The Global Leftist Revolt: Expectations and Realities

M. : Valdai Discussion Club, 2018.

Barabanov O. N., Григорьев Д. И., Кагарлицкий Б. Ю., Колташов В. Г.

Leading author: Barabanov O. N.

Since 2008 the neoliberal mainstream, which seemed to be steadfast, has been suffering both economic and political crisis. This makes people seek an alternative of right or left kind. In such circumstances, alternative political forces attempt to satisfy civil society’s needs suggesting new ideas that challenge the neoliberalism. Therefore, both leftist and rightist revolts have been a search for new growth drivers and new balance within societies that takes all the classes and their interests into consideration.

This process is closely tied to several major shifts. The privatization of state’s functions has been doubted and put the return of public capital on the agenda. The voice of people demanding a more equal access to public goods, for example, education gets louder.

There are new politicians able to get this message and obtain a broad popular support. They are, for instance, Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and Jean-Luc Melenchon in France. However, what is behind the leftist revolt? Does it have any chance to succeed?

Keywords: global politics, political ideology