--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether they [left in America are]…" description: "\"Whether they [left in America are] anarcho-communists, anarcho-syndicalists, or libertarians who believe in free enterprise, I regard theirs as the rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/murray-bookchin-2587_america_whether-they-left-in-america-are-anarcho_1465135.png" --- # Whether they \[left in America are\] anarcho-communists… ![“Whether they [left in America are] anarcho-communists, anarcho-syndicalists, or libertarians who believe in free enterprise, I regard theirs as the real legacy of the left, and I feel much closer, ideologically, to such individuals than I do to the totalitarian liberals and Marxist-Leninists of…” quote by Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/murray-bookchin-2587_america_whether-they-left-in-america-are-anarcho_1465135.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/murray-bookchin-2587_america_whether-they-left-in-america-are-anarcho_1465135.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/murray-bookchin-2587_america_whether-they-left-in-america-are-anarcho_1465135.png) > “Whether they \[left in America are\] anarcho-communists, anarcho-syndicalists, or libertarians who believe in free enterprise, I regard theirs as the real legacy of the left, and I feel much closer, ideologically, to such individuals than I do to the totalitarian liberals and Marxist-Leninists of today.” [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He sees anarchist and libertarian ideas as the true legacy of the left, contrasting them with authoritarian liberals and Marxists. **In simple terms:** Anarchist ideas are the left’s real legacy. Key Takeaway Consider libertarian perspectives within leftist thought. Themes politics ideology leftist legacy Mood thoughtful critical Type theoretical analytical When to use this quote - activist circles - academic debates - policy discussions Key Concepts anarchism libertarianism authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - What defines the left’s legacy? - How do libertarian ideas fit modern politics? A Different Perspective Some view leftist legacy as broader than anarchism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Closer Ideologically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closer-ideologically-5302937/) [Communist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communist/) [Enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enterprise/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Free enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-enterprise/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Legacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacy/) [Legacy Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacy-left-756678/) [Leninists Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leninists-today-5302938/) [Liberals Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberals-marxist-5302936/) [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/) [Marxist Leninists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist-leninists-4242746/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [If we had paused to tell the people that we were Marxist-Leninists while we were on Pico Turquino and not yet strong, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/if-we-had-paused-to-tell-the-people-that-we-were-marxist-leninists/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [During my first press conference as president, in answer to a direct question, I pointed out that, as good Marxist-Leninists, the Soviet leaders have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/during-my-first-press-conference-as-president-in-answer-to-a-direct/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“At the end, I know we won't remember the voice of our critics, but we will remember the Legacy that we left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-appiah/at-the-end-i-know-we-won-t-remember-the-voice-of-our-critics-but-we/) [Thomas Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-appiah/) > [It isn't how many years one spends on earth that matters, but the legacy left from your many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-isn-t-how-many-years-one-spends-on-earth-that-matters-but-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Proud about my father? What am I most proud of? I think I'm proud of the legacy he left I think is what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/proud-about-my-father-what-am-i-most-proud-of-i-think-i-m-proud-of/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [Legacy is not what's left tomorrow when you're gone. It's what you give, create, impact and contribute today while you're here that then happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/legacy-is-not-what-s-left-tomorrow-when-you-re-gone-it-s-what-you/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [If you do not clean up your sociaty now, therefore the legacy you have left for your children is nothing other than an unjust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/if-you-do-not-clean-up-your-sociaty-now-therefore-the-legacy-you-have/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [How can we teach family values when its more than obvious by the legacy left behind families stopped valueing it self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaqy-fishtank-thornton/how-can-we-teach-family-values-when-its-more-than-obvious-by-the/) [Jaqy Fishtank Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaqy-fishtank-thornton/) > [“Legacy is what’s left standing once you aren’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/legacy-is-what-s-left-standing-once-you-aren-t/) [Craig D. 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I'm trying to determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-reid/when-the-media-defines-something-you-have-to-question-is-it-the/) [Tim Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-reid/) > [System of a Down has a legacy of being left-leaning, which isn't always the case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dolmayan/system-of-a-down-has-a-legacy-of-being-left-leaning-which-isn-t/) [John Dolmayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dolmayan/) > [On a personal note, a legacy he left me, aside from being a friend who was important to me on many levels, was that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/on-a-personal-note-a-legacy-he-left-me-aside-from-being-a-friend-who/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [It is up to us to live up to the legacy that was left for us, and to leave a legacy that is worthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-gregoire/it-is-up-to-us-to-live-up-to-the-legacy-that-was-left-for-us-and-to/) [Christine Gregoire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-gregoire/) > [Mom's paintings are a very small part of the legacy she left behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benigno-aquino-iii/mom-s-paintings-are-a-very-small-part-of-the-legacy-she-left-behind/) [Benigno Aquino III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benigno-aquino-iii/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) ## More by Murray Bookchin > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I regard individuality as the most precious trait we have, because without it there is no creativity, there is no consciousness, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-regard-individuality-as-the-most-precious-trait-we-have-because/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [In the 60s there were a lot of things which were anarchistic. 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Needs are tailored by the mass media to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-phrase-consumer-society-complements-the-description-of-the/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I believe in a libertarian communist society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-believe-in-a-libertarian-communist-society/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [ “\[W\]ithout changing the most molecular relationships in society — notably, those between men and women, adults and children, whites and other ethnic groups, heterosexuals… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/w-ithout-changing-the-most-molecular-relationships-in-society-notably/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [ The most important thing \[anarchists\] can do is educate themselves, develop a propaganda machinery in the form of books and periodicals, a literature, engage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-most-important-thing-anarchists-can-do-is-educate-themselves/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I was a Stalinist in the '30s. 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And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? 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