Hard left or hard-left is a term that is used particularly in Australian and British English to describe the most radical members of a left-wing political party or political group.[1][2] The term is also a noun and modifier taken to mean the far-left[1] and the left-wing political movements and ideas outside the mainstream centre-left.[3] The term has been used to describe wings and factions of several political parties across the world, such as the left-wing of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom[4] and left-wing factions of the Australian Labor Party.[5][6]
- ^ a b "Definition of 'hard left'". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Definition of hard left". Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ * John Wilson (1996). Understanding Journalism: A Guide to Issues. Psychology Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-415-11599-5.
Condemnation by label is a favourite tactic of political antagonism ... Descriptions like 'hard left', 'far left' ... all have extra connotations, political under-meanings to damage the people they describe
- Grant, Moyra (1984). The British media (illustrated ed.). Comedia. p. 29. ISBN 9780906890516. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
Key words and phrases like 'hard left', 'extremist' and 'Soviet style' are explicitly derogatory and dismissive labels which mask a serious lack of information and analysis about the theory and practice of socialism and communism.
- Grant, Moyra (1984). The British media (illustrated ed.). Comedia. p. 29. ISBN 9780906890516. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "Labour's left wing 'can't tolerate dissent', a right-wing Labour MP has claimed". The Independent. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Megalogenis, George (16 November 2010). Quarterly Essay 40 Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era. Black Inc. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-921866-53-1.
- ^ Sartor, Frank (2011). The Fog on the Hill: How NSW Labor Lost Its Way. Melbourne Univ. Publishing. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-522-86106-8.