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Centre-left politics

Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre and broadly conform with progressivism. Ideologies of the centre-left include social democracy, social liberalism and green politics. Ideas commonly supported by the centre-left include welfare capitalism, social justice, liberal internationalism, and multiculturalism. Economically, the centre-left supports a mixed economy in a democratic capitalist system, often including economic interventionism, progressive taxation, and the right to unionize. Centre-left politics are contrasted with far-left politics that reject capitalism or advocate revolution.

"Left of centre" redirects here. For the political ideology in Turkey, see Left of Center (Turkey). For other uses, see Left of center.

The centre-left developed with the rest of the left–right political spectrum in 18th and 19th century France, where the centre-left included those who supported transfer of powers from the monarchy to parliament or endorsed moderate republicanism. Early progressivism and left liberalism evolved in the late-19th and early-20th centuries in Western Europe and the United States, while social democracy split from reformist socialism. Social democracy became the dominant ideology in Western Europe during the post–World War II economic expansion and it spread to Africa after decolonization.


Centre-left economics declined in popularity following the 1973–1975 recession and was replaced by neoliberalism. In the 1990s, Third Way politics emerged as a centrist variant of social democracy in Europe, and centre-left politics spread to Latin America during the pink tide. In the 21st century, centre-left politics are challenged by the developments of the Digital Revolution, the subsumption of the lower class into the middle class in developed nations, and an increase in support for populism.

Centre-right politics

Eco-capitalism

Green liberalism

Green libertarianism

Hard left

List of left-wing political parties

Neoclassical liberalism

Soft left

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ISBN

Legacies of the Left Turn in Latin America: The Promise of Inclusive Citizenship

Bell, Daniel A. (2006). Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context. Princeton University Press.  9781400827466.

ISBN

What's Left of the Left: Democrats and Social Democrats in Challenging Times

The World of Economics

Granadino, Alan; Nygård, Stefan; Stadius, Peter, eds. (2022). . Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-51869-6.

Rethinking European Social Democracy and Socialism: The History of the Centre-Left in Northern and Southern Europe in the Late 20th Century

Keman, Hans (2017). Social Democracy: A Comparative Account of the Left-Wing Party Family. Routledge.  978-1-315-16624-7.

ISBN

Luebbert, Gregory M. (1991). . Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198023074.

Liberalism, Fascism, Or Social Democracy: Social Classes and the Political Origins of Regimes in Interwar Europe

Why the Left Loses: The Decline of the Centre-Left in Comparative Perspective

Christian Democracy in Latin America: Electoral Competition and Regime Conflicts

Menz, Georg, ed. (2022). . Routledge. ISBN 9781000634532.

The Resistible Corrosion of Europe's Center-Left After 2008

Talshir, Gayil (2002). The Political Ideology of Green Parties: From the Politics of Nature to Redefining the Nature of Politics. Palgrave Macmillan.  9781403919892.

ISBN

Green Parties in Europe

Woshinsky, Oliver (2007). . Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781135901349.

Explaining Politics: Culture, Institutions, and Political Behavior