#title Leftism #subtitle The function of pseudo-critique and pseudo-revolution in techno-industrial society #author Ultimo Reducto #date 2007 #source <[[https://ultimoreductosalvaje.blogspot.com/2017/11/izquierdismo-funcion-de-la.html][www.ultimoreductosalvaje.blogspot.com]]> #lang en #pubdate 2026-10-01T14:43:45 #topics anti-leftism, anti-tech, #notes Updated version of November 2017. To view an older English version [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150416041028/wildism.org/lib/item/903453d1/][click here]]. #rights copyright 2017 for the English translation, Último Reducto. © copyright 2007 for the original version in Spanish, Último Reducto. *** Definition Ultimo Reducto regards as “leftism”[1] any current or social tendency that is based on the following values: equality, extended solidarity[2], compassion toward alleged groups of alleged victims (with these or other names as “social justice,” “cooperation,” “brotherhood,” “universal love,” “peace,” etc.). In general, the concept of leftism includes almost any apparently critical current that in reality does not try to combat modern society, but to “improve it.”[3] Leftism, usually, does not try to end techno-industrial society, but only tries to make it meet the above values. That is, it tries to make society be (more) “just,” (more) “egalitarian,” (more) “caring,” etc. There are also “radical” leftisms that say they try to combat the system (normally adding the adjectives “capitalist”, “imperialist” and/or “patriarchal”), but they always do so on the basis of those values. Leftism includes, in general, that which is usually understood as the left, but not only this. The concept of “the left” is usually (almost) synonymous with socialism (in almost all its versions, including libertarian or anarchist ones), but there are also nonsocialist “leftisms” (for example, all the currents and humanitarian initiatives derived exclusively from philosophical liberalism or from Christian philanthropy some grassroots organizations, some charitable organizations, some missions, etc.). In fact, at least some of the fundamental values and ideas of the greater part of what is today called “the right” deep down are the same asthose of what is called “the left.” Leftism, in particular, includes all the struggles and initiatives, governmental or otherwise, in favour of the equality and the rights of the alleged “oppressed” (“antipatriarchism” in general and feminism in particular, gay “liberation,” antiracism, solidarity with immigrants, helping the poor, initiatives for the social integration of the marginalized and excluded, defence of the workingclass, of the unemployed, of the disabled, of the animals, etc.), in favour of development (“sustainable,” they tend to add), of justice, of peace, of “freedoms” and “rights” and of democracy in general (struggles for the redistribution of wealth, currents favourable to the “normalization”of drugs or “sexual liberation,” antimilitarism, pacifism, social “ecologies” -that currents of so-called environmentalists who focus primarily on purely social matters, prioritizing them over real ecological problems-[4] and environmentalisms -those currents whose real function is to maintain an environment habitable enough so the human population can continue successfully fulfilling the demands of techno-industrial society-, anticapitalism, etc.). It includes, thus, virtually all those things described as “social,” “antiestablishment,” “protest,” “adversarial,” “alternative,” “countercultural,”… movements, as well as the vast majority of NGOs, and any initiative, official or not, based on promoting equality, (extended) solidarity and the defence of alleged victims (which today includes a good part of the activities of governments and institutions). It is usually believed that “progressivism” and “leftism” are synonymous, and certainly this is normally the case, but not always. If the idea of progress[5] that progressivism defends is based on the increase of equality, solidarity (beyond the natural social reference group constituted by those individuals close to one) and defence of supposed victims (which is usually precisely the notion of progress in almost all of contemporary progressivisms), then this progressivism is leftism. But not all progressivism has this humanitarian idea of progress: nineteenth century colonialism, for example, used for the justification of its atrocities another, much less “delicate” idea of progress, not compatible with leftist progressivism. On the other hand, although leftism is usually openly progressivist, there are also minority leftist currents seemingly contrary to progress, i.e., supposedly not progressivist.[6] Nowadays, and for some decades now, the dominant ideology in techno-industrial society is leftist. Institutions and the mass media are based on the fundamental leftist values of equality, (extended) solidarity and victimism, and they transmit and put into practice these values, supporting and encouraging proposals that were formerly defended exclusively by minority sectors (the leftists at the time). It is enough to observe institutional propaganda, the news, mass forms of entertainment and art, etc. to notice it. As a result, the general population has more or less assumed the leftist values of this propaganda. Nevertheless, many people are sure that these leftist values are, not only a minority view, but also contrary to those of current modern society, which they consider unsupportive and contrary to equality. This belief is itself a fundamental part of leftism, justifying and promoting it. *** Evaluation **** Leftism helps the system Equality, solidarity with individuals and groups who are not close to oneself, and helping alleged victims and oppressed people, are essential to avoid conflicts, tensions and antisocial behaviours contrary to the efficient functioning of the social machinery. These values are necessary for the maintenance of the cohesion of techno-industrial society and to avoid its disintegration and disorganization. By assuming them as its own and promoting them, leftism helps the system. Leftism is based, therefore, on values that are essential for techno-industrial society. As a result, that what leftism questions is not the system itself, but only that, according to leftists, the system does not sufficiently live up to its values and that, therefore, it does not pursue the ends they imply. So, the effect of leftism can never be the end of the system, but the “improvement” of it, so that it will run more efficiently. Consequently, leftism is inevitably reformist and never really revolutionary[7]. When leftism does not recognize itself as reformist and presents itself as “revolutionary,” it is pseudorevolutionary (which is common in the more radical forms of leftism). Leftism is a mechanism of alarm, self-repair, self-maintenance, and self-catalysis for the functioning and development of the techno-industrial system.With its critiques, leftism acts as an alarm mechanism that points out the weak points, the contradictions, the limits, the failures, etc., of the techno-industrial system. And with its proposals favours the repair and readjustment of the system, promoting “improvements” or, at least, palliatives, actions that serve to reduce the social, psychological and ecological tensions that can hinder the maintenance, functioning and development of technoindustrial society. Leftism lubricates the social machinery instead of destroying it. Moreover, with its proposals, activism, groups, environments, aesthetics, paraphernalia, ideology, etc., seemingly critical, combative, rebellious and radical, leftism offers artificial substitutes, innocuous to techno-industrial society, for certain tendencies and natural human psychological needs incompatible with the maintenance and development of the techno-industrial system (for example, it replaces the natural human sociability, which, in order to be fully satisfied, demands that social groups are smallscale groups –i.e., groups in which all members are able to know well and interact directly with each other-, with the sense of belonging to large organizations and/or to leftist environments and subgroups). It also redirects and makes harmless for the system certain impulses and reactions which, if expressed spontaneously, may be harmful or even destructive for the structure and functioning of techno-industrial society (for example, leftist activism serves to relieve the hostility caused by chronic frustration generated by the techno-industrial way of life, so that it will not really and seriously damage the functioning and structure of the system). Thus, leftism, with its proposals, offers to individuals a false illusion that embracing it they can act naturally and freely within techno-industrial society, and with its practices, it offers them the impression, no less false, of being rebels. It functions, therefore, also as a psychological safety valve for the system. Moreover, because of its role as a psychological safety valve and its appearance, often, of being pseudo-critical and pseudo-revolutionary, leftism acts as a trap that attracts truly critical and potentially revolutionary people and groups, neutralizing them and transforming them into leftists in turn. Leftist environments and currents make use of politically correct[8] oversocialization[9] (taboos and dogmas) to imprison within its leftist ideological and psychological frames the natural, original, and potentially revolutionary ideas, values, motivations, ends, etc., of many of those that contact them. This way, those who independently come to feel discontented with what techno-industrial society is doing with the non-artificial world and with human nature, in their attempt to contact others with similar concerns, often approach leftist currents, environments, and groups, since these appear to be critical. Many people become unconsciously and psychologically trapped by these environments, establishing affinities and socioemotional ties with them that neutralize these people’s capacity for reaction and criticism, and, just so they end up, to a greater or lesser extent, tacitly or explicitly, and willingly or reluctantly, abandoning and sidelining their own values and original attitudes and adopting leftist values, dogmas, taboos, rhetoric, theories, and (sub)culture. And it also works in the opposite sense: when struggles, environments, currents, theories or initiatives critical of techno-industrial society, at first foreign to or little related to leftism, emerge, many leftists (especially the more radical types) usually feel attracted to them, invade the critical environments and struggles, originally outside of leftism, and/or adopt their rhetoric as their own, distorting them to ensure that they conform to the theories and basic values of leftists, resulting in the conversion to leftism of these struggles or initiatives that were originally not leftist initiatives, and thus their deactivation as potentially revolutionary struggles. Leftism, therefore, also acts as a self-defence mechanism to cancel out those impulses initiatives and attitudes that are rebellious, dysfunctional and potentially dangerous to the techno-industrial system, and to utilize them (by way of psychological and ideological “jujitsu”) in favour of industrial society, integrating them into leftist environments and currents. **** Leftism as cause and effect of psychological alienation Leftism is a result of alienation, of a state of psychological weakness and illness, often caused by the conditions of life inherent to techno-industrial society. Modern technology and the social system that it unavoidably implies deny individuals the possibility of developing and satisfying fully and autonomously their natural tendencies, abilities, and needs, i.e., their liberty, inhibiting and perverting the expression of their nature. They totally deprive individuals of the ability to exercise control over the conditions that affect their own lives and they violate their dignity by turning them into beings that are helpless and completely dependent on the system. They force people to live in unnatural conditions for which they are not biologically prepared (noise, high population density, fast pace of life, rapid change in the environment, hyper-artificial environments, etc.). They regulate and restrict human natural behaviour in many respects. All of this creates psychological distress in many individuals (low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority, boredom, frustration, depression, anxiety, anger, emptiness, etc.). And that discomfort is often expressed in the form of victimism, hedonism, hostility, etc. These feelings and attitudes are common in techno-industrial society and give rise to various unnatural behaviours. Leftism is one of these behaviours. Its core values are inspired by feelings of inferiority, and many of its theories, discourses and activities are motivated by a lack of self-confidence, hostility, and boredom. And, since leftism in reality favours the development of techno-industrial society, it acts as a feedback mechanism for alienation and, with it, for itself.[10] **** Leftist values and ideas are contrary to reality, to reason, and to truth The majority of leftist theories are logically, empirically and philosophically absurd. Leftism is based on notions about the world, the society, the human, and the natural that do not correspond with reality. Core leftist values and ideas, as well as some other ideas and values that tend to be associated with leftism, are, at best, perversions of natural and correct values (for example, extended solidarity is a collectivist adulteration of natural solidarity between close individuals), and, at worst, mere nonsense based on a flawed logic (relativism, for example) and on the distortion of facts to make them fit leftist theory, goals and values (e.g., the idea of a virtual inexistence of a human nature in human beings, who are regarded as mainly or only cultural, social or historical beings). **** Leftism is contrary to Nature Leftism is a threat to the autonomy of wild Nature, including true human freedom[11]. In spite of at least some of the leftist goals seem to be laudable and desirable at first glance (and this is why many people embrace and support them), the attaining of leftist goals would be actually a real disaster regarding both, true human freedom and the autonomy of wild Nature. This is so not only because leftism favours, as we have seen above, the development of the techno-industrial system, but also because, in considering that equality, extended solidarity and the defence of victims have priority over any other value, leftism neglects, or even despises the autonomy of the non-artificial -because, indeed, the latter is incompatible with leftist basic values (wild Nature, human nature included, is not egalitarian, caring or compassionate, except within some very restricted limits). In order to try to implement leftist utopias, it would be necessary to utterly subjugate both, human beings in particular and wild Nature in general. *** Conclusion This point is especially aimed at all those who would like to do something to try to really end the techno-industrial system but, because they feel a genuine and justified rejection of leftism, they prove to correctly be very suspicious of the majority of currents apparently critical of the current techno-industrial society. How must they act with respect to leftism? - Criticize it, revealing what it really is: a deception, a trap, a mechanism of the system to perpetuate and grow itself more easily and efficiently, a poor substitute for real rebellion and the crazy result of unnatural conditions inherent to modern life. But, criticism at leftism must not become a goal in itself. It must only be a means, a practical requirement, essential nowadays to try to achieve a much more important goal: to eliminate the techno-industrial system and to put an end to the subjugation of wild Nature external and internal to human beings that this inevitably entails. - Avoid falling into the trap. Try to maintain a strict separation from leftism, its influences, its environments, its values, theories and speech. And, vice versa, keep leftism away from them; try so that their values, theories and speeches are not absorbed, perverted or disabled by leftism.[12] - Do not be ashamed to have values and ideas that are not leftist. Do not allow the oversocializing reactions, the politically correct leftist dogmas and taboos to influence them. This in turn will help keep leftist away from them, avoiding their harmful influence.
[1] Perhaps “leftism” is not the most appropriate term to express what Último Reducto refers to here. Everyone has some intuitive notion of what “leftism” is, but often these notions vary considerably from one individual to another and few are able to correctly and consistently explain their idea of “leftism.” Furthermore, not everyone who is regarded as leftist is always actually a leftist, and not everyone that is actually a leftist, is always regarded as leftist (certain incomplete notions or definitions, often, do not cover all the forms of leftism really existing for example, they consider that leftism is comprised only by Marxism-Leninism, or only by anarcho-syndicalism, or only by the “antagonist” subculture, etc.-, and certain overreaching and vague notions and definitions might include currents that are not, in reality, leftist -for example, certain kinds of Islamism -).

All this complicates the definition and interpretation of the concept to which Último Reducto is referring to with the term “leftism.” However, the point here is trying to express, clarify and grasp the concept without getting lost in discussions about what to call it. Let each denominate the concept as he is best willing and able. [2] The expression “extended solidarity” refers to solidarity (i.e., support, identification, brotherhood, loyalty, cooperation, etc.) beyond the natural social reference group (the group comprised by those few individuals close to one; the “loved ones”).

In spite of that the ideology of techno-industrial society (and, with it, much of the leftist rhetoric) tends to promote, theoretically, an indiscriminate type of extended solidarity (towards every human being, or even beyond), in practice, because of the limitations imposed by Nature in general, and the psychological restrictions imposed by human nature in particular, extended solidarity does not use to be put in place indiscriminately, but only in regard to restricted human groups and social environments. [3] Techno-industrial society must be fought, not reformed, because it inevitably undermines the autonomy of the functioning of nonartificial systems, i.e. of the wild Nature, both external and internal to humans. To go deeply in this issue, see, for example, Theodore J. Kaczynski, “Industrial Society and Its Future” in Technological Slavery, Feral House, 2010 . [4] This does not imply that those environmentalisms that are not “social”, i.e., those environmentalisms that place ecological problems over social problems and call themselves ecocentric, never are influenced by leftist ideas and values. In deed, unfortunately, too often, it happens to be the opposite: many times, their theory, their rhetoric, and their ranks use to be tainted by leftism too. [5] Progress: The belief in the absolute goodness of some process of development. [6] Although, in reality, all defend, in one way or another, some form of progress, if only a progress that isimmaterial, moral, “spiritual”. [7] The term “reformist”, in this text, means “that promotes mending the techno-industrial system, not eliminating it”. The term “revolutionary”, in this text, would be its antonym, i.e., it refers only to that who or which promote eliminating the techno-industrial system, not mending it. [8] Actually, the so-called “political correctness” refers to the set formed by the ideas and values that most people in a human social group assume as indisputable at a given historical context. Political correctness is, in fact, a phenomenon that appears in any social environment and in any time, and its content (the ideas regarded as indisputable) can be, at first, very diverse. However, nowadays, in the technoindustrial society, the expression “political correctness” is used almost only in reference to some allegedly indisputable ideas and values that are clearly close to those of leftism and that come, to great extent, from it. In this text, Último Reducto uses the expression “political correctness” (and its derived expressions) only in the latter restricted sense. [9] Oversocialization: The excessive internalization by the individual of the values of his social environment, so that he is unable to violate them without feeling shame or remorse. It affects, to a greater or lesser extent, almost everyone, but especially those individuals who are more susceptible to the influences of their social environment. It is a common phenomenon in the current techno-industrial society (although not only in it) and it is especially abundant and intense in its leftist subsystems. It has a lot to do with the notion of “politically correctness,” since it is what permits the latter to be imposed. [10] This is only a general approximation of the psychology of leftism. One could make many distinctions in this respect. Like for example, that it is not always the alienation produced by modern life that causes the psychological traits of leftism. Many leftists are simply psychologically weak by nature. [11] True freedom (or true liberty) is the autonomy in expressing and fulfilling one’s own tendencies, needs and abilities, i.e., one’s own nature. It has nothing to do with the elimination or avoidance of natural limits (humanistic concept of freedom), or with the so-called “civil freedoms” or rights. [12] In this respect, we must fall into naivety and superficiality by believing that anyone who appears to reject leftism is really not leftist. It is not enough simply to use the term “leftism” in a derogatory manner. Many leftists who paradigmatically meet the definition of leftism given in this text (for example, many anarcho-socialists, autonomists, anti-capitalists, insurrectionists, situationists, anarcho-primitivists, Marxists, etc.) often tend to criticize something they call “leftism,” implying that they do not recognize themselves as what they actually are: leftists in turn. To identify leftists one has to look at their core values, their ideals, their goals, their ideological references and ascent, etc., and not only if they express explicitly and seemingly rejection of “leftism” in their speech.