Political parties that are described as 'left-wing' want to change society so that it becomes fairer and there is greater equality between the classes. They want governments to rule for the benefit of the working class. Left-wing views can be divided into moderate with socialist views or extreme left-wing with communist views.

There are 4 main beliefs that moderate left-wing or socialist parties hold:

• ❖ Economically, they would prefer a country in which large businesses are owned by the state and wealth is redistributed from the rich to the poor through taxation.
• ❖ Socially, they want greater equality between the rich and poor so that the gap between them in terms of wealth is narrowed.
• ❖ They want more political power in the hands of the workers.
• ❖ They believe in international cooperation.

There are 4 main beliefs that extreme left-wing or communist parties hold:

• ❖ Economically, they want to abolish private ownership of property, business and land. Instead, the state or government would own them on behalf of the working class.
• ❖ They want political power to be in the hands of the working class, often in the form of a dictatorship.
• ❖ They want to completely change society so there is no gap between the rich and poor, to achieve equality for all.
• ❖ They believe that the whole world should undergo these changes, a worldwide communist revolution.