Where is the European Left headed?

Key Chapter Title List

1. The Sacred Union!
2. What is the Current Situation?
3. Neither a Counterweight Nor a Pole of Resistance?
4. A Severe Assessment
5. France as Europe's Weak Link
6. What are the Prospects?

Document Introduction

This report aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of the contemporary European left-wing political forces, particularly the current state, dilemmas, and future trajectory of social democracy and its related parties. The report begins by posing core questions: What is the left? Where does it stand? And where is it heading? Against the backdrop of a systemic crisis facing the liberal order and the relative decline of the Western world, Europe's institutionalized left, especially the Social Democratic and Communist parties, is showing signs of bleak prospects, paralysis in action, and even being on the verge of extinction. Taking France as a primary case study, the report examines the decline of the two main political forces representing the left after World War II—the Socialist Party (PS) and the Communist Party (PC)—while also paying attention to the new left-wing forces that have emerged over the past two decades, advocating for social justice and environmental protection but adopting a more cautious stance on geopolitical issues.

The report's core argument is that, faced with the severity of the crisis, the European left has failed to propose genuine alternatives or break with the past. Instead, in most cases, it has opted for a strategy of expediency: forming a sacred union. This strategy manifests in France as a political alliance between the Socialist Party and parts of the right, center, and Macronism, with overt or tacit support from the Communist Party and the Greens; in Germany, it is reflected in the consensus among the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Greens, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and even the Left Party (Die Linke) on certain issues. The report points out that this seemingly contradictory political arrangement is actually a product of the current historical period—a once-in-a-century transformation filled with new contradictions, uncertainties, dangers, and opportunities. However, far from analyzing these anti-hegemonic upheavals, the European left often stubbornly refuses to confront their true scope and significance, choosing instead to align itself with the still-dominant ideology and its hegemonic ambitions.

The report further assesses the current state of the European left, particularly social democracy. It notes that the political thought of social democracy is stagnant due to profound intellectual poverty, and its economic and social frame of reference remains at the Keynesian level. In practice, its program is merely a replica of the European and political constraints imposed by Brussels and international financial institutions. This has led to the weakening, and near severance, of the left's connection with the working class; its political foundation has collapsed and failed to renew itself. Confronted with crises in international relations, economic and financial recession, and the unprecedented social, political, institutional, cultural, and moral bankruptcy of the Western world, the European left carefully aligns its positions with mainstream ideology, for instance, acting as a loyal partner to the hegemonic system by supporting proactive US-European rearmament and providing legitimacy for the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine.

The report presents a severe critical assessment of the European left, particularly its failure to become a counterweight or a pole of resistance. It argues that social democracy and its allies are content merely to follow or even adopt neoconservative rhetoric, and under pressure from media watchdogs, they self-normalize, leading to a general decline of critical thinking in intellectual debates. Although it presents itself as a guardian of core values and claims to be a bulwark against the far right, the economic and social austerity policies it implements actually contribute to the rise of right-wing and far-right ideologies in Europe. Citing the Italian historian Clara Mattei, the report points out that austerity is the core of fascism, even when implemented by a liberal state.

Finally, the report provides a specific analysis using France as Europe's weak link and visually presents, through chart data, the long-term declining trend in support for major Western European Communist parties after World War II. Building on this, the report explores the prospects for the European left, suggesting that to escape its current state of schizophrenia, it must question its pattern of adaptation and conformity to the dominant ideology. However, due to its role being confined to the margins of the system, its political institutions having become rigid, and its leaders being more focused on personal ambitions and career planning, it has not yet reached this stage. The report ultimately leaves the reader with an open yet grave question: In a world of accelerating change, how will the European left position itself, and what is the purpose of its existence?