On February 16, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted a presentation of the report "Where Is the European Left Headed?" Anton Bespalov, the discussion's moderator, emphasised that the fate of the left is relevant for Russia, which for much of the last century served as a beacon of the global labour movement and a visible embodiment of a global alternative. We are now at a unique moment, when the semblance of a new totalitarianism that has emerged in Western societies, generated by new technologies, is triggering a veritable global revolt. This presents new opportunities for the left, but the question is whether it will seize them.
The report's author, Jean-Pierre Page, identified the rejection of class struggle, which has led to the left's subordination to the capitalist oligarchy, as a key factor in the decline of the “systemic” left. The bourgeoisie eagerly invests in certain segments of the left and adopts radical rhetoric without fundamentally changing anything. Ultimately, the left attempts to give capitalism a human face, arguing that bourgeois institutions and the principles of electoralism must be respected. In doing so, they effectively abandon the fight for socialism, declaring it a utopia. “A peaceful democratic transition from capitalism is impossible—the plutocracy will not voluntarily relinquish its powers. If power is not fully surrendered, it must be won,” Page said. Meanwhile, the historical responsibility of the left is to overthrow capitalism as such, in all its manifestations. The left must restore its credibility by speaking out against capitalism and hegemony.
Radhika Desai, professor in the Faculty of Political Studies and director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba, noted that some leftists admitted defeat by compromising with capitalism and supporting imperialism even before the First World War. Later, some Western Marxists rejected the October Revolution, considering it alien to the true ideals of the left. Then a new economic theory emerged, replacing traditional political economy and legitimising capitalism. These attempts to reconcile conflicting views led to intellectual capitulation, the rejection of Marxist conceptual frameworks, and a virtually libertarian understanding of capitalism. Thus, the situation reached a de facto conflation between leftist movements and imperialism. Historically, leftist parties have shifted to the right, becoming parties of the corporate establishment and the middle class, and are even merging with the right, according to Desai.
Alexey Chikhachev, Associate Professor at the Department of European Studies at the Faculty of International Relations at St. Petersburg State University and leading expert at the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Institute of Foreign Economic Relations at the Higher School of Economics, commented on the current state of the European left. He is convinced that the current situation is not new – historically, the European left has been characterised by fragmentation, crises, and internal conflicts. At the same time, according to Chikhachev, the current crisis appears to be the result of a choice made in the past, which was, in its own way, quite pragmatic and rational. At a certain point in the second half of the 20th century, the left realised that ideological strictness would not bring them popular support, and that a deal with the system could become a ticket to power. This provided the left with numerous tactical successes, but ultimately led them to a strategic impasse. Moreover, they are forced to deal with a distorted public space. European society is highly fragmented, making it difficult for the left to formulate a clear, unambiguous political proposal or a vision of the future.
Valdai Club Programme Director Oleg Barabanov identified a number of trends characterising the contemporary left movement. He noted that ten years ago, the West experienced significant changes, manifested in growing public distrust of traditional parties—both centre-left and centre-right. This led to the emergence of new forces, both on the left and the right. However, since then, European political elites have adapted to the presence of non-systemic forces and integrated them into the mainstream. Furthermore, in continental Europe, parties that traditionally represented the interests of the working class now represent the interests of the middle class, partly due to the decline in poverty and the shift of workers into the lower middle class, and partly due to deindustrialisation. The relocation of production to the Global South also contributed to the leftist discourse becoming firmly linked to the idea of anti-imperialism, while reindustrialisation has become more of a right-wing slogan. Barabanov believes that another important factor is the lack of cross-border solidarity among left-wing forces, both in opposition to liberal globalism and in opposition to Trumpism.
