Beyond Liberalism: The Return of the Left
Dalton Nolan
4/27/2025
There has been a shift in American political and social life—leftism is on the rise. Once reserved for online spaces or small groupings of revolutionaries, leftism is once more gaining a footing in mainstream discourse. Contrary to the narrative peddled by mainstream media, there has always been an undercurrent of radical and revolutionary thought in America. Since the founding of the US, there has always been a minority of individuals who sought to lead society toward a better future. From the abolitionists who struggled to dismantle and right the wrongs of slavery, to Eugene V. Debs and the Socialist Party gaining a million votes in a presidential election, to the Black Panther standing in solidarity with the Vietnamese, the US has a long history of a militant minority serving as the vanguard for a radical and revolutionary movement. In fact, the nearly half century since the end of the New Left has been more of an exception, not the norm, in the history of the US.
The reason the US lacked a cohesive leftist presence for the last 50+ years is multifaceted, involving inter-left infighting and incorrect praxis, infiltration and espionage by the feds, the shifts in global and national economies, the degradation of the most revolutionary elements into reformist and class collaborationists who side with the Democrats, etc. The result has been the stranglehold of the Democratic Party over the label of “left,” making them seemingly the only viable option for working people. Under the Democrats, with plenty of Republican support, the term “leftist” became synonymous with “liberal,” creating an entire generation that fervently believed the Democrats were the vanguard of a better tomorrow or the precursors to some “cultural Marxist” revolution. The reality was far different, with the Democrats only being servants to the whims of the owning class.
Things changed with Bernie Sanders. Though not a revolutionary and firmly entrenched in the Democratic Party, Sanders self-description as a “socialist” helped. By reintroducing the concepts of radical thought into the mainstream in a positive manner, something that had not been seen since at least the mid-70s, Sanders dispelled the “boogeyman” caricature given to leftist ideas and concepts. Again, Sanders isn’t a socialist and his recent “Fighting the Oligarchy” Tour isn’t the prelude to a revolution; it is merely a ploy to help the Democrats regain the trust of working and oppressed people. Nonetheless, him uttering the word “socialist” was a big deal, and once Sanders lost the Primary and conceded to the Democratic Party Machine, those who lost faith in him and the Party continued to move left. And, with the election of Trump and the anti-Trump wave that came afterward, more and more people were galvanized to read theory and truly engage with leftist ideas in a way they never could. For the first time in many years, people were abandoning the label of “liberal” and embracing radical and revolutionary ideas. This can even be seen in the shift in the language used in political discourse. Yes, the terms “working class” and “working people” have always been a part of political discourse, but prior to 2016, they were used as synonyms to “middle class,” making it devoid of any actual meaning. Now, though, they are regaining their original and correct meaning—as a description of the class of people who must sell their labor to the owning class in order to live.
As the years go by, leftist ideas, especially the principle of class struggle, are reaching a wider and wider audience, which is only fueled by the contradictions in society growing more acute by the day and the establishment institutions losing the trust of the working class. All over the country, working and oppressed people are saying, “No more”—no more hollow promises from both political parties; no more 50, 60, 70 hour work weeks for pennies; no more to a parasitic for-profit healthcare system; no more to the march of climate change; no more to imperialist wars and genocide.
Despite the return of leftist ideas to the mainstream, it isn’t all sunshine and revolutions. The owning class is clearly fearful of the rise of a radical and revolutionary movement brewing in the US. We see this with the resurgence of the far-right in the US. As had happened previously under his first presidency, the second presidency of Trump has seen the ascendancy of reactionary actions and policies, with everything and everyone being targeted. Additionally, Trump’s increasing fixation on challenging the “Marxist indoctrination” is a clear attempt to a. stem the rise of people questioning the status quo, and b. to keep working and oppressed people divided and focused on a semi-manufactured culture war. This doesn’t even begin to examine the flagrant demonstrations organized by far-right groups, such as those in Cincinnati a while back.
Even if we ignore the far-right, the popularity of radical and revolutionary language hasn’t escaped the Democrats and other opportunists. While the Democratic Party has avoided most radical language, this hasn’t stopped some within their ranks from adopting the rhetoric. Through using this language, people like Sanders and AOC can earn brownie points and bridge the Party with those who would normally balk at the Democrats' centrist to center-right position. At best, these people channel the anger and energy of millions of working people into reformism, with them maybe modifying the way capitalism operates in specific situations. Either way, reformists keep the working class tied to capitalism, continue their exploitation and oppression.
Finally, it's not enough that leftist ideas are popular. Though leftist ideas are gaining traction, the revolutionary movement is still infantile in its size. Due to the constant betrayals by both political parties, many working people have become severely disillusioned. Even for those who haven’t become jaded, they still cling to the old electoral system and the parties that represent it.
All of this means that in order for our words to reach the masses, they have to be tied to concrete actions that connect to and serve the interests of working and oppressed people in the immediate and in the future. In doing this, by engaging in regular, effective, and fruitful praxis, we become closer to the masses, gain their trust, and validate our ideas. Through this, our ideas gain greater traction and become a real and material force that can challenge the hegemony of the owning class’s rule and ideas. We become a real alternative that people can back.
The rise of the left, a true left (not Democrats), underscores the direness of the conditions of working and oppressed people. As time passes, greater swathes of workers are awakening to the exploitation and oppression they experience and recognizing that change is needed. However, while hopeful, passivity in building class consciousness and spreading revolutionary theory isn’t something we can allow. History has shown us that if we don’t seize upon the opportunity before us, the infantile revolutionary sentiments of the working class will be co-opted and directed toward backing the establishment parties, or worse, they become disillusioned and jaded to any form of political action. To achieve a world for working and oppressed people, we need to be actively reaching out to working people, conveying our ideas into language they can understand, and standing with them and for their struggles. Only in this can the return of radical and revolutionary language become the prelude to a mass revolutionary working class movement.