Zang Xiuling: New Social Movements in the West and Their Impact on Left-wing Political Parties
Western new social movements are defined in contrast to traditional Western labor movements. Unlike the latter, which tend toward homogenization and focus on material interest demands, Western new social movements lean more toward various post-materialist interests and value-based goals. Broadly defined, Western new social movements are loose-knit mass protest activities that emerged during a low ebb of the world socialist movement. They represent a collective of spontaneous resistance forces—comprised of the middle class (or strata), marginalized groups, and others—that actively expose and struggle against the inherent maladies of the capitalist system. Their rise is one of the most significant socio-political phenomena in Western countries since the end of the Second World War. Currently, they are exerting an important and profound influence on Western left-wing parties and future political trends, bearing directly upon the prospects and direction of Western party politics.
The Historical Evolution and Primary Characteristics of Western New Social Movements
Western new social movements originated in the "May Storm" [1] in France at the end of the 1960s, developed through the 1970s and 1980s, underwent a transformation in the 1990s, and entered a new period of development in the 21st century—particularly since the outbreak of the 2008 international financial crisis—presenting many new characteristics.
The origins of Western new social movements. In May 1968, a mass movement known as the "May Storm" broke out in Paris, France. Initiated by young university students, the "May Storm" rapidly triggered a vigorous new type of social movement involving workers and other social strata. Taking this as a starting point, citizens in Europe and the United States took to the streets in succession, utilizing non-violent methods such as demonstrations, marches, and sit-ins to launch surging waves of anti-war, feminist, anti-nuclear, national liberation, and ecological movements. Various social movements with entirely different participants and protest themes swept across almost all developed Western capitalist countries. The "May Storm" and the series of mass protest movements it triggered were new socio-political phenomena and modes of expressing interest demands during an unusual period of global development. In the 1960s, Western society was in a "Golden Age" of sustained economic prosperity. In a general sense, social stability and harmony should increase alongside economic development and rising living standards. However, behind the "prosperity" of major developed Western capitalist countries at this time, social instability was gestating. Taking France as an example, "between 1963 and 1969, real wages in France grew by 3.6%, and France entered a consumer society. Economic growth was accompanied by inflation; one million immigrants from North Africa led to a population surge, rising prices, and increasing unemployment, threatening the interests of the working class. More French people received higher education, but overcrowded universities, mechanized education systems, and conservative cultural tastes left many young people unhappy."
Consequently, within France's consumerist society, resistance toward the government and authority grew increasingly intense. This meant that the "May Storm," as a "revolution, questioned not only capitalist society but also industrial society. Consumer society was destined to die a violent death." It reflected the growing dissatisfaction with a spiritually impoverished social reality among the younger generation who grew up after World War II in a brand-new environment of material abundance. Therefore, starting from individualism and idealism, the younger generation paid closer attention to non-material interests and value-based goals, striving to challenge and critique the culture, society, and spirit of capitalism. Simultaneously, it reflected the significant changes taking place in the social strata and class structures of major developed Western capitalist countries following WWII and the rapid development of modern industry and the Third Technological Revolution: the traditional working class was shrinking rapidly, while a "new middle class" (or strata)—primarily composed of civil servants, tertiary industry service personnel, professional technicians, middle management in modern enterprises, and teachers—became the pillar of the social structure. This is the primary reason why the main forces of the new social movements originating from the "May Storm" were composed of strata such as young students, anti-war activists, women, homosexuals, and "greens," rather than being led and driven by the working class, the protagonist of traditional Western socialist movements. The "May Storm" inaugurated a new type of Western social movement that relied on the non-traditional working class as the primary force of anti-capitalism.
The development of Western new social movements. The series of movements triggered by the French "May Storm" in 1968 were actually a dress rehearsal; new social movements in the full sense of the term broke out after the 1970s. The period from the 1970s to the 1980s was an important developmental stage. The anti-nuclear peace movement, the global green environmental movement, and the neo-feminist movement were the themes of Western mass protests during this era.
The anti-nuclear peace movement primarily refers to the massive anti-war marches and anti-nuclear weapons movements launched by citizens in major Western countries—especially in Europe—following the end of the Vietnam War to protest the deployment of missiles by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in Europe. Their goal was to maintain world peace through the opposition to nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, faced with radioactive pollution from nuclear power plants and environmental destruction caused by over-industrialization, the environmental consciousness of the European and American public was gradually awakened. In the 1970s, a citizen environmental movement involving over 2,000 people broke out in major U.S. cities like Washington, New York, and Los Angeles, creating a broad social impact and generating a strong public response. Subsequently, mass protest activities against environmental destruction continued to erupt across Europe and the U.S., ranging in form from protest rallies and demonstrations to attempts to establish green "ecovillages." In the 1980s, based on the wide-scale development of the green environmental movement, green-left political organizations—Green Parties—were established across Western countries. The first Green Party emerged in Germany and has now developed into an important left-wing political force in Europe and the world. The neo-feminist movement was defined in contrast to the mid-19th-century women’s suffrage movement, characterized by a larger scale, deeper scope, and broader participation.
The transformation of Western new social movements. In the 1990s, influenced by the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, profound shifts occurred in the global politico-economic situation and the international landscape. Western new social movements entered an important period of developmental transformation. The collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist states not only plunged the world socialist movement into a low ebb but also dealt a heavy blow to traditional Western left-wing parties (various Communist, Social Democratic, Socialist, and Labor parties), forcing them to rethink and reposition their future and destiny within Western party politics. At the same time, along with the failure of Keynesianism after WWII and the rise of neoliberalism—compounded by the rapid development of modern communication and information technology—neoliberal-led globalization advanced quickly. This deepened the unfair distribution of interests and inequality within Western societies. Furthermore, as globalization progressed, environmental issues such as global warming and acid rain increasingly threatened human survival and development. Under the context of capital and financial globalization, world economic risks grew daily, characterized by frequent financial crises and their expanding scope of influence.
Consequently, vulnerable groups (middle strata and marginalized bottom groups) whose interests were increasingly damaged by the globalization process began to express dissatisfaction and protest against the globalization led by Western states. In response, large-scale anti-globalization movements first emerged in European and American countries. In 1999, the first large-scale anti-globalization movement broke out in Seattle. These movements against Western-led globalization marked a new and important developmental transformation for Western new social movements. As these movements grew, other types of mass protests—such as the global green environmental movement—flourished, with a momentum far exceeding the labor movements led by traditional left-wing parties. At this point, Western new social movements became a powerful and essential means of resisting the flaws of the capitalist system during the low ebb of the world socialist movement.
New developments in Western new social movements. Entering the new century, from the "September 11" attacks in 2001 to the 2008 global financial crisis, the anti-globalization movement entered a new stage of development after a brief period of decline. The 2008 U.S.-triggered global financial crisis further exacerbated various social contradictions within European and American countries. Since then, capitalism as an ideology and social system has fallen into a systemic crisis. Regarding this, Samir Amin argued that following Brexit, the rise of the right in European elections, the victory of Syriza in Greece, and the rise of Podemos in Spain, the recent election of Donald Trump as U.S. President indicates that the global neoliberal system is hitting a deep crisis. The global financial crisis profoundly exposed the inherent defects of the Western capitalist system, dealing an unprecedented blow to the world—especially Western countries—in the economic, political, and ideological spheres.
More than a decade after the financial crisis, before the economic and social order had fully recovered, the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further tore away the "fig leaf" [2] of the Western capitalist system. The inefficiency and weak response of Western countries to the pandemic proved at a deeper level that the neoliberalism which dominated the world for over 40 years brought not peace and prosperity, but social fragmentation, intensified conflict, and extreme polarization between rich and poor. In this regard, French economist Thomas Piketty argued that globalization under the dominance of Western neoliberalism "based on a market economy of private property, contains powerful forces of convergence (especially the impact of the diffusion of knowledge and technology), but it also contains powerful forces of divergence, which potentially threaten democratic societies and the values of social justice upon which they are based." Since the financial crisis, the public in Western countries has become increasingly dissatisfied with the capitalist status quo dominated by neoliberalism. Consequently, the waves of mass protest in the West eventually converged into a torrent of new social movements. Representative movements of this period include the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in the U.S. targeting the "1%" high-income earners; the "Democracy Spring" movement against capitalist "sham democracy" and the lack of press freedom; the "Black Lives Matter" movement during the pandemic; the "Yellow Vest" and "Nuit Debout" movements in France; and the "Indignados" movement in Spain. These movements all exhibit characteristics such as diverse participants, varied value goals, and pluralistic interest demands. Meanwhile, modern information technology and social media played an unprecedented role in organizing and mobilizing various actors to participate.
Of course, "new social movements are not absolutely independent of the past; although the degree of change varies, there is no clean break from past social movements." Many Western new social movements were born under the wing of the traditional left-wing movement. However, the "prominence of the new social movement lies in its irrepressible pluralism," emphasizing the value orientation and independent consciousness of participants. They generally lack fixed organizational systems, structures, charters, or programs. It is precisely this form of movement—characterized by loose organization, dispersed forces, a lack of strategy, and pluralistic goals—that makes Western new social movements vastly different from traditional left-wing parties and social movements in terms of political theory, modes of action, and core concepts. Yet, during the low ebb of the socialist movement and the political crisis of Western left-wing parties, these movements have seemingly become a powerful "alternative" force and phenomenon resisting capitalism.
First, regarding organizational composition, Western new social movements...
"[These movements] exhibit a prominent tendency toward individualism, advocating personal liberation rather than the transformation of society; they lack clear norms of behavior or objectives, and possess neither rigorous organization nor fixed roles. They tend to form political identities and organize various social movements and groups around major political issues that command high public attention—such as ethnicity, immigration, civil rights, gender, and the environment—rather than centering on class. They perceive their commonalities in terms of identity, education, and generational archetypes as being greater than their commonalities of class." To a certain extent, the rise and continuous development of these movements have greatly diminished the power of traditional labor unions, dealing a massive blow to traditional workers' movements and seriously weakening the primary task of the traditional working class to advance holistic social change and strive for collective interests. Particularly since the end of the Cold War, the class and social forces upon which traditional left-wing powers—such as Western communist parties and social democratic parties—depended for survival and development have been severely undermined, with many of their participants joining these new social movements. Furthermore, as a new avenue for expressing interest claims and ideological concepts, Western new social movements have brought subversive crises and challenges to Western party politics. Their rapid development means that Western political parties are no longer the sole channel for interest representation and expression. Additionally, Western new social movements have essentially "manifested as an important social force pushing for and promoting the transformation of the capitalist system in developed countries; to some degree, they have become a reality-based expression of socialist elements within developed countries, exhibiting a relatively distinct socialist orientation in their developmental prospects."
The Impact of Western New Social Movements on Western Left-wing Parties
"Western left-wing parties" is a relatively broad political categorization; within the spectrum of Western party politics, it is a concept positioned in opposition to right-wing parties. Currently, if categorized by the degree of radicalism in their political consciousness and policy proposals, left-wing parties in the Western political spectrum can be roughly divided into three types: moderate left-wing parties with center-left political consciousness and policy proposals, relatively radical "radical left" parties, and even more radical "extreme left" parties.
"The status of these three types of left-wing forces within the existing political systems of Europe varies, and their modes of operation differ." Influenced by Western new social movements, various types of traditional Western left-wing parties have undergone significant changes accordingly.
Moderate left-wing parties are increasingly moving toward the center. Moderate left-wing parties constitute the mainstream of Western left-wing politics; they take governing as their primary objective and possess relatively stable governing power. Since World War II, and particularly since the 1970s, the continuous development of the technological revolution and the ongoing adjustment of social industrial structures have led to major, progressive changes in the class and strata structures of Western countries. Additionally, with the rise of the Western consumer society, "the adjustment of redistribution systems, the improvement of social welfare systems, and the rise in living standards caused the class consciousness of the working class to gradually weaken. Coupled with the rise of the right wing to power, the weakening of union power, and changes in organizational forms of enterprises, the workers' movement fell into a low ebb [3]," and Western developed capitalist countries entered the period of post-industrial development. Correspondingly, the capitalist relations of production dominated by Western neoliberalism continued to expand, the ranks of the middle class (or strata) continued to grow, and post-materialist value orientations and interest claims surged. The class conflicts and confrontational movements that were once led by traditional left-wing parties in the West have gradually been taken over and continued by new social movements characterized by diverse participants, varied value goals, pluralistic interest claims, and a wide array of forms and themes. To adapt to new social class conditions, structural changes, and the new forms of Western new social movement development, Western political parties—especially moderate left-wing parties with governing ambitions—have been forced to make the adjustment of their programs and strategies a priority task. The move toward the center in political strategy and policy instruments, along with an increasingly flexible attitude toward the market, are the primary markers and characteristics of the adjustment and transformation of Western moderate left-wing parties.
In this regard, from the end of the Cold War to the present, the "Third Way" advocated by the British Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany, which seeks to transcend "Left" and "Right," is the most typical example. Taking the British Labour Party as an example: to gain the support of broad middle-ground groups and forces, its centrist transformation led to a growing estrangement from the traditional British working class, gradually losing its most stable base of support. Meanwhile, the middle class (or strata), which served as the foundation for the Party’s new strategy, remained in a state of flux. The British Labour Party’s emphasis on flexible market mechanisms also burdened it with the necessity of compromising with neoliberalism, which continues to dominate the West. This centrist transformation yielded rich short-term rewards: from 1997 to 2010, the British Labour Party held power for thirteen consecutive years. However, the negative consequences of this transformation became increasingly prominent after the outbreak of the 2008 global financial crisis. The most direct reflection of this was the Party’s utter inability to propose strategies or instruments to counter the crisis or resolve the social crises facing Britain in its aftermath. From 2010 to the present, although the British Labour Party has successively implemented political strategies and programs such as "Blue Labour," "Corbynism," and "Post-Neoliberalism," it has failed to win a general election four consecutive times. This suggests that "in the long run, for social democratic parties that are increasingly centered on electoral politics, the strategic direction of centrism is difficult to change; therefore, the contradiction between catering to the new middle class and avoiding the fragmentation of traditional support bases will persist over the long term." The path of centrist transformation remains a long and arduous journey for the British Labour Party and other moderate left-wing parties, such as the social democratic and socialist parties of other Western nations. This is because the centrist path of transformation is fundamentally incapable of proposing "pragmatic political concepts and policy propositions that truly reflect its own characteristics, or an accurate and clear political strategic positioning." This is the major challenge facing Keir Starmer, the new leader of the British Labour Party, as he leads the party in continuing its modernization and transformation to maintain its status as a mainstream party and regain state power. It is also a major challenge faced by mainstream moderate left-wing parties in other developed capitalist countries against the backdrop of the continuous development of Western new social movements.
Radical left parties are becoming increasingly active. "Radical left parties refer to those left-wing political forces situated between moderate social democratic parties and the extreme left on the European left-right political spectrum." They possess two notable characteristics: first, the composition of radical left parties is complex, including traditional communist organizations and various socialist parties holding democratic socialist ideologies, as well as new radical organizations developed from new social movements that hold orientations such as ecologism, feminism, and pacifism. Second, the developmental space for radical left parties in Western party politics is limited. With the rise and development of Western new social movements, especially since the start of the new century, the space for the survival and development of traditional Eurocommunism has been increasingly squeezed. To adapt to social developmental requirements, some traditional left-wing forces have continuously formed new radical left parties through differentiation and alignment. Examples include the Left Party in Germany (Die Linke), formed by the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (WASG), and emerging "Red-Green" political forces currently active in Nordic politics, such as the Red-Green Alliance in Denmark. In terms of political propositions, these radical left parties have altered the fierce attitude traditional left-wing parties held toward capitalism; most importantly, they have abandoned the position of thoroughly transforming capitalism through revolutionary means. Simultaneously, they have criticized the centrist reform orientations of traditional mainstream left-wing parties. Radical left parties argue that the centrist political attitudes and policy propositions of left-wing parties are a manifestation of collusion with neoliberalism; they contend that parties fighting for social justice no longer exist, and that Western left-wing parties, represented by social democrats, have completely degenerated into forces for maintaining the existing capitalist order. Therefore, new radical left parties must emerge as an "alternative" force to mainstream left-wing parties, combining the original left-wing emphasis on social justice with egalitarian claims such as ecologism and feminism (i.e., combining material goals with non-material goals) and treating these as the primary objectives and means for transforming capitalism.
After entering the new century, radical left parties entered a period of active development. This was driven by the injection of neo-radical leftism into these parties, the rapid global spread of the financial crisis, and the fact that mainstream Western left-wing parties like the social democrats fell into political crisis and struggled to propose timely and effective political strategies. Radical left parties proposed anti-austere policies and increased social welfare as political policy positions and slogans to oppose the mainstream parties' ineffective response to the financial crisis. Some radical left parties even won general elections to become governing parties. A typical example is Syriza (the Coalition of the Radical Left) in Greece, which jumped from a loose alliance to a governing party in a short period because its political propositions resonated with public opinion. However, viewed holistically, the activity of radical left parties is only relative; the electoral victories of a few sporadic radical left parties or their becoming major electoral parties cannot yet change or replace the mainstream status of moderate left-wing parties in Western party politics. The reasons are threefold: First, the performance of radical left parties is unstable across different countries and their development is uneven. In some countries, radical left parties are relatively strong and developing quickly, such as Syriza in Greece; in others, they have declined significantly within Western competitive electoral systems, such as the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) in Italy, which has shifted from a significant political balancing force to a rapidly weakening minor party in recent years. Second, the activity of radical left parties in Western countries is a specific manifestation under specific conditions; the duration of their activity and the extent of their influence depend primarily on the attitudes of mainstream parties toward austerity policies and social welfare systems. If mainstream parties adopt the right policies when responding to crises, the survival space for radical left parties will be quickly squeezed. Currently, the fiscal austerity and social welfare cutback policies of mainstream Western parties in response to the financial crisis, alongside their impotence in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, have provided a uniquely active environment and conditions for the development of radical left parties. Third, the internal composition of radical left parties is complex, with serious internal contradictions and tendencies toward fragmentation. This dictates that it is difficult for them to form a united and powerful new "alternative" political force, thus preventing them from exerting a decisive influence on Western party politics. Therefore, although Western radical left forces have seen a corresponding recovery and development since the 1990s and have shown some positive developmental momentum, their ideological diversity, differences in political positions on certain major political issues, and the impact of major changes in Western social structure and new social movements mean that the future development of the Western radical left as a collective force remains fraught with great uncertainty.
Extreme left parties are increasingly trending toward populism. Extreme left parties refer to those Western communist parties that still maintain traditional revolutionary positions, Trotskyist and Maoist organizations that still emphasize militancy, as well as certain anarchist and syndicalist organizations. Western extreme left parties usually take Marxism-Leninism as their guiding ideology...
"They are characterized by inheriting, to varying degrees, the theories and strategies of the parties from the Comintern era." Consequently, compared to radical left parties, far-left parties advocate for a more intense confrontational stance toward capitalism and the fundamental elimination of social inequality. For a long time, particularly influenced by the negative factors associated with traditional socialism, the public in Western society has consistently maintained a psychological attitude of rejection toward traditional Eurocommunist (or traditional socialist) ideology. Far-left parties have remained marginalized within the party politics of Europe and the United States; their radical socialist policies and propositions find it difficult to exert substantive influence on the electoral politics in which the West holds the initiative, and their primary political impact remains largely at the level of social protest. Specific examples include the Communist Party of Britain, the Communist Party USA, the Japanese Communist Party, the Workers' Party of Belgium, the Communist Party of Greece, and the Portuguese Communist Party. All of these firmly believe that socialism can replace capitalism in the future, yet their influence on electoral politics in their respective countries is extremely limited. Entering the 21st century, especially since the 2008 international financial crisis, neoliberalism has brought extreme wealth polarization and social fragmentation to Western society, leading to myriad contradictions and constant conflict between various social strata and classes. The "99% (the general public) versus the 1% (the elite and powerful)" has become a ubiquitous social reality. Against this political and social backdrop of deepening contradictions between the elite and the masses, the traditional socialist propositions of Western communist parties have been gradually adopted and absorbed by certain radical left organizations and forces. Consequently, the populist tendency of far-left parties has begun to become increasingly prominent. In recent years, while certain right-wing populisms in the West have developed rapidly, the influence of Western left-wing populist parties has also been continuously increasing. For instance, the momentum of left-wing populist parties such as Spain’s Podemos and Italy’s Five Star Movement has even surpassed that of right-wing populist parties. However, deeper analysis reveals that the populist tendency of far-left parties is not a normal state of affairs. On the contrary, it is a significant manifestation of the pathological development of Western political society following the financial crisis. This is because, "from an ideological perspective, the spread of populism and the rise of populist parties demonstrate the development of polarization within the social ideologies of European and American countries. However, populism itself is not a new consciousness that transcends the traditional political ideological spectrum; rather, it is the highlighting and combination of certain consciousnesses within the existing political ideological spectrum that were not prominent in the past." It reflects a "pathological normalcy" of the mainstream society, aligned or consistent with mainstream concepts, public attitudes, and policy positions. When mainstream consciousness returns with renewed strength, populism will once again fall into a low ebb or be almost entirely obscured. Seen in this light, the populist tendency of Western far-left parties can only be a temporary phenomenon and is fundamentally unsustainable. Therefore, as a major constituent force of the Western extreme left, the prospects for various communist parties to gain social recognition and long-term development within the framework of Western electoral politics are not optimistic.
The Dilemmas and Future of Western New Social Movements and Left-Wing Parties
If one views Western New Social Movements as a whole: "New social movements claim that contemporary social movements are a sublation [4] of traditional politics and the maintenance or reconstruction of new lifestyles; they pursue interpersonal equality and autonomy in the full sense, emphasizing autonomous civic participation; they pursue self-identity, self-awareness, and the values that embody this identity, emphasizing self-actualization; they pursue genuine individual freedom and liberation, as well as the harmonious development of society based on full individual liberation." Yet this is also their fatal weakness. First, Western new social movements are deeply influenced by postmodernist factors such as fragmentation and pluralism; they oppose using class as the basis for social identity and instead emphasize identities based on occupation, religion, education, and political orientation. Second, Western new social movements emphasize value pluralism and lack a core organizational structure, rejecting collective action and unified leadership while refusing to develop Marxism. This essentially dissolves the inherent certainty of left-wing theory, weakens the role of Western left-wing parties, and causes them to lose the ideological weapon truly capable of contending with and thoroughly transforming the capitalist system. Third, the participating subjects of Western new social movements are multifarious and lack clear goals for struggle, making it difficult to form a collective force for resistance or for asserting interests and value demands; combined with their tendencies toward anarchism and fighting isolated battles, they easily fall into the trap of populism. Under these circumstances, even if Western new social movements can form an all-around critique of capitalism and its institutions, they often appear insignificant and fragile when facing strong free-market concepts and the unbridled attacks of neoliberalism. Ultimately, the critique they launch against capitalism and its institutions is "like scratching an itch through a boot" [5], making it difficult to produce revolutionary value. These fatal weaknesses of Western new social movements, if not united with Western left-wing parties, largely determine their future direction.
As for Western left-wing parties—whether they are moderate left-wing parties occupying the status of mainstream parties, radical left-wing parties currently in a relatively active period, or far-left parties that have struggled to exert substantive influence on Western party politics for a long time and continue to do so—if they cannot fundamentally resolve problems such as internal division, insufficient alternative programs, and populist orientations, they will be unable to take the initiative to strengthen themselves and integrate into new social movements as a leading force. In that case, the development prospects for Western left-wing parties will be bleak. To this end, as the leading (or guiding) force for criticizing and negating capitalism, Western left-wing parties should actively promote their own adaptive reforms, proactively shoulder the historical mission they ought to undertake, and fully play the role they were intended to play. Facing the new changes currently occurring in the political, economic, cultural, and social structures of Western capitalist society—and particularly the fact of the gradual rise of Western new social movements and the increasing decline of traditional Western left-wing movements—Western left-wing parties should actively discard internal differences, form a unified whole, proactively meet the challenges brought by the times, and actively fulfill their guiding and driving role within Western new social movements, leading the movements toward a more positive socialist direction.
Innovating and developing left-wing party theory by integrating the practice of Western new social movements. Currently, although Western new social movements demonstrate great differences from traditional socialist movements in practice and possess many fatal weaknesses, they share a striking similarity with socialist movements in their opposition to current capitalist policies and their attitude toward Western neoliberalism. Moreover, many of their practical interests and value goals align closely with the demands and aspirations of the majority of the Western public. Therefore, it is quite urgent and necessary to innovate and develop left-wing party theory by integrating the practice of Western new social movements and using new types of left-wing party theory to guide them. In fact, the contemporary Western world does not lack influential left-wing scholars, schools, or theories. Among left-wing scholars, there are Habermas, Negri, Foster, Offe, Jameson, Richard Robbins, Samir Amin, and others. Drawing from different theoretical research perspectives and starting from Marxist theory, they have focused on deep analysis and critique of the problems existing in contemporary capitalism regarding politics, economy, culture, globalization, and the ecological environment. They have proposed many reformist and radical reform programs of positive and reference significance, forming influential left-wing schools and Western Marxist theories such as the "Frankfurt School," "Analytical Marxism," "Market Socialism," and "Eco-socialism." However, the greatest problem with these left-wing schools, theories, and ideas is that they are mostly confined to academic research and logical self-consistency from theory to theory; while they have significant influence in academia, their influence on the politics of Western capitalism and the ideology of the social masses is very limited. This is precisely why, in an era where Western new social movements are vigorously rising and developing, one rarely sees or finds the presence of left-wing scholars and rarely hears or simply cannot hear the voices of left-wing schools. This is also an important reason why Western new social movements still lack theoretical guidance with significant practical criticality. In view of this, when conducting academic research, Western Marxist scholars should step out of the ivory tower and into society, focus on reality, and proactively draw nutrition from the current vigorously developing and continuous practice of Western new social movements to constantly innovate and develop left-wing party theory. At the same time, Western Marxist scholars must focus on spreading and expanding the influence of left-wing party theory among the social masses, ensuring that Western left-wing party theory is fully united with Western new social movements. This promotes the latter’s firm adherence to a practical stance of resisting and criticizing capitalism, providing systematic movement theory guidance and efficient movement organization. This, in turn, will encourage Western new social movements to further enhance their organizational influence on the basis of already achieved social networking, thoroughly changing the negative impacts brought by their tendency toward organizational dissolution. Only in this way can Western new social movements be increasingly aligned with the requirements and goals of the world socialist movement.
Strengthening the building of Western left-wing parties to lead the development of Western new social movements. Western new social movements have long attempted to reshape capitalist society and provide new, reasonable explanations for its problems. However, since the inception of the "May Storm" [6], they have suffered from major defects in understanding the essence of capitalism and significant problems in the depth and breadth of their analysis and critique of capitalism, due to a lack of systematic and complete theoretical guidance and clear movement goals. The primary reason is that the new social movements' rejection and disregard of traditional institutionalized political models have left them lacking a design for future goals. Therefore, the robust development of future new social movements depends on left-wing theory to improve and supplement their ideas and concepts. Consequently, it is particularly important to strengthen the building of Western left-wing parties, refine and develop their theories, and exert their guiding role in Western new social movements. Generally speaking, under the dual influence of the capitalist system and their own fatal weaknesses, coupled with the impact caused by Western new social movements, the development and governing prospects of current Western left-wing parties are not optimistic. To strengthen Western left-wing party building at present, first, theory innovation must be strengthened with the orientation of advancing Western socialism. It is necessary to construct a Western socialist theoretical system and discourse power [7] within the Western capitalist system, break through the blockade of mainstream capitalist public opinion, gain broad social recognition and support, and create a more dynamic and constructive image for new types of Western left-wing parties, so as to continuously enhance their appeal, organizational power, mobilization, and leadership within Western new social movements. Second, it is necessary to strengthen unity among moderate, radical, and far-left parties, as well as between the various components within each left-wing party—seeking common ground while reserving differences [8]—to form powerful left-wing party alliances between and within nation-states. The goal is to win electoral victories and gain governing status within the current framework of Western competitive party politics, continuously implementing socialist politics that meet the needs of Western social development, and gradually achieving the thorough transformation of capitalism through peaceful ways and means. Third, it is necessary to fully guide traditional labor organizations such as trade unions to play their due active roles against the backdrop of the vigorous development of Western new social movements. At the same time, it is necessary to combine the needs of the times and social development to actively lead the establishment and development of new organizations, broadly absorbing talents and professionals from all sectors of society to realize the continuous guidance of Western new social movements in a favorable direction. This requires that moderate left-wing parties, as mainstream Western parties, continuously change the erroneous orientation of political triangulation, policy neutralization, and the attempt to construct "catch-all parties" [9] that they have practiced for many years. They should quickly establish clear and distinct political programs oriented toward socialist development, focusing on and resolving the issues of equality, fairness, and justice that concern the broad public. In this way, they can continuously attract broad recognition and support from the masses, strengthening and deepening the social foundation for gaining electoral victory and governing, and striving for opportunities for continuous or long-term governance. For radical and far-left parties, they must actively respond to the risks and challenges of fragmentation caused by numerous factions within the parties, focus on resolving long-standing major differences in understanding and internal contradictions regarding issues such as "what is socialism," and proactively strengthen unity and alliance with moderate left-wing parties to continuously enhance their political influence and combat effectiveness.
Conclusion
Since the 1970s, Western New Social Movements have continuously developed and transformed, becoming a major political phenomenon and force that persistently resists and exposes the inherent malaise of capitalism during a low ebb of the world socialist movement. These movements harbor rich socialist elements within them. However, characteristics such as the diversity of participating subjects, the variance of value-oriented goals, and the plurality of interest demands in Western New Social Movements make it difficult for them to form a sustained and effective resistance against capitalism. Consequently, these features have invisibly become the fatal weaknesses of Western New Social Movements. After World War II, along with the continuous adjustment of Western social structures and economic, political, and cultural changes, Western leftist parties also underwent differentiation and reorganization. The developed and transformed mainstream leftist parties (Social Democratic parties, Socialist parties, and Labor parties in Western countries) enjoyed a period of great prosperity; many moderate leftist parties occupying mainstream positions attained governing status and opportunities for consecutive governance. However, entering the 21st century—particularly after the outbreak of the 2008 international financial crisis—the trend toward political centrist-orientation [10] and policy pragmatism among Western leftist parties, especially mainstream ones, proved unable to resolve the fundamental problems of capitalist society. The proliferation of internal factions and divisions within Western leftist parties has further exacerbated their declining status in Western party politics, with Western New Social Movements even delivering a forceful impact upon them. Because both Western New Social Movements and leftist parties possess fatal weaknesses, only by organically integrating the two at present can a sustained and comprehensive resistance be formed against the existing capitalist system, thereby thoroughly transforming the capitalist system and promoting the return of a high tide in the world socialist movement. To this end, it is necessary to innovate and develop leftist party theory by integrating the practice of Western New Social Movements, and to strengthen Western leftist party building to lead the development of Western New Social Movements.
(Author Profile: Zang Xiuling is a Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, and Director of the Institute of Political Parties at Shandong University; she serves in the Institute of Contemporary Socialism and the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University.) Network Editor: Zhang Jian Source: People's Tribune · Academic Frontiers [11], Issue 19, 2021.