When was the Western World more leftist?

[FrancoAgo]

as title, when was the Western World more leftist?

Western World for this purpose: not socialist Europe, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand

[buritobr]

Between 1945 and 1979

[Crane]

Between 1945 and 1979

Agreed. Look at the reforms introduced under leaders like Truman, LBJ, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, and Lester Pearson. Hell, without Gough Whitlam Australia might have crappy American style healthcare today, despite his short and tumultuous time in office.

[YE]

What time periods are you comparing it to?

[Red Velvet]

Definitely post-1929 and until the 70s decade. Which years exactly depends on each place perspective. This was also the period in which communism/the USSR reached its peak and communism definitely had an influence in pushing social-democracy ideals in Europe as a mixture of capitalist and socialist ideals.

Laissez-Faire liberalism dominated before the 1929 crisis, which represented the decadence of that economic system. It opened the door for different political views.

Then the reaction in the 30s and 40s was represented by a period of economic anxiety and popular anger. Movements from the far-right and far-left gained lots of strength as they represented change, populist leaders gained power. Culminated in the WWII and the start of the Cold War. The New Deal was formed in that period.

Then the 50s and 60s pretty much mostly followed the Keynesian consensus adopted by leaders like FDR in previous decades, allowing more government presence to solve problems.

70s were a transition period. Still predominantly a similar model from previous years but you could notice neoliberal movements gaining track inside political parties and intellectual elites. In the US, progressive movements that started in the 60s (the hippies/civil rights movement) also lost significant power after reaching their peak in late 60s/early 70s.

Which culminated in the neoliberal 80s that represented a new change of economic and cultural perspective. The decade of individualism and consumerism. And then the 90s were the full consolidation of that system as a general consensus.

00s pretty much mostly just followed that trend from the 80s and 90s. Then there was the 2008 economic crisis. Wasn’t as big as 1929 but brought economic anxiety and popular anger with all the inequality.

Then in the 10s you had a decade of big political turmoil, even if still much smaller than what happened during WWII period. World hierarchies shaken, rise of populism emerging especially from the far-right, change of perspectives, etc.

Let’s hope the 20s represent the start of different times just like it happened before. Even if the break with liberalism never happened, liberalism with some regulations is still better than the “minimum government” mentality that laissez-faire capitalism offers.

[CumbrianLefty]

Which culminated in the neoliberal 80s that represented a new change of economic and cultural perspective. The decade of individualism and consumerism. And then the 90s were the full consolidation of that system as a general consensus.

Ah yes, "the end of history".

Part of the problem for many left/centre-left parties in the developed world is that their current ruling elites had their worldview formed during this period, and adjusting from that is not easy.

[parochial boy]

Depends where in the western world. France and Italy... well obviously not now. But other countries, like the USA, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal (Franco and Salazar you see) are for varying reasons and in varying ways all more left wing than they were during the second half of the twentieth century.

Because it already raises the question of what "leftist" means in this contect - electoral success of left wing parties? of left wing social movements and/or trade unions? the attitude of the average person on the street? a leftwing economic order? or even just adopting left wing economic policies?

[buritobr]

Definitely post-1929 and until the 70s decade. Which years exactly depends on each place perspective. This was also the period in which communism/the USSR reached its peak and communism definitely had an influence in pushing social-democracy ideals in Europe as a mixture of capitalist and socialist ideals.

Laissez-Faire liberalism dominated before the 1929 crisis, which represented the decadence of that economic system. It opened the door for different political views.

Then the reaction in the 30s and 40s was represented by a period of economic anxiety and popular anger. Movements from the far-right and far-left gained lots of strength as they represented change, populist leaders gained power. Culminated in the WWII and the start of the Cold War. The New Deal was formed in that period.

Then the 50s and 60s pretty much mostly followed the Keynesian consensus adopted by leaders like FDR in previous decades, allowing more government presence to solve problems.

70s were a transition period. Still predominantly a similar model from previous years but you could notice neoliberal movements gaining track inside political parties and intellectual elites. In the US, progressive movements that started in the 60s (the hippies/civil rights movement) also lost significant power after reaching their peak in late 60s/early 70s.

Which culminated in the neoliberal 80s that represented a new change of economic and cultural perspective. The decade of individualism and consumerism. And then the 90s were the full consolidation of that system as a general consensus.

00s pretty much mostly just followed that trend from the 80s and 90s. Then there was the 2008 economic crisis. Wasn’t as big as 1929 but brought economic anxiety and popular anger with all the inequality.

Then in the 10s you had a decade of big political turmoil, even if still much smaller than what happened during WWII period. World hierarchies shaken, rise of populism emerging especially from the far-right, change of perspectives, etc.

Let’s hope the 20s represent the start of different times just like it happened before. Even if the break with liberalism never happened, liberalism with some regulations is still better than the “minimum government” mentality that laissez-faire capitalism offers.

I think it is better to consider only the post WW2 era. Of course, the was a crisis of the laissez-faire after the 1929 crash. But except New Deal USA, social democratic Sweden and the short-liver Popular Front in France, most of the answer for this crisis in the west in the 1930s came from the far-right.

The early 21th century has some parallels to the 1930s. There were 3 great catatrophes to neoliberal economy: the global financial crisis of 2008, the rise of China and the Covid19 pandemic crisis. But many answers came from the far-right.

[FrancoAgo]

Depends where in the western world. France and Italy... well obviously not now. But other countries, like the USA, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal (Franco and Salazar you see) are for varying reasons and in varying ways all more left wing than they were during the second half of the twentieth century.

Because it already raises the question of what "leftist" means in this contect - electoral success of left wing parties? of left wing social movements and/or trade unions? the attitude of the average person on the street? a leftwing economic order? or even just adopting left wing economic policies?

Generally talking for all the west, you can choice as weight the countries

all this are important but some are harder to know, so elections and government policies could be the right proxy


----

I'm agree that we need to focus in the post WW2 era, in the 1929 and following years we have a large far right wave, in many european counytries

[FrancoAgo]

I did some research, probably was just after WW2

[vitoNova]

The glorious years of 2008 - 2015.

LOL imagine calling Jim Crow America and extremely irrational paranoia over commies a period of leftism.  

[CumbrianLefty]

The glorious years of 2008 - 2015.

LOL imagine calling Jim Crow America and extremely irrational paranoia over commies a period of leftism.  

Which peaked when the GOP were in power.

[jaymichaud]

1964-1978.

[FrancoAgo]

LOL imagine calling Jim Crow America and extremely irrational paranoia over commies a period of leftism.  

I can give a suggestion if the Red Scare was a result of left strength?

[Agonized-Statism]

There are two Western worlds: Western society and Western government. 1968 represented the peak of grassroots leftist movements in the West, but I would hardly call a war for the Vietnamese colonial elite leftist. I also fail to see how the domestic programs launched by Western governments post-Great Depression restored the means of production to the workers that use them- those were just a few safety nets to preserve capitalism, continuing to this day with healthcare reform. You could say that the postwar consensus was an unprecedented pivot to compromise and centrism, but to call that a leftist period is a misconception. The US, at least, has never had a leftist government, and the same can be said for the most part for Western Europe and its other former settler colonies. There are just fluctuations in how much the elites can get of their right-wing agenda passed without collapsing the system. It's a permanent struggle of interests, but the ideology of the Western government (liberal republican capitalism) rarely changes.

[CumbrianLefty]

Well if you are using a totally purist version of "leftist" then it will by definition apply to only a limited number of places and timescales. Which makes it a slightly pointless exercise, perhaps.