Authoritarian Left represents the authoritarian socialist tradition: Marxism-Leninism and its descendants. Unlike democratic socialists who work within liberal systems, Authoritarian Left adherents believe that capitalism cannot be reformed—it must be overthrown through revolutionary action and replaced by a workers' state that exercises dictatorial power to suppress counter-revolution and build socialism.
This strain draws on Lenin's theory of the vanguard party: a disciplined organization of professional revolutionaries who understand scientific socialism and can lead the working class to power. Liberal democracy is dismissed as "bourgeois democracy"—formal equality masking class dictatorship. Real democracy, they argue, means workers controlling the state and suppressing the capitalist class.
Central planning replaces market chaos with rational economic coordination. Instead of production for profit, production serves human needs as determined by the plan. The inefficiencies and crises of capitalism—unemployment, inequality, boom-and-bust cycles—are eliminated through conscious direction of the economy.
The historical record includes major socialist states: the Soviet Union, Maoist China, Cuba, Vietnam, and others. Authoritarian Left adherents view these differently—some defend them as imperfect but genuine attempts at socialism; others critique specific regimes while defending the model; still others argue that true socialism was never achieved due to external pressure or internal betrayal.
At roughly 1.5% of the population, Authoritarian Left is a small but persistent strain. It's found in Marxist-Leninist parties, some academic spaces, and online communities. While marginal in mainstream politics, it represents a coherent alternative to both liberal capitalism and democratic socialism—one that's been historically influential even if currently unfashionable.