Seizing state power hasn’t been a priority for the Left in recent decades. Instead, a weakened left has contented itself with resisting state power or making demands upon it.

But in order to seize the initiative, movements must eventually move beyond demands and resistance, and develop a strategy for winning and wielding power. In recent years, this challenge has arisen in a diverse group of countries — Bolivia, Greece, and Venezuela — where left parties have taken power.

Progressive governments always face severe challenges from capital — both from their own ruling classes and from the forces of global capitalism.