US Socialist Workers Party?

[Malesori]

Whatever happened to the SWP? They seemed to have become so sectarian that they've become hermits. I am in Minneapolis, an historically Trotskyist town, where the SWP has both an office, bookstore, and Pathfinder distributor. They are always closed and they are never at any left events. Im just wondering if the SWP is on the verge of collapse or what?

[Lenina Rosenweg]

According to Louis Proyect (a somewhat embittered ex-member), the SWP is dwindling and is down to several dozen mostly very elderly members. From what I've seen much of their active membership are academic. They don't seem to be recruiting younger people and they very well may be on the verge of collapse.

They do still maintain the copyright on classic Trotskyist works of James Cannon, Farrell Dobbs, etc which they zelously guard. People in Trotskyist organisations regard the SWP as now nothing more than a travelling bookstore-they table at demos and left events and an elderly gentleman will sell books to young Trotskyists.

[Remus Bleys]

Didn't the WWP split from the SWP? Odd that, the pro-DPRK "stalinst" (if marcyism can even be called stalinism) group formed out of a group that traces itself back to a group that was expelled from the CPUSA for trotskyism.

[The Idler]

How big were the SWP US at their peak?

[Malesori]

couple thousand in the early 70s

[Geiseric]

They basically formed the teamsters union.

[blake 3:17]

How big were the SWP US at their peak?

A couple thousand in the late 30s, probably more like 9000 around 1970. Maybe bigger. I'm not too sure what 'membership' meant.

The American SWP were extremely influential in the anti-war movement and were considered OK by many activists because of their relationship to Malcolm X.

This is some pretty interesting stuff, mostly from people who stayed in the group until relatively recently (like until 10 or 20 years ago (recent depending on where you at)):

http://swphistory.com/

[blake 3:17]

They basically formed the teamsters union.

SWPers did play leading roles in the 1930s in the Teamsters and created what is known as pattern bargaining, where you play the bosses against each other.

[Lily Briscoe]

From what I've seen much of their active membership are academic.
Aren't they the ones who used to send (typically University-educated) cadre into employment in meat packing plants lol?

[Malesori]

what is with their Cuba obsession?

[The Idler]

Just realised these are the guys whose bookshop I've been to in London. They sell the Militant which is in English and Spanish if you turn it upside down back to front.

[blake 3:17]

Aren't they the ones who used to send (typically University-educated) cadre into employment in meat packing plants lol?

Yes. This was not uncommon within Trotskyist and Maoist groups in the 70s. I believe they stuck with the strategy for a very long time.

The American SWP was actually kind of late on it.

[ed miliband]

Just realised these are the guys whose bookshop I've been to in London. They sell the Militant which is in English and Spanish if you turn it upside down back to front.

eh? where? if you're talking about bookmarks that's the british swp.

[AmilcarCabral]

Malesori: Hi, indeed, and what a hell life is for a marxist in America. There are many states in USA where the most leftist party, is the Green Party, and that party is full of stuck-up, self-absorbed egocentric unfriendly people. I tried to join that party once and most of the members of the green party behave like middle class Republican Party voters.

And there are many other leftist organizations in USA where its members are also very unloving, unfriendly and stuck-up, self-absorbed narcissists. I know that the official script and behaviour in USA is to be a narcissist psychopath like Glenn Beck. But leftists are supposed to be friendly open-minded cool, cooperative, humble and communicative.

I think that even the Socialist Party of USA is also one of those leftist organizations full of stuck-up self-absorbed people


.



Whatever happened to the SWP? They seemed to have become so sectarian that they've become hermits. I am in Minneapolis, an historically Trotskyist town, where the SWP has both an office, bookstore, and Pathfinder distributor. They are always closed and they are never at any left events. Im just wondering if the SWP is on the verge of collapse or what?

[preacherman]

I was in the SWP youth auxiliary for two and a half years from 2005/06 to 08/09, so let me clear some things up.


Didn't the WWP split from the SWP? Odd that, the pro-DPRK "stalinst" (if marcyism can even be called stalinism) group formed out of a group that traces itself back to a group that was expelled from the CPUSA for trotskyism.

Basically, the WWP started as a group in the SWP that felt that Maoist China had a more revolutionary government than the then orthodox Trotskyist SWP mainstream believed, but also held the line that the Soviet Union was still a workers state, unlike most American Maoists.

The big break occurred in 1956 over the Hungarian uprising. The group around Marcy supported the Soviet government in the name of defending the degenerated but still (in their view) progressive workers state, because they thought the uprising was opening up the socialist block to western imperialism, and that the uprisings origin were primarily reactionary.

From there they evolved into pan-socialists, and non-class anti-imperialists.


what is with their Cuba obsession?

The SWP's view was that through the 30's and 40's the big split in communism was the line held by Trotsky vs the line held by Stalin, however from around the late 50's onward the the party believed that genuine revolutionary movements that were not Trotskyist, therfore trotskyism was now less relivent. These movements include; The New Jewel movement in Granada, 26 of July Movement/Communist party in Cuba, Sandinista National Liberation Front in Nicaragua, and the government of Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso. The Cuban revolution is just the only one still standing.


According to Louis Proyect (a somewhat embittered ex-member), the SWP is dwindling and is down to several dozen mostly very elderly members. From what I've seen much of their active membership are academic. They don't seem to be recruiting younger people and they very well may be on the verge of collapse.

They do still maintain the copyright on classic Trotskyist works of James Cannon, Farrell Dobbs, etc which they zelously guard. People in Trotskyist organisations regard the SWP as now nothing more than a travelling bookstore-they table at demos and left events and an elderly gentleman will sell books to young Trotskyists.

The Party built a strategy around the view that the student uprising of the 60's would give way to the Labor upsurge of the late 70's and 80's in particular around coal mining, meat packing, and garment industries. While this proved partially correct, it occurred no where on the level the party thought.

Many believe the new levels of hard disciple with brought in by the Barnes leadership during the same period crippled the parties ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

In their defense the SWP still exists (albeit as a shadow of its former self) where many Maoists and non-Trotskyist Marxist-Leninists organizations that held similar positions on the 70's and 80's collapsed or disbanded in the face of the Neoliberal 80's and 90;s

[The Idler]

eh? where? if you're talking about bookmarks that's the british swp.
huh? you think there is only one socialist bookshop in london? The SWP (US) bookshop in London, UK is called Pathfinder Books and its First Floor, 120 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6DG. As an aside it probably has more of Trotsky's works than Bookmarks. I visited no more than a couple of years ago. Strange to think that might still be open whilst the office in the US is closed.

Bookmarks is in Bloomsbury and the British SWP has nothing to do with the American SWP.

[redguarddude]

The SWP, US is probably down to slightly over 100 members, and maybe 300-400 of what they call active supporters. Unlike sympathizers, the supporters are required to pay a monthly sustainer, attend two events per month. They have a voice but no vote. In most left organizations these supporters would probably be members.

At it's height, during the 1970's the SWP and it's youth group the Young Socialist Alliance had around 2000 members, in close to 30 cities. With the exception of some branches in mining areas, nearly every branch had at least 20 members. Now, branches may be as low as 6 members. They're nowhere near as active as they were 35 years ago.