Many transformations are unfolding within America's political left, and its shifting factions can be difficult to track.
The Democratic establishment is fighting to preserve its grip on power as progressives and reformist socialists gain ground in local elections, with some openly promoting the dismantling of capitalism and adopting increasingly hostile rhetoric toward America.
Fox News has begun publishing explainers to educate its audience about the emerging far left, while Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have declared war on the radical left and foreign subversion networks linked to Cuba, China and elsewhere (read report).
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Understanding the left requires recognizing that it is not a monolith. To help map its many layers, Karlyn Borysenko, who describes herself as an anti-communist analyst, published an easy-to-understand infographic on X titled "Mapping the Modern Left," noting that "not all leftists are created equal."
The graphic is a five-tiered "rainbow cake" view of the American left, ranging from establishment Democrats who favor incremental reform within capitalism to revolutionary socialists seeking to abolish and destroy the nation from within.
Her infographic divides the left into two main camps. The "neoliberal left" includes Democrats, liberals, and progressives, while the "far left" comprises reformist and revolutionary socialists. The graphic claims that progressives may favor policies associated with socialism, such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, without seeking to eliminate capitalism. Reformist socialists, by contrast, pursue a post-capitalist system...
Borysenko also uses symbols to indicate which tiers she believes have adopted elements of queer ideology.
Borysenko's infographic provides an easy-to-view understanding of the intensifying power struggle within the Democratic Party as the party establishment attempts to fend off a takeover by far-left socialists:
With fewer than 100 days until the midterm elections, the left's internal power struggle is already emerging as one of the campaign cycle's most intriguing spectacles of the summer.