Left Alliance’s party platform

Left Alliance builds a fair and sustainable society

The Left Alliance is building an ecologically sustainable and socially fair society. The party platform describes the values and visions that guide this mission now and in the coming decades.

The party platform was approved at the meeting of the party council of the Left Alliance on 11 July 2022 in Pori.

1. We are building a mass movement and the party

The Left Alliance works to reform society to be ecologically sustainable and socially fair. We want everyone to have the opportunity to lead a good life in a society that has been adjusted to the terms of nature.

The core values of the Left are freedom, solidarity and equality.

Freedom means the opportunity for every person to make individual choices, grow as a unique individual and live as a fully fledged person and citizen.

By equality, we mean a social state in which every person is equal to other people. Solidarity means a sense of unity among people and caring for each other and our shared world.

The Left opposes capitalism. We dismantle capitalist policies and use of power that causes owners of capital to accumulate economic and social privileges.

We challenge capitalism with socialist policies. The goal of socialism is to change the economic activities of society and the role of people in production to enable equality and free individual development. We extend our solidary view of human beings across society.

People from different age groups, professions and life situations are engaged in the Left Alliance’s activities. We are wage earners, self-employed, entrepreneurs, unemployed, students and pensioners. We are a mass movement of several generations that brings people together for political action. We will carry on the best practices of the labour movement and build a new future for the movement. There are many ways to be a leftist.

The Left pursues a society founded on ecological and democratic socialism.

Ecological sustainability means adjusting all economic and social activities to the terms of the regenerative capacity of our planet’s nature and the limits set by it. Socialism acknowledges the fundamental interdependence of people, as well as communality and equality. Democracy is the power of the people where decisions are made equally together, respecting the voice of every member of society.

We strive for the equality of unique people in a free, democratic and ecologically sustainable society.

1.1 The Left Alliance is a movement of freedom, equality and equity

For the Left, human rights and humanity are inalienable starting points in all social activity. Our policy is feminist, ecosocialist and anti-racist, and we stand against all forms of inequality. We share the demand for the abolition of gender inequality and ethnic discrimination and stand on the side of human diversity.

We consider financial situation and social class to be key factors creating inequality. We also take widely into account gender and other differences and social divisions that create inequality among people related to, for example, age, ethnicity and functional capacity. Age, skin colour, culture, disability, place of residence, state of health, education, language and other similar factors, separately or together, must not affect anyone’s human dignity or social opportunities.

We live in a world where climate change and environmental destruction caused by human action threaten our very existence. It is imperative to seek an alternative to the economy that only leads to financial and political oligarchy and the accelerating overconsumption of natural resources.

The worsening environmental crisis generates social unrest and increases international tensions. The Left pursues a sustainable and fair solution to the crisis, both nationally and internationally. Friendship and peace can prevail only in an ecologically sustainable world.

1.2 Our vision: A world without oligarchy

It is wrong that in our society, one can become extremely rich by merely owning, while another may not be able to even pay the rent with their income from work. When selling goods and products and accumulating wealth becomes a value in itself, all that remains for humans and nature is to serve as raw material for continuous economic growth and the amassment of assets.

The Left wants to shift from the power of money to an ecological and democratic economy where people, animals and nature have intrinsic value and where the economy promotes the ecological and social objectives of society. Our interdependence concerns both the relationships among people and those between people and nature.

The Left promotes global cooperation and solidarity, while at the same time strengthening people’s opportunities to influence society and their communities in their everyday life.

The world cannot be changed in an instant, but we are changing it step by step, together!

2. We will extend democracy to work and the economy

The Left trusts people in the search for social solutions and promotes the realisation of democracy across society. Democracy is the power of the people characterised by an active civil society, public discussion and the rule of law that guarantees civil rights. Human rights and minority rights are the cornerstone of democracy.

The Left Alliance is a political party that fights for power in our society’s democratic system. We are a mass movement that recognises itself as both a representative parliamentary operator and a movement of direct and participatory democracy.

We also highlight social struggles as a driving force for changing history. The voices of workers, women, farmers, gender and sexual minorities, the racialised, native peoples, people with disabilities, environmental and animal rights activists and many others have often only been heard through social protest. We are continuously exploring what kinds of contradictions our society encompasses and who it leaves voiceless.

The Left wants to promote the diversity of opportunities to exert one’s influence in society and foster a transparent and inclusive culture of dialogue. What we consider important is public discussion based on mutual respect and appreciation, and rational reflection that does not tolerate harassment and hate speech.

2.1 We will transfer power to those who work

The Left also extends democracy to the economy and working life and promotes an economy of a diverse and equal ownership base. The realisation of democracy requires both restricting the accumulation of assets and redistributing wealth. We want to transfer decision-making powers and ownership away from the owners of large capitals and more towards workers, democratic communities and the public authorities.

Increasing workplace democracy and growing employee-owned companies and funds is central to the Left. We want to increase non-profit and collective production and improve the position of small-scale and sole entrepreneurs. We work to ensure that those who work have the power to decide what is produced, why, how and when it is done and how surpluses are utilised.

In the Left’s view, the economy encompasses not only the private and public sectors, but also the social economy, which consists of households, non-profit corporations, cooperatives, peer networks and joint ownership. In the social economy, work is done for our common livelihood and wellbeing, just as in the private and public sectors.

The Left sees that a large part of the renewal and wellbeing of the everyday life in our society, such as care, education and training, is produced within the scope of the public and social economies. As all production and creation of social value, these also require financial investments.

2.2 We will develop green economy and production

The Left demands a turnaround of the economy that relies on the overconsumption of natural resources, increasing income and wealth disparities and the accumulation of assets.

We work to ensure that the public authorities steer the economy in a sustainable direction. Social goals that serve the ecological transition and the realisation of social fairness must be defined for the economy, and the economy must be developed in the long term, keeping the big picture in mind.

For the Left, entrepreneurship and the market are also an important part of a creative and transformative economy. The public authorities must uphold common rules to ensure the reliable functioning of the market and provide opportunities to explore and develop new business ideas. The public authorities themselves must also create and shape the market by means of public companies and funding.

For the Left, taxation is a key tool in steering the economy. Taxation is a means to manage overall demand in the economy, to return privatised value back to society in the form of social wages such as social security and welfare services and to fund necessary public expenditures and investments.

The Left favours taxation that reduces income and wealth disparities and taxes ownership and large companies more heavily than work and households. We want taxation to render environmental destruction unprofitable. It is important that all taxation is easily understood, transparent and fair.

3. Our perspective is global

Ultimately, the democratisation of the economy also requires gradually transferring the financing sector and investments to stronger public control. Money must be used to create collective wellbeing and an ecological transition and to maintain social stability. In order to stop the overconsumption of natural resources, we need a transition towards degrowth.

We live in a world where the problems and solutions of all humankind are deeply intertwined. The Left wants to build an economy and a society where the essential needs of all people are satisfied within the ecological constraints of our planet and in a socially fair way. The Left is an international and global movement that pursues policies that benefit the entire humankind.

3.1 We build peace, we support human rights

The Left works for disarmament and a nuclear-weapon-free world and against war and militarism. We promote world peace and security based on internationally agreed rules instead of power politics.

The Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights treaties and the Charter of the United Nations express our common will to build a world community based on peace, equality and free democracy. We want to strengthen the existing and build new institutions promoting global governance based on the principles of the United Nations.

Finland has a history as a superpower in international diplomacy that has acted as a peacemaker in crises and conflicts. The Left wants Finland to be an active alleviator of international tensions in the future as well.

Finland’s defensive security is primarily based on a strong national defence capability and Nordic and European cooperation. We demand the maintenance of the Nordic non-nuclear-weapon policy and consider that Finland’s participation in military alliances and their international operations requires a strong democratic mandate.

The climate and environmental crises, international conflicts and global inequality are also reflected in Finland as a growing number of refugees and asylum seekers. The Left advocates for people’s right to seek shelter and search for a better life and works to ensure that Finland is a safe country for immigrants. One can be born or become a Finn, and there are people living in Finland who are not Finnish.

3.2 We promote international solidarity

We live in a world where humankind is, as a result of capitalistic development, more unequal than ever, as well as on the brink of environmental destruction. Finland must promote global redistribution, the realisation of human rights, climate justice and democracy in international decision-making in the EU, the UN and all international forums.

The European Union encompasses a promise important for the Left of peace and equal international cooperation, the defence of human rights and the promotion of social equality. In the tradition of liberative and progressive movements, we want to develop the Union as a solidary community with a strong ecological mission. We fight for the European welfare society together with the ecological and democratic left of Europe. We strive to ensure that Europe contributes to maintaining the rule-based multilateral world order and is a key player in it.

The Left sees Finland as a fundamental part of the Nordic countries. We want to take forward the Nordic ideal in building equality and a welfare society, and we are building an ever deeper connection with the Nordic left-wing parties. We share the same understanding of democracy, the ecological transition and the need to make joint investments throughout the Nordic countries as our region is phasing out fossil fuels and adapting to the consequences of climate change.

The search for a sustainable solution for

4. We will solve the challenges of our time

the environmental crisis is intertwined with the challenges related to the promotion and maintenance of world peace. We share the notion of the UN 2030 Agenda that a sustainable solution to the environmental crisis requires the realisation of social justice both nationally and globally.

4.1 We will respond to the environmental crisis in a fair way

For the Left Alliance, the major challenge in the near future is transforming society into an environmentally sustainable one. We want to do this in a way that also contributes to the realisation of social justice in society.

In addition to climate change and biodiversity loss, many other limits of Earth’s ecological carrying capacity are about to be broken. This is the result of human activity and endangers the living conditions of both humans and many other species on our planet.

The Left Alliance wants to respond to the environmental crisis in a fair way and criminalise environmental destruction at the international level. We pursue an ecological transition that also strengthens social justice. All society’s structures must be reformed in a way that combines ecological sustainability with social sustainability.

Implementing a fair transition requires that the public authorities steer investments into wellbeing and the creation of green jobs. The overconsumption of natural resources must be brought to a halt, and the economic focus must be shifted onto immaterial and collective production and a green industrial revolution that can generate wellbeing regardless of economic growth and also endures crisis conditions.

The implementation of a fair green transition must also be guaranteed in agriculture to ensure food security and the production of environmentally friendly, ethical and healthy local food that provides the producers with a reasonable livelihood.

The risks caused by the environmental crisis are distributed in society by wealth, as is the amount of overconsumption. The Left wants to ensure that in the fair transition, those who are already in a vulnerable position in society receive support and everyone is guaranteed work and a livelihood. We also work to reduce income and wealth disparities by addressing the position and privileges of particularly those with the highest incomes. We want the riches to be used as social investments to implement the transition.

Social planning must be carried out on nature’s terms, and society must be adjusted to the framework of the ecological carrying capacity. The scope of nature conservation and the rights of nature must also be expanded. Animal welfare and species diversity are central values to us, and other species also have the right to live alongside us on our shared planet.

4.2 We will guarantee work, agency and livelihood for everyone

The Left trusts the willingness of people to participate in society, as long as the conditions for participation are in order. We want to guarantee everyone the right to work, livelihood and lifelong learning.

The Left promotes everyone’s right to livelihood with a fair universal basic income, which reduces poverty and increases freedom. For us, basic income is a fair way of distributing the wealth that has been produced by making use of our society’s social, cultural and ecological resources. Basic income responds to the needs of flexible working life and entrepreneurship, and it enables active citizenship.

We also want to further improve the existing social security system. We stand for a strong public social insurance that secures people’s livelihood and the earnings level of workers in the event of unemployment, illness or old age. A sufficiently high degree of and appropriately targeted social security provides protection from the risks related to poverty and enables a good life and social participation.

The foundation of labour rights is in workers’ mutual solidarity and joint struggle. The Left stands together with workers and wants to promote the international cooperation within the labour movement. As companies operate globally, the power of capital must also be challenged through cross-border organisation.

The distribution of power in working life must be shifted towards decent and equal pay, shortening working hours and making the pace of work more reasonable without reducing the level of earnings.

Employees must always have the right to organise and bargain collectively. Work must have a decent pay, and employees must have the opportunity to influence the content of the work and develop in their work. These rights must also be extended to apply to fragmented and entrepreneurial work.

The Left demands guaranteed employment and the right to lifelong learning for everyone. In addition, the value of people with partial capability for work must be better recognised in the labour market and the barriers to employment must be removed.

The marginalisation of people must be replaced by an inclusive society where people have the freedom and opportunity to develop themselves and their communities and work in many different ways. The opposite of employment is no longer unemployment, but a guaranteed opportunity to work, earn a livelihood or study.

4.3 We will take over information technologies

The information technology revolution has fundamentally changed people’s domestic everyday life as well as working life and production. The Left sees great potential in new technologies but considers the direction of the revolution to be steered by global technology giants.

Technology has brought immense benefits to humankind. Thanks to it, great achievements can be accomplished with less work. It also enables the smart use of resources. In the world of technology giants, however, the reality is often the exact opposite. The pace of work is intensifying, resources are not circulating and work is bleeding into free time.

More and more advanced artificial intelligences are being used to an increasing extent in working life and decision-making. The development of artificial intelligence must always take into account ethical and democracy-related issues, and the use of artificial intelligence must not pose a threat to the wellbeing of people.

The Left pursues an information technology revolution that limits the concentration of power, is based on the fundamental rights of people and promotes the transparency of society. Social media platforms are carrying out what is practically a public task by facilitating public discussion and political activity, which means that they must also be regulated accordingly.

The Left defends people’s privacy and right to own the data concerning them. If misused, the data reserves that the IT giants have collected about us are a threat to the entire political system and democracy. We do not want a controlled society where the authorities and companies have a great power to collect data about people and use it to influence them.

The digitalisation of society must not result in digital gaps. All members of society must be guaranteed access to public services and important private services in both physical and digital forms. Access to the digital society must be guaranteed to everyone in such a way that privacy protection and the right to own one’s own data are realised.

Taking over the information technology revolution is a multinational challenge, but local solutions are also needed. Organisations and developer communities committed to the principles of open and freely accessible information are important partners in this challenge.

4.4 We will update the welfare state

The Left defends the welfare state by developing it into a system that even more comprehensively guarantees everyone a necessary standard of living and wellbeing, as well as the opportunity to attain a reasonable standard of living in the ecological transition. Our collective wellbeing is not for sale.

The task of the welfare state is to fulfil people’s basic needs by providing public services that guarantee everyone fundamental rights, such as access to education and training, social and healthcare services, and guidance, support and housing according to their needs.

The Left wants to put an end to the underresourcing of public services and the categorisation of people into multiple layers. Dismantling the welfare state only means increasing inequality and transferring income to the wealthy. The Left demands public investments to be made in social wellbeing in the same way as they are made in other social and production development.

In the Left’s view, wellbeing is about a broader concept than health and care. Wellbeing is also about personal development, belonging to a community, social involvement and participation, and nature and cultural experiences. For us, fostering people’s functional capability and resources are at the heart of wellbeing.

Functioning welfare services require the employees producing the services to have the time and power to define their work and interact with people as individuals. Services must be accessible at a low threshold, and they must be available and free to everyone. For us, the elderly are not an expenditure of the welfare state or merely users of services, but a resource and active citizens who have a lot to give to their communities and society as a whole.

Alongside public services, the Left wants to develop partnerships with sustainably and locally operating companies, organisations and collective service providers. In this way, the welfare state will also create conditions for entrepreneurship and community-sourced production of wellbeing.

4.5 We will strengthen local economies

The Left wants to develop Finland into a country of distinctive areas where decision-making and power have been deliberately decentralised to different parts of the country. We demand an intentional policy to strengthen local economies to ensure that Finland continues to provide possibilities of making a living throughout the country.

Urbanisation is a global megatrend that also pervades all of Finland. The Left wants urbanisation to mean the growth of cities of various sizes in different parts of the country. The increasing population density in urban areas provides the opportunity to develop eco-efficient infrastructure, but a decentralised social structure withstands changes and endures crises, as well as creates conditions for strengthening self-sufficiency, starting from the local level.

By strengthening local economies, the Left wants to transfer power and ownership from global capitals and the elite with the highest incomes more towards the hands of people and communities. To achieve this, the means of production must be more widely owned by the public sector and communities than at present, and the opportunities of local entrepreneurs and civil society networks to operate must be ensured.

In a strong local economy, the circulation of money feeds local communality and economic activity. The appreciation of consumer products also increases as consumers recognise their relationship with local producers and even local natural resources.

The Left wants to develop local economies that are characterised by a high degree of processing and a diverse economic structure. Local economies must not be allowed to end up as sources of resources for the global economy: instead, they require deliberate public investments and guidance in utilising the opportunities of the information technology revolution. The use of smart technologies and renewable energy forms and the formation of networks of work and production open a window to the partial restoring of production from expensive and eco-inefficient logistics chains to the local level.

The whole country benefits from thriving local economies as the economy feeds itself and loses less money onto accounts in international tax havens. At the same time, it is important to guarantee everyone a functioning national framework. The Left wants to strengthen the autonomy of local communities, while at the same time maintaining the rule of law and the welfare state that guarantees the same rights and services for all, regardless of the place of residence.

4.6 We will reform the civilised society

The Left is an educational movement that builds opportunities for free individual development and creates new culture. For us, education is the knowledge, skills and will to understand and tackle the key challenges of our era. Education is a social force that has the power to change the world.

The leftist conception of education emphasises critical social awareness and free and equal interpersonal learning. For us, education is not only scientific knowledge, but also empirical and changing understanding of the world generated by individuals and social movements. Education supports democracy.

We reject all elitism associated with education and develop a knowledge-based society where both general education and professional competence stand on a solid and equal footing. We want to develop working life to be educational and change our education system into a study system that genuinely enables lifelong learning and individual study paths. The autonomy of science and research are the lifeblood of a civilised society.

In our society, training and education are basic rights, and their fulfilment must be guaranteed by public funding. Privatisation poses a threat to the quality of training and education as it commercialises knowledge and learning. In training and education, children and young people must be introduced to the means of civic participation, human rights and questions of ecology and ecosocial education.

People must also be taught and trained in digital citizenship. At its best, digital citizenship means critical awareness and new interpersonal practices of sharing and cooperation. The public authorities must also create platforms for new culture by, for example, expanding the activities of libraries.

For the Left, culture and art have intrinsic value and feed wellbeing and creative thinking. We do not believe that creative freedom can be guaranteed with market logic: instead, it requires public funding and creative communities. A civilised society also maintains its relationship with its cultural history and is open to intercultural encounters and the creation of new things.

In our society, everyone should have the right and opportunity to their own language and culture. This applies to both new immigrants and domestic linguistic minorities, such as the Roma, the Sámi, the Swedish-speaking

Finns, the Karelians and sign language users. We cherish the special status of the Swedish language as part of the Nordic foundation of our society.

The Left has a neutral attitude towards religions and non-religious views. No religious community should have a special status in society under the public law. The public authorities cannot favour nor discriminate against anyone based on their religion or non-religious view. Freedom of religion is one of the basic principles of a civilised society and the rule of law.

5. The Left invites you to join!

The Left Alliance is building an ecologically sustainable and socially fair society. This is the kind of society we want to build together with all people and nations of the world.

We want people in our society to be more than merely cogs in a capitalist wheel and that everyone has the opportunity to build a good and ecologically sustainable life. We want to democratise the economy and restore people’s experience of life management. Even major social changes ultimately take place in our everyday life.

However, society will not change by itself. Change requires political will and action, as well as dialogue and tolerance to diversity. The Left invites you to join!