A GLOSSARY OF LEFTIST DISCOURSE
Introduction and disclaimer
I thought it would be useful to have a point of reference for terminology we encounter often, which may result in miscommunication or misunderstanding. This list is imperfect, but it will hopefully be useful as a starting point to explain to ourselves or others things we may not have fully understood or internalised. I do not claim to be an authority on these concepts, but I would hope that this post can be used as a tool to co-educate, rather than as an arena in which to attack or argue.
Paix entre nous, guerre aux tyrans! Solidarity forever, comrades.
Ancap (noun; adjective; slang)
Anarcho-capitalist. A branch of capitalist thought that advocates deregulation of the capitalist economy so much as to desire the means to privately exploit labour unencumbered by even state controls. Functionally the pursuit of corporate havens for slave labour.
Ancom (noun; adjective; slang)
Anarcho-communist. A branch of communism that embraces the anarchist rejection of state authority on the grounds that statehood is inherently abusive. Characterised by devolution to grassroots organisation and decentralisation, as opposed to outright eschewal of infrastructure.
Bourgeois (noun; plural bourgeoisie; adjective, bourgeois)
Traditionally, the socio-economic class who have recourse to profit from the labour of others (proletariat). Characterised by white-collar work, education, property or business ownership, some degree of upward mobility, though these qualifiers have arguably become increasingly complicated in the 21st Century with even many bourgeoisie being themselves subject to wage-slavery.
Capital (noun)
The material position of wealth, privilege, political-economic influence, and the power to profit from the labour of others (those others being proletariat). Frequently expanded to refer to the actual people who occupy this role (e.g. Jeff Bezos, Boris Johnson, Ellen Degeneres), but strictly speaking refers to the position itself.
Capitalism (noun)
The political-economic system which relies on the perpetual exploitation of disenfranchised classes’ (proletariat) labour in order that enfranchised classes (bourgeoisie) are able to both profit therefrom and retain monopoly on the means of production. Characterised by economic inequality, privatisation, wealth accumulation, indefinite and unsustainable growth.
Capitalist (noun, plural capitalists; adjective)
The class of bourgeoisie who possess the power to employ and exploit others. Strictly speaking, this only includes those with enough control over the means of production as to actively exclude others recourse thereto and thus make them reliant on wages.
Colonialism (noun; adjective, colonial)
The political-economic process of annexing foreign territory as a means of profit. Historically, this derives from feudalist military-expansionism, but was in many ways central to the advent of the modern era and the spread of capitalism globally.
Communism (noun; adjective, communist)
A political ideology and system of governance in which the proletariat possess the means of production, and thus the needs of each is provided by the association of workers. Characterised by unilaterally socialised services, public ownership of all resources, total eschewal of liquid economics.
Also: communist (noun, plural communists): subscriber to the above.
Cultural imperialism (noun)
An exercise of systemic abuse perpetrated through popular depictions (e.g. in media) rather than material political means, whereby it is presumed that (primarily) Western/European cultural norms are superior to others.
Decentralise (verb; adjective, decentralised; noun, decentralisation)
To deconstruct or cede authority from a single, primary position, resituating it at a local level, empowering regional autonomy. This devolution can take many forms, such as geographic (e.g. local councils, county authorities), cultural/ethnic (tribal bands, minority representation associations), or professional/disciplinary (workers’ councils, unions, guilds).
Decolonise (verb; noun, decolonisation; adjective, decolonial)
To dismantle colonial infrastructure. This usually refers to ceding (stolen) land rights back to indigenous populations, may include forming new sovereign governments, and essentially never involves forced migration.
Direct action (noun)
The active pursuit of (usually proletarian or leftist) aims through practical means, such as squatting, blockading, or guerilla gardening, rather than via bureaucracy, democracy, or appeal to state representatives which serve as a buffer between the alienated masses and our due, up to and including the forcible seizure of the means of production.
Fascism (noun; adjective, fascist)
A political system of authoritarian control over populations, particularly with tiered citizenship denying basic human rights to specific (especially ethnic) groups. Characterised by forced seizure of government, subversion of democracy, suppression and criminalisation of opposition, targeted ethnic violence/extermination, policies of eugenics, usually with overtures to nationalist supremacy and military conquest.
Feudalism (noun; adjective, feudalist)
The political-economic system which relies on miltary-expansionism and hierarchical control of land and resources, with a unique class system involving military service and nobility which has become largely obsolete. Generally held to be relegated to history, but directly leading to the advent of colonialism and capitalism.
Hegemony (noun; adjective, hegemonic)
A social condition which becomes so pervasive and normalised that any alternative comes to be seen as impossible, generally engineered by the ruling class through simultaneous measures of force and consent in order to pacify underclasses.
Imperialism (noun; adjective, imperialist)
A political process of ruling over people and especially other nations from a centralised control structure. This is often achieved through military occupation, but frequently takes the form of legislation or even corruption of local governance. ‘The highest stage of capitalism’.
Imperial-colonial (adjective; noun, imperial-colonialism)
Pertaining to the form of colonialism in which a region or territory is ruled by an absentee, centralised government, usually resulting in resources being exported from colonies to the centre/metropole for the profit and privilege of the ruling class to the exclusion of indigenous populations.
Internationalist (adjective; noun, internationalism)
Pertaining to policy which prioritises mutual aid and cooperation at a state level while maintaining regional autonomy. A central premise of Lenin’s Soviet strategy to unite proletariat globally.
Liberal (adjective; noun)
Socio-political ideology espousing capitalism as the best means to emancipate disenfranchised classes from their evident oppression, prioritising reform of exploitative systems and defending against leftist movements to fully dismantle them.
Lumpenproletariat (noun, plural same; adjective)
The lowest socio-economic class, often referring to those forced to beg or engage in criminal activity to meet needs. Marx and Engels contrasted this group with the proletariat as being impossible to mobilise via class consciousness, while Frantz Fanon and Fred Hampton viewed the lumpenproletariat as vital to anti-capitalist and especially decolonial action.
Marxism (noun)
A very wide body of theory and its associated ideology, subscribing to Marx’s principles of mobilisation through class consciousness, bottom-up revolution, and active destruction of hierarchical structures, classically with an emphasis on phenomenological inevitability.
Marxism-Leninism (noun; adjective, Marxist-Leninist)
The branch of Marxist theory developed by Lenin, adopted by the Soviet Union and most communist states since as official policy. Significantly espouses a ‘vanguard party’ to seize the means of production on behalf of the proletariat. Characterised by pragmatic (revolutionary) transition from capitalism, internationalist anti-imperialism, socialist democracy.
Marxist-feminist (noun; adjective)
A branch of feminist theory identifying capitalism as the ultimate source of (at least contemporary) patriarchal oppression, generally emphasising intersectionality, class consciousness, and solidarity, and standing in direct contrast to liberal feminism.
The means of production (noun)
The material components required to produce goods, such as tools, facilities, and raw materials. A basic premise underlying Marxist analysis is the empirical truth that proletariat are fully able to self-manage, given direct access to these components, and bourgeoisie therefore have no function but to control, exploit, and alienate.
Nationalise (verb)
To legislate against private ownership of a given resource and resituate said resource in state apparatus. A central tenet of socialism and communism is certain resources being publicly/state owned or controlled, and most capitalist societies also feature state control of certain resources. Sometimes synonymous with ‘socialise’.
Nationalism (noun; adjective, nationalist)
The pursuit of the interests of a specific national identity over others, usually including targeted violence, the real threat of exclusion and expulsion, propagandised rhetoric of ‘true’ members of said national identity, dangerous dogwhistles. Many minority nationalist movements (e.g. Kurdish, Basque, Iroquois) relate more to anti-colonial resistance, and Leninist internationalism supports these, but only as long as the relevant group remains oppressed.
Neo-colonial (adjective; noun, neo-colonialism)
Pertaining to a more recent practice whereby an economic power annexes foreign territory without explicitly controlling or occupying it, usually through corporate monopoly or land seizure, but generally includes political engineering of local governing bodies.
Petite bourgeois (noun; adjective)
Those bourgeoisie who have not got recourse to profit or significant wealth accumulation, but nevertheless rely on the labour of others (proletariat). Often small business owners or lower management, with limited (vocational) education, generally alienated from the means of production yet in a position to allocate resources to employees under them.
Praxis (noun)
The synthesis of theory and practice; practical activity directly informed by and in keeping with theoretical principles.
Proletariat (noun, plural same; adjective proletarian)
Traditionally, the socio-economic class whose only source of meeting needs is through (selling) labour. Characterised by blue-collar work, manual/’unskilled’ labour, lack of formal education, lack of property, alienation from the means of production (under capitalism). A large amount of leftist theory relates to the liberation of the proletariat and their claiming the means of production, and their right to self-determination.
Settler-colonial (adjective; noun, settler-colonialism)
The form of colonialism in which colonisers fully occupy and establish centralised governmental infrastructure on (stolen) land. Characterised by forcibly displaced indigenous populations, erasure of indigenous people and culture, legislation around indigenous status forming a tiered system of citizenship, nationalist propaganda.
Socialism (noun; adjective, socialist)
Political-economic system of publicly provided infrastructural support (of e.g. healthcare, education, housing, food). Often used interchangeably with ‘communism’, but differs in maintaining private property and potentially liquid economics. For this reason, Lenin viewed it as an interstitial condition between capitalism and full communism.
Also: socialist (noun, plural socialists): subscriber to the above.
Subaltern (adjective; noun)
The class most fully removed from the centralised position of privilege, without recourse to even basic infrastructural support, usually, though not exclusively, in imperial-colonial contexts. In many ways overlapping with lumpenproletariat, the term is more likely to refer to rural Indians than homeless Londoners.
Tankie (noun; adjective; slang)
Traditionally, those British communists who endorsed the Soviet military suppression of the Hungarian and Czech revolutions (of 1956 and 1968, respectively), the term has come to be used for any advocates or apologists of authoritarian state communism.
Third world (noun; adjective)
Traditionally, those countries or regions which were neither aligned with the capitalist West or the communist Eastern Bloc, but tertiary and therefore the more disenfranchised, the term has been resignified by global capitalist hegemony, referring to ‘developing’ nations which fall outside of exploitable markets (in part due to confusion with Mao Zedong’s ‘Three Worlds Theory’).
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