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Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commonly supported by the centre-left include welfare capitalism, social justice, liberal internationalism, and multiculturalism. Economically, the centre-left supports a mixed economy in a democratic capitalist system, often including economic interventionism, progressive taxation, and the right to unionize. Centre-left politics are contrasted with far-left politics that reject capitalism or advocate revolution.
The centre-left developed with the rest of the left–right political spectrum in 18th and 19th century France, where the centre-left included those who supported transfer of powers from the French monarchy to parliament or endorsed moderate republicanism. Early progressivism and left liberalism evolved in the late-19th and early-20th centuries in Western Europe and the United States, while social democracy split from revolutionary socialism, which became associated with communism, and advocated reformist socialist positions. Social democracy became the dominant ideology in Western Europe during the post–World War II economic expansion and it spread to Africa after decolonization.
Centre-left economics declined in popularity following the 1973–1975 recession and was replaced by neoliberalism. In the 1990s, Third Way politics emerged as a centrist variant of social democracy in Europe, and centre-left politics spread to Latin America during the pink tide. In the 21st century, centre-left politics are challenged by the developments of the Digital Revolution, the subsumption of the lower class into the middle class in developed nations, and an increase in support for populism.
Social democracy has influenced the politics of nearly every major democracy, though it has historically been most successful in the European Union, where it was the predominant ideology from 1945 to 1973. Sweden in particular has historically been closely associated with social democracy, as it was the first country to be led by a social democratic party, and social democrats in Sweden continued to be relevant even after the ideology lost influence in other countries during the 1970s. Social democracy also became a popular ideology in many African governments after the decolonisation of Africa.
Social liberalism was developed in the United Kingdom in the mid-20th century, where it took the form of new liberalism. The identification of centre-left ideologies as "liberal" is most common to the United States. Liberalism is less common in regions such as Africa and Asia, where there is no individualist or liberal democratic tradition.
Green politics developed from various left-wing ideologies, including social democracy and Marxism, in the 1970s. It was initially developed in Australia and New Zealand, and it first gained influence in Germany as a response to the Cold War and Environmentalism. The presence of green politics in national government is mostly limited to Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, though green political parties briefly held influence during the postcommunist period of Eastern Europe. Green political parties have been most successful in Belgium, Finland, France, and Germany, where they integrated into the national party system.
Christian democracy is an ideology that incorporates Catholic social teaching into a secular political philosophy. Though most enduring Christian democratic parties are centrist, those in Latin America have historically ranged across the political spectrum, with centre-left and centre-right variants both being common. Christian democrats often support the welfare state, and social justice has been a frequent theme among Christian democracy parties in Latin America. Christian democracy in Europe is not usually associated with the centre-left, instead favouring the centre-right.
Though it is often associated with conservatism, some elements of Confucianism invoke ideas that are associated with the centre-left in Western countries. Promotion of general welfare, supporting members of the family, and the ideal of the Harmonious Society all have implications for centre-left politics. The welfare state of East Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan are sometimes described as Confucian. These welfare systems have been influenced by Confucian familialism, which shifts some of the burden of welfare from the state to the family.
Liberal internationalism is associated with the centre-left through its idealism, constructivism, and progressivism. Liberal internationalists seek cooperation between nations, often including support for common security and arms control between nations to facilitate peace. The centre-left, along with the centre-right, implemented this foreign policy in Europe during the Cold War, but it has become less prominent due to the rise of anti-globalist far-right parties.
The immigration policies of centre-left groups vary depending on the political circumstances of a given country, and they may seek to greatly expand or greatly restrict immigration. In principle, centre-left parties generally believe in multiculturalism and support high immigration. The key issue of centre-left immigration policy is the balance between egalitarianism and pragmatism. The centre-left often faces pressures from working class voters to restrict immigration to prevent competition over jobs and public services. Other centre-left policies can also be negatively impacted by immigration, as a large increase in low-skilled workers can raise concerns about the increased price of public services, prompting spending cuts and roll-backs of centre-left welfare policies.
Though positions on environmentalism are not consistent across centre-left parties, they are more likely to support environmentalist policies than centre-right parties. Centre-left parties are popularly associated with environmental policies in the minds of voters, which earns them support in good economic conditions but loses them support in poor economic conditions. Environmentalism is a major component of green politics.
Centre-left politics often involve transfer payment systems, such as welfare and early childhood education, with the goal of creating higher employment while avoiding a welfare trap. Closely associated with this is the implementation of a progressive tax, in which higher earnings are taxed at higher rates. Some early centre-left groups supported gradual reform toward socialism, but this position is not supported by the centre-left in the 21st century. The modern centre-left distinguishes between just and unjust capitalism, advocating for welfare state policies to create what it considers to be just capitalism. Through the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the centre-left has been more likely to benefit electorally during periods of economic growth and suffer electorally in economic downturn.
The core objective underlying centre-left economic policies, democratic capitalism, has largely been achieved within many economies, with further policies seeking to merely reform or improve upon this system. These may include measures to reduce poverty or to support lower-wage workers. One common dispute within the centre-left is the extent to which centre-left parties should reform markets versus regulating pre-existing markets. Centre-left parties in Europe and the United States have supported corporate governance reform to protect the investments of shareholders.
The Nordic model such as Denmark and Sweden are often upheld by proponents of centre-left economic policies as successful applications of these policies. These economies heavily emphasize international trade as well as Tripartism between government, industry, and labour. In post-war Europe, West Germany established the socioeconomic model of a social market economy, a regulated market economic system that promoted and fair competition with regulation for social policies and a welfare state.Christian Ludwig Glossner (2025). 9781441676955, London; New York : Tauris Academic Studies. . ISBN 9781441676955
Elsewhere in Europe, centre-left movements appeared from the 1860s, mainly in Spain and Italy. In Italy, the centre-left was born as coalition between the liberal Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour and the progressive Urbano Rattazzi, the heads respectively of the Historical Right and Historical Left groupings in Parliament. This alliance was called " connubio" ("marriage") for its opportunist characteristics. Liberalism was typically associated with the centre-right in the late 19th century, but liberal parties in France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom adopted left liberal policies through coalitions of middle and working class voters that survived until World War I.
Progressivism developed as a school of thought within British and American centre-left politics in the mid-19th century. Early progressive thought developed from modernism and humanism, manifesting as calls for reform. It developed as a political movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries as it was adopted by social liberal and social democratic parties. Unlike later social democratic movements, social democracy in the 19th century held socialist society as an eventual goal. The first social democratic party was established in Germany in 1863.
Social democrats made up the centre-left during the interwar period in Europe, advocating government regulation and intervention in opposition to the passive policies of the predominant Marxist and classical liberal parties. The centre-left and the centre-right in this period were primarily divided by their stance on trade unions, with social democracy advocating greater powers for unions in collective bargaining. In Western Europe, the centre-left supported the Plan De Man. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, social democracy became a viable alternative to other left-wing ideologies, and state intervention saw popular support throughout the western world. It was also seen as a potential means to counteract rising far-right movements that were developing in Europe. The centre-left was particularly strong in Sweden, which was the only country at the time to have ruling party that was explicitly social democratic, the Swedish Social Democratic Party. Other European countries with social democratic governments included Denmark, Norway, and Czechoslovakia. The Democratic Party in the United States also implemented centre-left policies with the New Deal, as a lack of ties to socialist groups allowed for a stronger centre-left relative to other countries.
Centre-left politics were historically unpopular in Latin America, and left-wing candidates were kept out of power through both right-wing dictatorships and through conservative victories in fair elections. In the mid-20th century, centre-left politics supported state-led development and industrialization in the region, which allowed redistributive and socially inclusive policies to be implemented. In East Asia, interventionism and developmental policy were adopted by right-wing parties rather than centre-left parties.
Keynesian economics declined in popularity after the end of the post-war consensus, spurred by the 1970s energy crisis and the subsequent recession. The centre-left parties that had held power to that point received much of the blame for the economic crises, and support for the centre-left declined in favour of conservative neoliberalism. At the same time, the end of several right-wing dictatorships in Southern Europe prompted support for centre-left politics among these countries in the 1970s. A decline in the relevance of , historically a prominent voter group for social democratic parties, contributed to the limited success of centre-left politics in the 1980s. Furthermore, centre-left policies faced new challenges that necessitated a reconsideration of the welfare state, including population ageing that threatened pension programs and women in the workforce that heavily altered the job market. Green political parties first became prominent in the 1980s when they became influential in European politics.
Centre-left ideologies were among those uplifted by the pink tide in Latin America in the late 1990s. Early centre-left politics and progressivism in Latin America has focused heavily on the inclusion of previously Social exclusion groups in society through citizenship and its associated Legal rights. Income inequality also became a major focus, and centre-left parties in the region promote redistributive policy. Liberalism in Latin America has historically been conservative and oligarchic rather than a centre-left liberalism of progressivism or egalitarianism. Several centre-left parties supported reforms toward economic liberalism in line with those supported by their right-wing counterparts, in some cases leading to backlash that saw incumbent centre-left leaders replaced by far-left populists.
Ideological diversity developed in Africa after the end of the decolonization period, which had been dominated by far-left politics. Most post-colonial African political parties adopted some form of socialism or social democracy, though social democratic policies have seen limited success due to the unstable nature of democracy in Africa.
The Great Recession exacerbated this trend, bringing significant challenges to the rule of centre-left parties, particularly those with social democratic leanings. In Europe, this brought about a period of Pasokification in which social democratic parties saw large declines during the 2010s, largely being replaced by far-left and right-wing populist parties. The centre-left's stance on immigration in Europe was one of multiculturalism, further pushing working class voters from the centre-left to the far-right. In some cases, centre-left and centre-right politics in these countries became less distinct as political cleavages shifted toward populist versus traditional politics. The Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa supported ideals often associated with social democracy and the centre-left.
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