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Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum. It excludes far left stances. The term may refer to a position to the left of a centrist position in a given country, or it may refer to a position to the left in some hypothetical global political spectrum.[1]
The main ideologies of the centre-left are progressivism, social liberalism and social democracy, although it can also include democratic socialism, and green politics.
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The main ideologies of the centre-left are modern liberalism and social democracy. Throughout the world, the two groups generally support:
A mixed economy consisting of both private enterprise and publicly owned or subsidized programs of education, universal health care, child care and related social services for all citizens.
An extensive system of social security (although usually not to the extent advocated by socialists), with the stated goal of counteracting the effects of poverty and insuring the citizens against loss of income following illness, unemployment or retirement.
Equal rights and opportunity.
Government bodies that regulate private enterprise in the interests of workers and consumers by ensuring labor rights (i.e. supporting worker access to trade unions), consumer protections, and fair market competition.
Environmentalism and environmental protection laws; for example, funding for alternative energy resources and laws designed to combat global warming.
A value-added/progressive taxation system to fund government expenditures.
Immigration and multiculturalism.
Fair trade over free trade.
A foreign policy supporting the promotion of democracy, the protection of human rights and where possible, effective multilateralism.
Advocacy of social justice, human rights, social rights, civil rights and civil liberties.
The term may be used to imply positions on the environment, religion, public morality and so on, but these are usually not the defining characteristics, since centre-right parties may take similar positions on these issues.[2] A centre-left party may or may not be more concerned with reducing industrial emissions regardless of the impact on factory-belt employment than a centre-right party.[3][4][5]
In most European countries with mixed economies, the centre-left would include social democrats, progressives and also some democratic socialists, greens (in particular the eco-socialists) and some social liberals.[6][7]
An "absolute" definition of centre-left refers to a position on some hypothetical global political spectrum. Thus the African National Congress of South Africa terms itself "left", although as the dominant party it is by definition centrist in the South African political spectrum.[8][9] Similarly, the Communist Party of China is centrist in the sense of being the dominant (the only) political party in China, but also characterizes itself as "left".[10]
The policies of a party that is centrist or centre-left in one country could be considered right-wing or left-wing in another country. In Hong Kong the "centre" position is far to the right of the "centre" position in the mainland People's Republic of China.[11] The dominant People's Action Party in Singapore would now be considered "right" in an absolute sense compared to other governments in the region, although the party has in the past characterized itself as socialist, or "left".[12] European social democratic policies would be considered right-wing in Cuba and left-wing in the United States.[13][14]
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