Leftism is often told like a romantic story. As if it is a pure ideological adventure of good people, people of conscience who want to make the world fairer. But in real life, leftism is not a romantic pose. Leftism is a heavy mental and moral burden that one has to constantly confront one's own life, one's own habits, one's own contradictions.
Because being a leftist is not only about criticizing the order.
To be a leftist is to risk coming to terms with the way of life produced by the order.
It is easy to criticize the order.
It is even easier to criticize without giving up the comforts of that order.
But this is where leftism begins:
By asking how you live in the system you criticize.
The majority of people criticize inequality but do not want to leave the life produced by inequality. This is why leftism is often a matter of character rather than ideology. As long as one cannot establish equality in one's own life, the slogan of equality remains only a promise.
And perhaps the greatest tragedy of the left begins right here.
Contradictions within the Left: Selling Sweat for Sweat
An ironic phrase often circulates in leftist circles:
“The primary task of the leftist is to propagandize the leftist.”
In other words, selling sweat to the sweatshop...
This phrase actually contains a bitter humor describing the disease of the left turning in on itself. Because over time, a significant part of leftist movements lose their claim to transform society and turn into a race for ideological correctness within their own small circles.
Comradeship is talked about, but the comrade is forgotten in hard times.
Solidarity is talked about, but solidarity is often remembered at the raki table.
We are told about equality but lives are not equal.
A comrade with a summer house has a summer house.
The comrade without a home has ideals.
And often the ideals are cheaper than the cottage.
This ironic picture is not only an individual contradiction. It is also a historical dilemma of the left: the distance between ideology and life.
Left thought is not just a theory. It is also a claim to life. If a thought advocates equality, the bearers of that thought must also bear the traces of this equality in their lives.
Otherwise ideology becomes a slogan.
Life goes on as before.
Comfort of the Right, Burden of the Left
Right-wing thinking often has an easier job. Because right-wing ideology is compatible with the establishment.
The market already speaks the language of the right.
Capital already produces the logic of the right.
State apparatuses often work in line with right-wing politics.
That is why the propaganda of the right is often life itself.
The situation is different for the left.
The left is in constant tension with the order. Because the left makes visible the inequalities of the existing order. For this reason, the leftist struggles not only with political power, but also with the habits of society.
But right here another paradox arises:
The left wants to change the world, but sometimes it does not want to change itself.
Theories become sacred.
Leaders become uncritical.
Criticism is treason.
However, the most powerful aspect of leftist thought is its criticality. The moment criticism is silenced, leftist thought loses its vitality and ideology turns into dogma.
Overcoming or Replacing the Bourgeoisie?
Some leftists dream of making the rich poor.
But it is often impossible to build a new life beyond bourgeois life.
But real progress begins not by imitating the bourgeoisie, but by overcoming it.
If the working class replaces the bourgeoisie, it is not a revolution.
This is just a role reversal.
Real transformation begins when a new culture is created.
A new morality.
A new form of solidarity.
A new human relationship.
Capitalism is not only an economic system. It is also a powerful culture of life. It is a huge cultural mechanism that determines what people desire, what they consider success and how they live.
That is why even people who oppose capitalism often continue to live its life.
Even the harshest critic of capitalism can sometimes only dream of a better capitalist life.
This is one of the biggest cultural defeats of the left.
Money, Power and Organization
Left movements advocate equality.
But every organization produces a power relationship.
Sometimes it is economic power.
Sometimes organizational power.
Sometimes symbolic power.
The leftist with money is often stronger in the organization.
Because in real life the organization runs on money.
Without money there is no organization.
But this fact is not propagated much.
Here begins one of the most difficult tests for the left:
Can a movement that advocates equality establish equality within itself?
History shows us that this was not easy.
The Age of Keyboard Revolutionism
In today's world, the left faces a new challenge: digital politics.
Social media has become the center of political debate.
But there is a great distance between the struggle on the screen and the struggles of real life.
It is easy to revolutionize at the keyboard.
You send a tweet.
You write a slogan.
You start a hashtag.
And you feel like you are waging a historical struggle.
But history tells a different story.
Great transformations happen on the street, not on the screen.
Social media often does not amplify the struggle.
It simulates him.
The real struggle is still on the street.
The Great Irony of Politics: “The Far Left Among Us”
And it was at this point that one of the most ironic scenes of Turkish politics unfolded.
In a speech in the squares, the Chairman of the Republican People's Party Ozgur Ozel, turned to the crowd and said:
“The most leftist among us...”
And then Cemal Enginyurt with Adnan Beker applauded.
It is at this point that the human mind stops.
Because politics sometimes produces an irony that transcends criticism.
When you look at the history of leftist thought in Turkey, the tradition of struggle, the labor movement, trade union struggles, student movements, it is not difficult to come up with a list of people who can be defined as “the most leftist”.
But to see Cemal Enginyurt or Adnan Beker in this list requires a very strong imagination.
This is not just a political choice.
This is an indication of how ideological concepts have been emptied.
When the concept of the left loses its historical meaning, all that remains is a label.
And that label can now be applied to anyone.
This is exactly what is happening in Turkey today.
The concept of the left is gradually turning from an ideological identity into a political bargaining tool.
The Real Question of the Left
The real problem of the left is not the right.
The real problem of the left is itself.
Because the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of the left lies in the same place:
Critical thinking.
The left is strong to the extent that it can criticize itself.
The moment it loses criticism, it becomes just a collection of slogans.
What needs to be done today is not nostalgia.
“One cannot do politics with stories of ”we were once very close to the revolution".
That click is now as far away as the universe.
Today's question is a different one:
Is a new left possible?
Is a new culture of equality possible?
Is a new form of solidarity possible?
These questions will not be answered in public speeches, but in people's lives.
Last Word
Leftism is not an easy identity.
Leftism is a heavy responsibility.
Because leftism requires changing oneself before changing the world.
Those who want to change the world without changing their own lives often only create a new order.
But that order is just another version of the old one.
So it is not only about power.
The point is to build a new life.
And that life is not at the keyboard...
It is built in the street, in struggle, in solidarity.
Long live those who really fight.
Long live those on the street.
Their fight is still the most real fight in this country.