Left and Right
First of all, the “extreme” left has nothing to do with high government control. At all.
You can look up some more in-depth definitions if you want, but for starters, let's look at the wikipedia article for anarchism:
“Anarchism is usually placed on the far-left of the political spectrum. Much of its economics and legal philosophy reflect anti-authoritarian, anti-statist, and libertarian interpretations of the radical left-wing and socialist politics of collectivism, communism, individualism, mutualism, and syndicalism, among other libertarian socialist economic theories”
This is a bit easier to understand once you look at the history of the terms:
“Left” and “right” politics originated in the french revolution; generally, the monarchists were right, and the democrats/republicans (political systems, not US-parties) were left.
Eventually that evolved to “left = less hierarchy” and “right = more hierarchy”
That idea also translated into economics: “right = more power to the employer/boss” and “left = more power to the employee/worker”
...and that's how communism emerged: Communism was aiming to give power to the working class by
- abolishing the class system (i.e. there's no employer. under capitalism, one guy might own a sewing machine and pay you for sewing the shirts he then sells. He makes the rules. In a communist society, nobody owns the sewing machine – but anyone can use it)
- abolishing money (i.e. there's no direct exchange. you give what you can and take what you need. You're good at gardening? Then you do that, and share what you don't need with the commune. You need a shirt? Someone who enjoys sewing will share what they made with you, just like you shared your produce)
- abolishing the state (i.e. all decisions are made democratically within the community or between the communities. There's no government dictating the lives of millions. If there's a government at all, it's only on a local level)
So much for the theory. But it doesn't take a history expert to notice that China, the USSR, and other countries that are or have been ruled by a “communist party”, didn't succeed in building a communist society. Actually, they pretty much did the opposite: forming an authoritarian state where class mattered a lot.
So, in regards to the “left = less hierarchy” and “right = more hierarchy” dichotomy, there are two options:
- You argue that, because left means less hierarchy, the authoritarian “communist” states can not possibly be left-wing. They're instead far-right. However, both the “communist” regimes and their supporters, as well as right-wing politicians, call these states radically left. So saying otherwise would only result in a semantic discussion that leads nowhere
- You need to adapt the definition of left vs right somehow. One attempt at doing this is the political compass, which distinguishes between left vs right economics and authoritarianism vs libertarianism, resulting in four categories: left libertarianism, right libertarianism, left authoritarianism and right authoritarianism
I think authoritarianism vs libertarianism is self-explanatory
Left wing economics (socialism) = the means of production are owned by the workers
Right wing economics (capitalism) = the means of production are owned by private corporations
Now, these categories work on a global level (e.g. when describing political systems). However, most modern societies are capitalist states, falling into the “authoritarian right” category. So most political parties of most modern countries will also fall into the “authoritarian right” category. As an example, take a look at where the 2020 American presidential candidates fall on the political compass
So, the political compass is useful for describing systems but doesn't give a lot of nuance when describing ideologies within a system
So, the furthest left you really get in mainstream American politics is social democracy. Social democracy = capitalism + democracy + welfare state. But because americans often confuse “social democracy” with “socialism” (like Bernie Sanders thinking scandinavian countries are socialist), the idea many americans have of economics is this:
Socialism = welfare state Capitalism = little to no government regulation on economics
And that's pretty much where the misconception of left = big government comes from. Within American (and not only american – that's just the most well-known and perhaps most extreme example) politics, left-wing politicians often advocate for more regulation, higher taxes, and more welfare.
But when it comes to systems, anarchism (not to be confused with anarcho-capitalism, which, despite the name, is not considered a form of anarchism) is the most left you can get