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What is ‘ultra-leftism’ today?
Ultra-leftism is not a single set of ideas but a syndrome that always places political action or demands way ahead of what is achievable – often intentionally, explains the MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY

ULTRA-LEFTISM is a generally pejorative term applied to groups or individuals on the political left whose activities and slogans are prejudicial to the immediate interests of working people and which don’t contribute to the longer-term prospects for achieving socialism.

It is important to distinguish the term from “far left” which is generally used by the right to denigrate any organisation or individual whose politics are to the left of the Labour Party.

Today the term “ultra-left” is particularly applied by Marxists to policies and actions that overestimate the “revolutionary” potential of the working class at a particular time and fail to take account of existing conditions and the chances of success or the consequences of failure.

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