist leader Kim Jong Il.

Further Reading

http://www.w-mids.freeserve.co.uk/juche.htm
http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/wim/wyl/juche.html
http://www.geocities.com/songunpoliticsstudygroup/

Labor theory of value

Karl Marx's theory on how wealth in society is generated.

"Labor, like all other commodities (things produced for sale), has an exchange value that depends on the socially-necessary amount of labor to produce--roughly, the amount necessary to keep the laborer alive for another day plus the amount required to produce the next generation of laborers.

However, once the capitalist agrees to purchase someone's labor, he may insist that the laborer work more hours than the laborer would have to simply in order to earn back his exchange value...thus labor is unique among all commodities in that it can produce (for the capitalist) more than it's "worth" in the marketplace."
- Redstar2000

Further Reading

Labour Theory of Value FAQ
Introduction to the Labour Theory of Value - Mick Brooks
Value, Price and Profit - Karl Marx
Wage, Labour and Capital - Karl Marx
Das Kapital, Volume One - Karl Marx

Leninism

A theoretical framework -- which address, amongst other things, working class organization, the role of the Party and revolutionaries, the nature of the imperialist epoch of capitalism, the role of the peasantry, and social-democracy -- developed by V. I. Lenin and comrades based on the experiences of the Russian revolution and the historical events that proceeded it.

Further Reading

State and Revolution - Lenin
http://www.maoism.org/
http://www.the-wood.org/socialism/leninism.htm

Maoism

A form of Leninism based on the ideas of Mao Zedong. Maoists tend to focus on using guerrilla war and peasant unrest to bring about a revolution. Most admit that Stalin & Mao made some mistakes but are still positively inclined towards them and argue that the social-political systems that existed under their rule were overall good systems.

Marxism

A philosophy based on the ideas of Karl Marx. Includes historical materialism, the labor theory of value, dialectical materialism and other ideas.

Further Reading

Foundations of Marxism
http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/p...s/marxism.html
http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/marx.html

Permanent Revolution Theory

One of Leon Trotskys most famous theories.

"The theory of permanent revolution basically states that in those countries which have had a belated capitalist development (such as Third World countries), the capitalist class is too weak and cowardly to resist imperialism. In fact, it is a direct agent of imperialism."
- 'Youth For Socialist Action' Webpage

Further Reading

Introduction two the Permenant Revolution Theory
What Is The Permenant Revolution?
The Permanent Revolution & Results and Prospects - Leon Trotsky
Permanent Revolution - An Objectivist Nightmare
Permanent Revolution - Wikipedia

Platformism

A form of Libertarian Communism, based on "The Organisational platform of the Libertarian Communists" - a document written by various Russian Anarchists (including Makhno) who attempted to draw conclusions from their failure in the Russian revolution. Platformism is a form of Anarchist organisation that attacks individualism, and believes in collective resposability and theoretical unity. The platform has been a document of much contention within the Anarchist movement, partly as it argues for the formation of an Executive Comittee.

The Organisational Platform of the Libertarian Communists
Suppliment to the Organisational Platform
Errico Malatestas Objections to the platform
Makhnos reply to Malatesta

Reformism

A name given to politics which means to change society through a legal process ie parliment and the judicial system.

Socialism

1. A belief that human society can and should be organised along social lines - that is, for the benefit of all, rather than for the profit of a few 2. A type of reformist politics advocating nationalised industries and workers rights 3. In Orthodox Marxist theory, the stage after capitalism but before Communism in which the dictatorship of the proletariat rules and individuals are paid according to how much they work. China, the USSR, etc. all claimed to be in this socialist stage, none ever claimed to be in communism. That is why the USSR was called the Union of Soviet SOCIALIST Republics and not the Union of Soviet Communist Republics. 4. Also a form of post revolutionary society in its own right.

Further Reading

Reformist Socialism - Alexandre Millerand
http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/contemp/...el/sfb_main.htm
Democractic Socialist Perspective - An Australian Resource
What is Democractic Socialism - Reformist perspective
Evolutionary Socialism - Preface to Eduard Bernsteins books

Stalinism

1. The period in Russian history in which Stalin ruled the USSR 2. A form of Leninism based on the ideas of Joseph Stalin. Stalinists generally argue that the major atrocities allegedly committed in the USSR did not take place and are just capitalist lies. Most claim that the USSR underwent a counter-revolution after Stalin's death, with Kruschev's rise to power. 3. Any form of Leninism which is not hostile to Joseph Stalin and does not thoroughly condemn his rule

Further Reading

http://home.mira.net/~andy/bs/
http://csf.colorado.edu/psn/marx/Other/Tro...1937-Stalinism/
http://csf.colorado.edu/psn/marx/Other/Sta...ve/1924-tro.htm
Another View of Stalin

State Capitalism

1. Any form of capitalism is which the state plays a significant role beyond protecting private property. 2. Term used by some anarchists, Trotskyists and others to refer to the economic policies of the USSR (State monopoly capitalism), either during it's entire existence or a subset of it's existence 3. A welfare state 4. Government policies which redistribute wealth upwards (corporate welfare) such as the military-industrial complex in the United States.

Further Reading

State Capitalism in Russia - Tony Cliff
Against the Theory of State Captialism - Ted Grant

Trotskyism

From of Leninism based on the ideas of Leon Trotsky. Intensely hostile towards Stalinism. Argues that the USSR during & after Stalin's rule was a "degenerate workers' state" and that the problems in it were brought about by objective historical circumstances, not any flaw in Leninist ideology.

Further Reading

http://www.weisbord.org/Trotskyism.htm
Trotskyism or Leninism - Stalin
http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/index.htm