{{Officeholder
|name=Arnold Schwarzenegger
|image=About arnold img-2.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=[[Maria Shriver]] (separated)
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/governor
|state=California
|number=38th
|terms=November 17, 2003 - January 3, 2011
|preceded=[[Gray Davis]]
|succeeded=[[Jerry Brown]]
}}
}}

'''Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger''' (b. [[Graz]], [[Austria]] 1947) is an [[Austria]]n-[[United States of America|American]] actor, politician, [[steroid]]-enhanced [[bodybuilding|bodybuilder]], and businessman, who served as the 38th [[Governor]] of [[California]] from 2003 to 2011. [[Anti-Trump]], Schwarzenegger unsuccessfully replaced [[Donald Trump]] on ''The Apprentice'', resulting in a ratings collapse of that show. More recently Schwarzenegger has devoted himself to nonpartisan [[redistricting]].<ref>https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/bill-whalen/article138898898.html</ref>

==Acting career==
Schwarzenegger rose to fame with action movies including Commando, Conan the Barbarian and the Terminator franchise. His on-screen presence was characterized by his large stature, as well as his thick Austrian accent. Once one of the highest paid actors in [[Hollywood]], Schwarzenegger has recently returned to acting, following the end of his term as Governor.
==Recall Election==
After sitting Governor [[Gray Davis]] mismanaged electric power deregulation and instituted a new registration tax by [[executive order]], infuriated citizens initiated a petition to place a measure on the ballot to remove him from office. Despite [[Democratic]] predictions that the petition would fail, it was delivered to then Secretary of State Kevin Shelley with more than the required number of signatures. In accordance with the law, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante became Acting Governor and called a special election for October 7, 2003.

The election was only the second of its kind in United States history. Approximately 180 citizens, from all walks of life, declared candidacy. Schwarzenegger was rumored to be considering a run for office, which was confirmed on an appearance on the NBC TV [[Tonight Show]]. Schwarzenegger easily defeated Cruz Bustamante in the election.

After the election was over, Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis' term. Despite a period of sagging poll numbers, Schwarzenegger was reelected by a landslide on November 7, 2006. He defeated Democrat Phil Angelides, the then-State Treasurer of California.

==Political views==
Despite being a [[Republican]], he holds some [[liberal]] views. He is a supporter of [[gun control]] and [[environmentalism]]. He is a staunch supporter of a law that mandates the use of Californian taxpayer money to fund [[stem cell research]] - which is the cloning and killing of human embryos for experimentation; he is also [[pro-abortion]]. Arnold officially approved an [[assisted suicide]] measure allowing nurses to sedate, dehydrate and [[starve]] depressed or confused individuals they consider to be "[[terminally ill]]."<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76713 California approves nurse-assisted suicide] Worldnetdaily, October 02, 2008</ref> (Compare [[euthanasia]].) Governor Schwarzenegger also campaigned against the famous California [[Proposition 8]]. He married [[Maria Shriver]], a famous journalist who is a member of the historically liberal [[Kennedy Family]]. Because of these and other policies he is often referred to as a "[[RINO]]," a "Republican in Name Only" by many [[conservative]] [[Republicans]]. Other sources have labeled him a "California Republican," meaning that his political policies are conservative but his views on civil liberties lean to the liberal side, reflecting the general attitude of most Californians. During his time as governor, the debt of California continued to balloon, forcing the state to pay IOU's for a period in 2009. Due to the budget crisis's under his tenure, Republicans lost the state to [[Jerry Brown]] in the 2010 Gubernatorial election. There is a belief based on these views that Schwarzenegger might be considered a borderline [[RINO]], however evidence has been lacking.

==See also==
* [[List of Conservative or pro-Conservative Hollywood stars]]
* [[Conservative media#Hollywood Conservatives|Hollywood conservatives]]
* [[Essay:List of celebrities who support the Second Amendment]]
* [[List of celebrities against Second Amendment]]

==External links==
* [http://gov.ca.gov/ Governor of California Official Site]
* [http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org&q=Arnold+Schwarzenegger&submit=Search OCLC WorldCat keyword search for Arnold Schwarzenegger]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarzenegger, Arnold}}

[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Republican Governors]]
[[Category:California Governors]]
[[Category:Kennedy Family]]
[[Category:Former Governors]]
[[Category:Homosexual Agenda]]
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[[Category:Austrian People]]
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2021-02-23T22:04:14Z

Conservatrump:

[[File:Green New Deal Presser.jpg|right|275px|thumb|[[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] is a [[Progressivism|progressive]] [[Democrat]].]]
'''Leftist''' refers to someone on the Left side of the [[political spectrum]], such as a particularly [[liberal]] member of the [[American]] [[Democrat Party]], a member of the [[British]] [[Labour Party]], a [[progressive]], [[socialist]], [[Democratic Socialist]], or (to the far Left) a [[Communist]]. A Leftist supports collectivism, more government control of the economy, direct government control over social policy (although there were some leftists, such as [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], [[Michel Foucault]], and [[Noam Chomsky]] who adhered to a purely [[anarchism|anarchistic]] view of the world), including federal control over education at all levels, lower [[military]] spending, censorship of religion, a [[Living Constitution|living constitution]], [[Same-sex marriage|same-sex "marriages"]], a more unisex society, [[globalism]], [[transnationalism]], [[feminism]], the [[homosexual agenda]], [[anti-Semitism]], [[racism]], support for [[Islam]], taxpayer-funded [[abortion]], and sometimes even taxpayer-funded [[terrorism]]<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/your-taxes-are-funding-terrorists-demand-that-this-stops</ref> and [[censorship]] of [[Christianity]] and [[social media]] in the public arena. Some leftists even want a totalitarian one-party world government.

== Origins of leftist ideology ==
===French Revolution===
[[Image:Prise de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|200px|Capture of the [[Bastille Day|Bastille]] ]]
''See also:'' [[Secular left]] and [[History of Atheism|History of atheism]] and [[French Revolution]]

During the French [[Reign of Terror]] of the early [[Enlightenment]], the Left attempted a de-Christianization movement to replace the "reactionary" worship of God and replace it with the worship of national patriotism, or the ''Patrie''. Many churches were closed and either converted into Temples of Reason,<ref>John Hall Stewart, ''A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution'' (Macmillan, New York, 1963).</ref> or otherwise demolished outright under the order of Jacobin leader [[Maximilien de Robespierre]] under the pretense that their design was "undemocratic."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050309031846/https://culturewars.com/CultureWars/Archives/Fidelity_archives/parricide.html Operation Parricide: Sade, Robespierre & the French Revolution]</ref> The Left even formed a new calendar [[Liberal censorship|secularizing Christian holidays]]. This calendar was short-lived though and was never accepted in the rural, more religious parts of France.

The term Left has its origins in 1790s, when in the French revolutionary parliament the representatives for the socialists sat to the presiding officer's left.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/left Left Ideology], Encyclopedia Britannica</ref> In addition, it was also stated that the left-wing had some origins in the [[Book of Revelation]] when [[Jesus Christ]] transfigured people on his right and left as sheep and goats, respectively.<ref>https://www.theculturewatch.com/the-french-revolution</ref><ref>James Billington, Fire in the Minds of Men: Origin of the Revolutionary Faith.</ref>

==19th century European leftists ==
===Marx===
[[File:KarlMarx.jpg|left|thumb|[[Karl Marx]]]]
[[Karl Marx]] (May 5, 1818<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/letters/misc/1818-bc.htm Birth Certificate of Karl Marx], Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''Collected Works'', Vol. 1 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), p. 635</ref> – March 14, 1883) was a [[bourgeois]]<ref>Francis Wheen, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3KOyuSakn80C Karl Marx: A Life]'' (W.W. Norton & Company, 2001) ISBN 0393321576, pp. 8, 278</ref> political pamphleteer,<ref>George Bernard Shaw, “Trotsky, Prince of Pamphleteers,” ''The Nation'' (ISSN 0027-8378) Vol. 1922 No. 30 (June 7, 1922), pp. 560-561, reprinted in Brian Tyson, ed., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ui6sNgX5vfQC Bernard Shaw's Book Reviews: Volume Two,1884-1950]'' (University Park, PA.: Penn State Press, 1996) ISBN 0271015489, pp. 440-450. Cf. Terrell Carver, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HgbPEM0A4ksC The Postmodern Marx]'' (University Park, PA.: Penn State Press, 1998), p. 160</ref> polemicist<ref>Chris Matthew Sciaberra, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=D7z2ACODvLkC Marx, Hayek and Utopia]'' (SUNY Press, 1995) ISBN 0791426165, p.6. Cf. Michael Grenfell and Cheryl Hardy, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ao6emzDlvIAC Art Rules: Pierre Bourdieu and the Visual Arts]'' (Berg Publishers, 2007) ISBN 1845202341, p.17</ref> and [[propagandist]],<ref>Baron John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ItJmAAAAMAAJ The Cambridge Modern History]'' (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1910), p. 758. Cf. Milorad M. Drachkovitch and Sidney Hook, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=MJkLqIlu-q4C Marxist Ideology in the Contemporary World: Its Appeals and Paradoxes]'' (Ayer Publishing, 1973) ISBN 0836981545, p. 113</ref> credited as co-founder (with [[Friedrich Engels]]) of communism<ref>Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=am7G9xBmlXAC The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings]'' (Barnes & Noble, 2005) ISBN 1593081006, p. vi</ref> and specifically of Marxism. Although Marx always considered himself an economist,<ref>Charles H. Powers, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=cw8nRx08ix0C Making Sense of Social Theory: A Practical Introduction]'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010) ISBN 1442201193, p. 115</ref> "the Marxist system as a whole is not regarded as economics by the mainstream," according to Don Ross, co-editor of ''[http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/oso/public/content/oho_philosophy/9780195189254/toc.html The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics]''.<ref>Don Ross, "[http://uct.academia.edu/documents/0095/6341/Economics__anti-economics_and_ideology.pdf Economic theory, anti-economics, and political ideology]," p. 10</ref> Ex-Marxist<ref>"'I was a Marxist when I went to the University of Chicago, and I was still a Marxist after I took [[Milton Friedman]]’s course. ... But just one summer as an economics intern in Washington got rid of all of that.' Sowell worked in the Labor Department, in the Wage and Hour Division. He was interested in whether minimum wages helped the poor by raising their pay or hurt them by denying them jobs. He found that the personnel around him were interested in other things: namely, the preservation of their own jobs, and the perpetuation of government programs." Jay Nordlinger, "[https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/article/?q=NTQ5ZjNhNzE5MjhmOGY5MjYwNGFjNmEwYWNmZjNmNTk= A Lion in High Summer]," ''National Review'', Vol. LXIII, No. 3 (February 21, 2011)</ref> economist [[Thomas Sowell]] agrees:
{{cquote|[T]he Marxian contribution to [[economics]] can be readily summarized as virtually zero. Professional economics as it exists today reflects no indication that Karl Marx ever existed... [T]he development of modern economics has simply ignored Marx. Even economists who are Marxists typically utilize a set of analytical tools to which Marx contributed nothing... In professional economics, ''Das Capital'' was a detour into a blind alley...<ref>Thomas Sowell, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TVkVAAAAIAAJ Marxism: Philosophy and Economics]'' (Taylor & Francis, 1985) ISBN 0043201717, p. 217.</ref>}}
William Coleman of the Australian National University actually goes so far as to identify Marx as an "anti-economist."<ref>William Coleman, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jMipPwAACAAJ Economics and its Enemies: Two Centuries of Anti-Economics]'' (London: Palgrave as Macmillan, 2002) ISBN 1403941483, p. 234. As economics concerns human prosperity and thriving, "anti-economics" may be understood as an anti-human project of death and destruction.</ref> Ross concurs, labeling Marx "the most influential anti-economist of all."<ref>Don Ross, "[http://uct.academia.edu/documents/0095/6341/Economics__anti-economics_and_ideology.pdf Economic theory, anti-economics, and political ideology]," p. 10</ref> Even Michael Harrington, a well-known Marxist,<ref>Wayne Price, "[http://www.utopianmag.com/files/in/1000000043/wayne_utopia.pdf Anarchism: Utopian or Scientific?]" ''The Utopian'' Vol. 5, p. 62</ref> in his book, ''The Twilight of [[Capitalism]]'', devoted an entire chapter to Marx "The anti-economist."<ref>Michael Harrington, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=__ROAAAAMAAJ The Twilight of Capitalism]'' (Simon and Schuster, 1976) ISBN 0671227599, chapter 5</ref> Nevertheless, men and women of zeal, often well-meaning but without understanding<ref>"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding." [http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0277_0438_ZD.html Brandeis, J., Dissenting], ''Olmstead v. United States'' 277 US 438 (1928)</ref> of economics, ravaged the 20th century reifying Marx's anti-economics—in the process killing more people than all the century's wars combined.<ref>R.J. Rummel, [http://democraticpeace.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/what-only-35000000-killed-in-20th-century-war/ What? Only 35,000,000 Killed in 20th Century War?], Democratic Peace Blog, November 30, 2008. In 1918, [[Grigory Zinoviev]], first head of the [[Comintern]], announced: "To overcome our enemies we must have our own socialist militarism. We must carry along with us 90 million out of the 100 million of [[Soviet Russia]]'s population. As for the rest, we have nothing to say to them. They must be annihilated." (George Leggett, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=NRUFAQAAIAAJ The Cheka: Lenin's Political Police]'' [Oxford University Press, 1986] ISBN 0-19-822862-7, p. 114) Zinoviev's estimate that the Soviets would murder 10 million people was far too low: Mid-range academic estimates of the number of civilians murdered by Marxists range from 94 million (Stéphane Courtois, ed. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=H1jsgYCoRioC The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression]'' [Harvard University Press, 1999] ISBN 0-674-07608-7, p. 4) to 148 million. Margaret Cox, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=xMvOoPN58CoC The Scientific Investigation of Mass Graves: Towards Protocols and Standard Operating Procedures]'' [Cambridge University Press, 2008] ISBN 0521865875, p. 8; Cf. Rudy Rummel, [http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Genocide&month=0511&week=d&msg=kbHvcYM/g2BcFyVBXdoRew&user=&pw= Reevaluated democide totals for 20thC. and China], H-Genocide Discussion Logs, H-Net (Humanities and Social Sciences Online), Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online (Michigan State University), November 28, 2005; T. Matthew Ciolek, [http://www.ciolek.com/SPEC/rummel-on-democide-2005.html R.J. Rummel: Reevaluated democide totals for 20th C. and China], Asia Pacific Research Online, Internet Publications Bureau, Research School of Asian and Pacific Studies, National Institute for Asia and the Pacific (Australian National University), November 29, 2005</ref>

===Bakunin===
Anarchist thinker Mikhail Bakunin critiqued prominent leftist theoritician [[Karl Marx]] in 1873 with these words,

:"..if the [[proletariat]] is to be the ruling class, over whom is it to rule? ...the peasant "rabble" who, as it is known, does not enjoy the sympathy of the Marxists who consider it to represent a [[Racism|lower level of culture]], will probably be ruled by the factory proletariat of the cities. Or, if this problem is to be approached [[Nationalism|nationalist]]ically, the [[Slavs]] will be placed in the same subordinate relationship to the victorious German proletariat in which the latter now stands to the German bourgeoisie." <ref>Michael Bakunin, ''Statism and Anarchy'', (1873), in Sam Dolgoff, ''Bakunin'' On Anarchy, (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1972), p. 330.</ref>

It should be noted that Bakunin was also a leftist, and in fact, the only difference he had from Marx was the exact extent that they should get rid of government. In addition, he also declared regarding anarchism: "Let us put our trust in the eternal spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unsearchable and eternally creative source of all life--the passion for destruction is also a creative passion!"<ref>''Reaction in Germany'', 1842</ref> Richard Wagner also noted of Bakunin that “The annihilation of all civilization was the objective on which he had set his heart…. It was necessary, he said, to picture the whole European world - transformed into a pile of rubble.”<ref>https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/understanding-tyranny-and-terror-the-french-revolution-modern-islamism</ref><ref>Richard Wagner, quoted in Bryan Magee, The Tristan Chord: Wagner and Philosophy (New York: Henry Holt, 2000), p. 39.</ref>

==United States leftists ==
:''Main article: [[American liberalism]]''
===State planning===

[[Image:1904SO.JPG|thumb|200px|[[Eugene Debs|Debs]] for President poster, 1904]]
In the United States men such as [[Eugene Debs]], Maurice Hilquit and [[Norman Thomas]] believed they could, by a gradual series of alterations in the structure of society, create a truly democratic world in which all people would enjoy not merely freedom, but prosperity. They believed this could not be achieved under the system of [[private property]] and [[profit]]. They advocated a gradual acquisition by the State of all the great utilities, transportation, communication, and basic industries such as coal, oil, and steel.

The dream of a cooperative commonwealth in which all would share equally in the prosperity created by an economic system owned by the people was the vision of [[Socialist]]s. This in theory would end [[poverty]], [[ignorance]] and [[crises]]. The idea was to [[Nationalization|nationalize]] banks, railroads, all means of transport, mines, and a few basic industries, but leave some factories, stores, farms, entertainment industries, etc., in the hands of private owners. The government would assume responsibility for making the economy work, for the well-being of all the citizens, their protection from the hazards of life, poverty, sickness, and old age. To make the whole economy work continuously without occasional [[Great Depression#Boom or Bust Cycles|boom-bust]] cycles, the government would create [[economic planning]] boards staffed by a bureaucratic class which would continuously study and observe the functioning of the economic system and make plans covering production, prices, distribution, financing, profits, [[wages]], hours, etc. Thus there would be Planned Capitalism, with the State responsible for the planning and for ensuring the carrying out of its plans through great government bureaus armed with the necessary powers to enforce compliance.

===Borrowing from fascism===
[[File:Benito Mussolini Roman Salute.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Benito Mussolini]] after gaining power]]
In the 1920s [[Benito Mussolini]] had adopted the Planned Capitalist State and gave it the name "[[fascism]]". [[Adolf Hitler]] adopted the same idea and called it [[National Socialism]]. Mussolini and Hitler both realized that a system which imposes a vast complex of decrees upon a people while subjecting them to confiscatory [[tax]]es to support the immense activities of the government cannot be operated except by an [[Absolutism|absolute]] government that has the power to enforce compliance. Prior to [[World War II]], this type of system had spread all over Europe. For nearly 70 years all the countries in Europe, with Germany in the lead, had been experimenting with the idea of the [[welfare state]], the State which attempts to provide its people with jobs and protection from all the hazards of life.

This system is the direct opposite of [[classical liberalism]]. It is the negation of the classical liberal philosophy which for decades has been fighting to [[Emancipation|emancipate]] the people from the [[tyranny]] of the all-powerful State. During the [[New Deal]] this doctrine became known in America as "liberalism". Liberals did not admit that it implied the restoration to the State those very powers which had been stripped from the State as the means of giving people [[freedom]]. They called it the [[planned economy]]. But it was and is fascism by whatever name it is known. Incrementally the government must be made stronger, and the rights of the citizens reduced.

==Modern leftists==
:{{See also|Cultural Marxism|Long march through the institutions}}
Modern leftists in the United States have come under increasing criticism as advocates of thought control.<ref>[http://www.humanevents.com//article.php?id=20562 Leftist Thought Control], David Limbaugh, ''Human Events'', 05/04/2007.</ref> Author David Limbaugh cites, "Consider the subjects of [[evolution]], [[global warming]], [[homosexual agenda|special rights for homosexuals]] and [[abstinence]] education. Consider efforts of the Left to [[Fairness Doctrine|silence conservative talk radio]]. Consider the mainstream media's arrogant denial of its transparent [[liberal bias]], pronouncing itself to be above politics and inherently objective and its critics somehow skewed....Consider the leftist refrain that [[red state]] conservatives do not merely possess a different world view, but are not part of the 'reality-based community.'"

===Gramsci===
[[File:Gramsci.png|thumb|150px|right|[[Antonio Gramsci]] ]]
[[Antonio Gramsci]] was a lieutenant of [[Joseph Stalin]] who headed the [[Italian]] branch of the International Communist movement ([[Comintern]]). After several failed assassination attempts on Mussolini, Gramsci was imprisoned in 1926 until his death in 1937. While in prison Gramsci wrote his ''Prison Notebooks'', speculating on the failure of [[violent]] [[revolution]] to materialize in [[Western Europe]] as [[Karl Marx]] had predicted. Gramsci's works are considered by [[Socialists]] to be foundational to modern [[public education]] and [[Cultural Marxism]].<ref>https://www.jstor.org/stable/23768314?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents</ref><ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/prison_notebooks/problems/education.htm</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdTTr4iYT0M</ref>

Gramsci's theory of "cultural hegemony" states that the ruling capitalist "oppressor" class uses cultural institutions, such as "traditional marriage," to maintain power. The "oppressors" develop a "hegemonic culture" using [[ideology]] unlike Socialists who use [[violence]], economic force, and coercion. "Hegemonic culture" propagates its own values and norms so that they become "[[common sense]]" values and thus maintain the [[status quo]]. According to [[Wikipedia]], this "Hegemonic power is therefore used to maintain consent to the capitalist order, rather than coercive power using force" as Marxism does "to maintain order. This cultural hegemony is produced and reproduced" by the dominant Christian oppressor class "through the institutions that form the superstructure."

Joseph A. Buttigieg, [[Pete Buttigieg]]'s father, was a founding member of the International Gramsci Society and served as the executive secretary."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20100616163619/http://english.nd.edu/faculty/profiles/joseph-a-buttigieg/</ref>

== Leftism: Use of condemnation/mockery rather than reasonable argumentation ==
''See also:'' [[Atheism and mockery]]

In a ''BloombergView'' article, Stephen L. Carter wrote about the Left:
{{Cquote|But the left has work to do, not only on policy and organization but also on attitude. Too many of my [[progressivism|progressive]] friends seem to have forgotten how to make actual arguments, and have become expert instead at condemnation, derision and mockery. On issue after issue, they’re very good at explaining why no one could oppose their policy positions except for the basest of motives. As to those positions themselves, they are too often announced with a zealous solemnity suggesting that their views are Holy Writ -- and those who disagree are cast into the outer political darkness. In short, the left has lately been dripping with hubris, which in classic literature always portends a fall.<ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-11-11/trump-and-the-fall-of-liberalism Trump and the Fall of Liberalism] by Stephen L. Carter, BloombergView</ref>}}

Historically, [[Atheism|atheists]] have skewed towards the [[Leftism|left]] side of the political aisle (see: [[Atheism and politics]] and [[Secular left]] and [[Atheism and communism]]).<ref>[http://atheism.about.com/od/Atheist-Agnostic-Belief-Survey/a/Atheists-Agnostics-America-Politically-Liberal.htm Atheists & Agnostics in America Tend to be Politically Liberal]</ref><ref name="Marxism-Leninsim">{{cite web|url = http://www.investigatingatheism.info/marxism.html|title =Marxism|publisher = [[University of Cambridge]]|quote=The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 [[Russian Revolution]], which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.|year=2008|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="Guillotine">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bf3m7IVAa9gC&pg=PA461&dq=France+atheism+guillotine++Christians+executed&hl=en&sa=X&ei=l4lUUaTRBufG0QGe0IHACA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=France%20atheism%20guillotine%20%20Christians%20executed&f=false|title =Christianity|author=James Adair|publisher = JBE Online Books|year=2007|quote=Although the Civil Constitution called for religious liberty, which was extended to Jews as well as Christians, many revolutionaries pushed for the establishment of a new state religion, either the Cult of Reason (atheists) or the Cult of the Supreme Being (Deists). Although the Civil Constitution called for religious liberty, which was extended to Jews as well as Christians, many revolutionaries pushed for the establishment of a new state religion, either the Cult of Reason (atheists) or the Cult of the Supreme Being (Deists). Changes to the calendar eliminated references to Christian holidays, and even the ancient seven-day week, and a list of officially recognized saints included such famous thinkers such as Socrates, Jesus, Marcus Aurelius, and Jean-Jacques Rosseau. A period of political persecution, often with religious overtones, broke out, known as the Reign of Terror. Thousands of people were executed by the guillotine, including many of the original leaders of the French Revolution.|page=461|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="France">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9WkBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA105&dq=Reign+of+Terror+atheism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HoRUUcD0NeXX0gGNo4HIDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Reign%20of%20Terror%20atheism&f=false|title =Memoirs of the reign of George III. to the session of parliament ending A.D. 1793, Volume 5|page=105|author=William Belsham|publisher = G.G. & J. Robinson|year=1801|quote=Reign of this portentous period, it has been eloquently tenor, and energetically observed, "that the reign of atheism in France was avowed the reign of terror. In the full madness of their career, in the highest climax of their horrors, they shut up the temples of God, abolished His worship, and proclaimed death to be an eternal sleep:-in the very centre of Christendom, Revelation underwent a total eclipse, while atheism, performing on a darkened theatre its strange and fearful tragedy, confounded the first elements of society, blended every age, rank, and sex ,indiscriminate proscription and massacre, and convulsed all Europe to its centre, that the imperishable memorial of these events might teach the last generations of mankind to consider religion as the pillar of society, the parent of social order, and the safe-guard of nations." It is wonderful that, amid the horrors of this dismal period, while "the death dance of democratic revolution" was still in rapid movement, among the tears of affliction, and the cries of despair, "the masque, the song, the theatric scene, the buffoon laughter, went on as regularly as in the gay hour of festive peace."|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="Reign of Terror">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Tt5rqiCP1p8C&pg=PA57&dq=Reign+of+Terror+atheism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HoRUUcD0NeXX0gGNo4HIDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Reign%20of%20Terror%20atheism&f=false|title =Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West|author=William Kilpatrick|publisher = [[Ignatius Press]]|year=2012|quote=Actually, it's helpful to think in terms of two Enlightenments: the Enlightenment that cut itself off from God. The former led to the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the abolition of slavery, and the civil rights movement. The latter led to the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the suppression of church by state, and the godless philosophies of Marx and Nietzsche and their offspring-National Socialism and Communism. More recently the abandonment of God has led to the regime of cultural relativism that regards rights as arbitrary constructions. It's this second Enlightenment tradition that Cardinal Ratzinger referred to when he wrote, "The radical detachment of the Enlightenment philosophy from its roots ultimately leads it to dispense with man." Actually this transition happened no "ultimately" but almost immediately. The first instance occurred when Enlightenment worship of abstract "reason" and "liberty" degenerated quickly into the mass murders committed during the anti-religious Reign of Terror in France. "Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name", said Madam Rolande as she faced the statue of Liberty in the Place de la Revolution movements before her death at the guillotine. She was one of the early victims of a succession of secular systems based on rootless notions of "liberty", "equality", and "reason". As many historians have pointed out, the atheist regimes of modern times are guilty of far more crimes than any committed in the name of religion. Communist governments alone were guilty of more than one hundred million murders, most of them committed against their own people.|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref>

Although the [[secular left]] is known for ridiculing [[religion]] since at least the time of [[French Revolution]] (see: [[Atheism and mockery]]), the secular Left is known for its humorlessness when it comes to others mocking of its ideology (See also: [[Atheism and humor]] and [[Atheism and intolerance]] and [[Atheist hypocrisy]]).

==Leftism and violence==
:{{See also|2020 Leftist insurrection|Leftwing violence in the Trump era}}
Leftist ideology is known for its propensity to induce and inspire some of the most heinous and mindless acts of senseless violence and [[murder]].

*A Leftist deliberately swerved his pick-up truck to kill a [[Harley-Davidson]] motorcycle rider.<ref>https://www.wbay.com/2020/07/09/fdl-sheriff-man-to-make-initial-court-appearance-following-fatal-crash-on-winnebago-drive/</ref>
*Leftists defaced the [[Lincoln Memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]].<ref>https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/11/social-justice-warriors-deface-statues-of-actual-social-justice-warriors/</ref>
*Leftists tore down a statue to [[Frederick Douglass]], a runaway slave.<ref>https://nationalfile.com/black-lives-matter-rioters-topple-statue-of-black-abolitionist-legend-frederick-douglass/</ref>
*Leftists vandalized statues of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in Washington and [[London]].
*Leftists defaced the statue of [[Winston Churchill]] in London who defeated [[Adolf Hitler]] and the [[Third Reich]].
*In keeping with [[San Francisco values]], leftists tore down the statue of [[Ulysses S. Grant]] who accepted the surrender of [[Confederate]] General [[Robert E. Lee]].
*In [[Madison, Wisconsin]], leftists tore down the statue of Col. Christian Heg, an [[abolitionist]] who gave his life free [[Black]]s. The same leftist [[homophobe]]s nearly beat to death a [[gay]] [[Democrat]] state senator who witnessed the violence.
*In [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], leftists defaced the 54th Regiment Memorial to Black soldiers in the [[Civil War]].<ref>https://www.westernjournal.com/rioters-deface-monument-black-civil-war-veterans-served-union/</ref>
*In [[Seattle]]'s [[CHOP]] zone, leftists shot three Blacks, killing two, one of the child. The third survivor was also a child.
*In [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia]], leftists murdered an 8 year old Black girl and a Black male adult as part of the [[Black Lives Matter]] protests.
*In [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], leftist murdered a 77 year old retired Black police captain in retaliation for the murder of [[George Floyd]].
*In [[Oakland, California]], leftists murdered a Black federal security policeman to protest police brutality against Blacks.
*In Washington, D.C., leftists defaced to [[World War II]] memorial to commemorate the soldiers who defeated [[fascism]].
*Leftists are church burners.<ref>https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/paula-bolyard/2020/06/01/breaking-rioters-burn-historic-st-johns-church-in-d-c-deface-monuments-across-the-city-n474820</ref><ref>https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2020/05/21/mississippi-church-that-refused-to-closed-burned-down-by-arsonist-who-leaves-message/</ref>

== The future of Leftism ==
:{{See also|Decline of leftism| Decline of the secular left}}

==See also==
*[[Leftism and humor]]lessness
*[[War on Freedom]]
*[[Peoples Temple Agricultural Collective]]
*[[Leftist chants]]
*[[Alliance for Global Justice]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=35em}}

==External links==
*[https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/09/the_imploding_leftist_establishment.html The Imploding Leftist Establishment], ''American Thinker''
*[http://www.marx2mao.com/Lenin/LWC20.html V. I. Lenin, ''"Left-Wing" Communism, An Infantile Disorder''] (1920) V. I. Lenin, Selected Works, English edition, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1952, Vol. II, Part 2.
*[http://jonjayray.tripod.com/leftism2.html John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.), ''THE MOTIVATIONS OF POLITICAL LEFTISTS'']

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[[Category:Leftism]]
[[Category:Liberalism]]