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It's a staple of Beck's fear-mongering to call Obama a socialist, but that doesn't make him one.
"It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it" - Pirkei Avot
The longer a drought lasts the more likely it is to continue.
http://www2.socialistorganizer.org/
We're a trotskyist group, the U.S. branch of the 4th International. Check us out or shoot me a DM if you're intrested
For student organizing in california, join this group!
http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?groupid=1036
http://socialistorganizer.org/
"[I]t’s hard to keep potent historical truths bottled up forever. New data repositories are uncovered. New, less ideological, generations of historians grow up. In the late 1980s and before, Ann Druyan and I would routinely smuggle copies of Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution into the USSR—so our colleagues could know a little about their own political beginnings.”
--Carl Sagan
Our largest branches are in Connecticut and San Francisco, though we have people across the country. There's a list of all the places here. I'm in the Philly branch. At protests we mostly focus on building the larger event, although some comrades will sell papers. We don't usually have "Socialist Action" signs and banners. A lot of us will be in New York for April 9, but I would imagine most of the signs etc will be for UNAC and not SA as such.
Spotting note to outsiders: Socialist Organizer is part of the "Lambertist" Fourth International (after Pierre Lambert, one of its most prominent members), as the Fourth International (La Vérité) (after its international theoretical journal La Vérité), or as SIQI (for the French Secrétariat International de la Quatrième Internationale (International Secretariat of the Fourth International), the name of its leading body).http://www2.socialistorganizer.org/
We're a trotskyist group, the U.S. branch of the 4th International. Check us out or shoot me a DM if you're intrested
The earlier mentioned Solidarity has a "Fourth International Caucus" which is also part of the Fourth International, more commonly known to outsiders by its pre-2003 name the USFI (United Secretariat of the Fourth International), the "Mandelite" Fourth International (after Ernest Mandel, one of its most prominent members) or, more obscurely, Fourth International (International Viewpoint) (after its international theoretical journal International Viewpoint).
Socialist Action, the group graymouser is in, has a sympathiser status on the latter international grouping.
Sources on both:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_International_(ICR)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_...-Reunification)
I think, thus I disagree. | Chairperson of a Socialist Party branchMarxist Internet Archive | Communistisch Platform
Working class independence - Internationalism - Democracy
Educate - Agitate - Organise
If they do have pins of the solidarity union from Poland then they're obviously misguided. However this isn't the same group as that union.
During the period when the Trotskyists were expelled from the SWP, a minority of the people who went into Socialist Action began talks with a small group called Workers Power (not related to the British group of the same name, or the current American group) that was a split off from the International Socialists. The minority was basically asked not to continue discussion but did anyway, and were expelled or left to form a small temporary group, "Socialist Unity." They began regroupment with Workers Power, at which point the larger International Socialists grouping got involved. The three groups merged into a common grouping called Solidarity. Nobody was quite a majority, and the group was never actually Leninist in any sense.
In a lot of ways, Solidarity is the worst of all its forbears. The IS was an extremely economist grouping, and that's been the shade of all of Soli's trade union work - they organize mainly around workplace issues, and refuse to bring politics into the unions at all. The social movement work has resembled what the SWP did, taking on a role where they seek to be the best builders and recruit on that basis, but without the sharp political line the party had, it more or less becomes endless movementism. It's been observed that Solidarity is "less than the sum of its parts." Having been in it, I have to agree.
Yeah, the Voorhis act actually prohibits being part of an international organization. We maintain the same status that the SWP had with regard to the FI from 1940 onward. Also, we've always been a part of the critical currents in the Fourth International, since its line especially after Mandel's death has really been almost liquidationist.
Socialist Organizer was a split from Socialist Action in 1991. Our party had been in talks with Lambert but decided against being part of his "reproclaimed Fourth International" in Barcelona. Alan Benjamin - who was at the time the editor of our paper - and a number of others attended the convention despite this decision; they were expelled and formed their own group. Since then they have been following the Lambertist FI. In my opinion the group has taken a rightward turn recently - they left the United National Antiwar Conference last year because it took up a position that the US should end all aid to Israel, and was big in pushing for the DREAM Act which would include a military "path to citizenship" for undocumented youth.
Do they use that name on every campus? It's the same at my school, but frankly, our local branch here is highly sectarian, organizes on a friendship-network basis instead of political principles and has no central politics apart from being some kind of hipster social club. It has everything from anarchists to Trots in it and has in many cases been a negative effect upon movements, forcing consensus on issues they disagree with and refusing to allow any centralized political structure in various movements. Although, I've heard that elsewhere their branches do exemplary work and are work in the best semblance of the united front with various other left groups across the US.
"[Marx] laid the cornerstones of the science which socialists must advance in all directions, if they do not want to lag behind events."
-Vladimir Lenin, Our Programme
Economic Left/Right: -9.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -9.54
A general list of US political parties.
http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm
[FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Economic Left/Right: -9.62
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.56
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"Death to fascism, freedom to the people!" -Stjepan Filipović
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"Freedom only for the members of the government, only for the members of the Party - though they are quite numerous - is no freedom at all." - Rosa Luxemburg
"Yes, but in your elaboration we might as well ride magic pink unicorns that shit rainbows" -Psycho
The largest revolutionary organization in the country is the International Socialist Organization, and we have a branch almost everywhere. We firmly stand in the tradition of Third Camp socialism which was characterized by the slogan "Neither Washington nor Moscow but International Socialism", which is to say we supported worker's struggle on both sides of the Iron Curtain and saw as much potential in Prague 68 as there was in Paris 68. If you're interested in fighting for real workers democracy and real socialism we're the most consistent advocates of workers' power. If you agree with Trotsky's critique we're the largest most well known "Trotskyist" (Though we don't usually refer to ourselves as such, revolutionary socialist gets the job done) party in the US. If you're idea of socialism doesn't involve running around defending North Korea and China as "Socialist" or Iran and Zimbabwe as "Anti-Imperialist", and if you tend to side with the people and the working class rather then the bureacrats and the tanks, we're the group for you.
We have daily news and analysis at
http://socialistworker.org/
Longer more theoretical articles are published in the International Socialist Review
http://www.isreview.org/index.shtml
We're behind Haymarket Books
http://www.haymarketbooks.org/
And though not our publication if you really want to dive into the theory of our tradition the International Socialist Journal is a great resource
http://www.isj.org.uk/
Branch doesn't equal a fuck ton of members or the fact that it is revolutionary. The ISO is multi - tendency. There are Anarchists, Social Democrats and Left Communists in my local branch. People who attend the meetings are constantly fluctuating and can really on call on like 20 people. The only thing the ISO is radical for is the fact that it has the biggest dropout rates. Its mostly an entry level organisation for college kids, at least from what I've seen.
You fucking joking? I think the most consistent advocates of "workers' power" would probably be Social - Anarchists. They were calling for that shit while Trotsky was still sperm. Not to mention the ISO transitional program still calls for Workers' State with State Run Industries.
If your idea of fighting for Socialism means selling Socialist Worker and marching in pacifist anti- war rallies, or in campaigning for the Green Party and Ralph Nader uh.. go for it. And who are the "people" from the working class? Are they someone else?
Make no mistake: The organization of the working class must be both economic and political. The capitalist is organized upon both lines. You must attack him on both.
Daniel De Leon
The most important word in the language of the working class is solidarity.
Harry Bridges
My Blog:
http://autonomousworkers.wordpress.com/
The International Socialist Organization also has a very bad revolving door policy. In my city, their branch has all new members every year and they have absolutely no understanding of Marxism. At a recent meeting, many of them were saying that the invasion of Libya is justified because it has international support. They also endorse capitalist politicians during election time. Just because you have a bunch of people sign cards at rallies that say they are now members of the ISO doesn't mean they are committed activists.
The ISO also loves to pretend it is a bastion of the working class, yet they cheered the counterrevolutions in the Soviet Union and across the world that brought about worse living conditions for millions of workers in the world. Justified? The ISO says so. A tragedy? That's what real Marxists say.
Trotsky called for the defense of the Soviet Union, while Socialist Worker in 1991 called the collapse of the Soviet Union something that should "have every socialist rejoicing." Despite the fact that the counterrevolution led to widespread death, disease, poverty and alcoholism, the ISO is still rejoicing at woe of these workers.
The basic ideas of Marxism, upon which alone a revolutionary party can be constructed, are continuous in their application and have been for a hundred years. The ideas of Marxism, which create revolutionary parties, are stronger than the parties they create, and never fail to survive their downfall. They never fail to find representatives in the old organizations to lead the work of reconstruction. These are the continuators of the tradition, the defenders of the orthodox doctrine. The task of the uncorrupted revolutionists, obliged by circumstances to start the work of organizational reconstruction, has never been to proclaim a new revelation – there has been no lack of such Messiahs, and they have all been lost in the shuffle – but to reinstate the old program and bring it up to date.
- James P. Cannon, 'The Degeneration of the Communist Party'
Greymouser covered a lot of the problems with Solidarity. My issues with the group are its abandonment of socialism as anything more than a religion. I was a member of Soli twice, ten years apart. In 1997 and 2007, I was a dual member of the SPUSA and Soli. In 1997, the SPUSA was on Soli's right. In 2007, the left wing of Soli was about where the right wing of the SPUSA is.
Soli has become completely fixated on breaking the working class from the Democrats, and see the Green Party as the vehicle for this project. They've been at it almost fifteen years now. ("How's that working out for you?" I asked). They tried to get the SP to drop it's presidential campaign in 2008 (we won't get into a discussion of the putz we ran) in order to not divide the vote for McKinney. When Socialist Action endorsed all four socialist candidates running, one Solidarity leader described it as "silly."
Soli consider any socialist group to their left (which is about ALL of them) to be sectarians and/or ultra-left. Seriously, the described the SPUSA as ultra-left in an internal communication of their national committee (being a member, I had access at the time).
In their union work, which is really, really good, in and of itself, they refuse to bring in socialist politics. They are the very definition of economist, as Lenin described it. They put out what was a pretty good labor newspaper, Labor Notes, but I haven't read it in a long time. It is this work right here which gets them a lot of cred from people who don't know them better.
Lately, they have become fixated on NGOs and social workers. I have also, but I see them as symptoms of the current reality we're in and detrimental to the movement. Solidarity seems to think that they are fertile ground for political work.
Solidarity is also fixated on attracting more people of color to their organization. Much of the white radical left seems to think this will give them cred. Generally, however, the attitudes in the white left are creepy and patronizingly racist. As I told Soli, 'most people of color don't join Solidarity because you're racist. Try treating Black people as Black people, instead of as Black people.' But white radicals never believe they're racist.
Full disclosure: I've been tossed from Soli twice. Both times, it was for non-payment of dues while I was unemployed. I'm sure completely coincidentally, both times were right before a convention where I'd been organizing an opposition to the leadership.
In case anyone's interested in my position on NGOs:
+ YouTube Video
Kicked out for not paying dues while unemployed? That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.
The basic ideas of Marxism, upon which alone a revolutionary party can be constructed, are continuous in their application and have been for a hundred years. The ideas of Marxism, which create revolutionary parties, are stronger than the parties they create, and never fail to survive their downfall. They never fail to find representatives in the old organizations to lead the work of reconstruction. These are the continuators of the tradition, the defenders of the orthodox doctrine. The task of the uncorrupted revolutionists, obliged by circumstances to start the work of organizational reconstruction, has never been to proclaim a new revelation – there has been no lack of such Messiahs, and they have all been lost in the shuffle – but to reinstate the old program and bring it up to date.
- James P. Cannon, 'The Degeneration of the Communist Party'
The great thing about dropping someone for non-payment is that you don't have to hold a trial.
I'm just stunned that they seem to be such an odd group. To be honest, they are all very liberal in my area. Relatively open-minded, but they're definitely not talking about revolution. There are a lot of organizations that are aging quickly and their lack of youth recruitment is going to cause them to collapse or disappear in the next decade or so.
The basic ideas of Marxism, upon which alone a revolutionary party can be constructed, are continuous in their application and have been for a hundred years. The ideas of Marxism, which create revolutionary parties, are stronger than the parties they create, and never fail to survive their downfall. They never fail to find representatives in the old organizations to lead the work of reconstruction. These are the continuators of the tradition, the defenders of the orthodox doctrine. The task of the uncorrupted revolutionists, obliged by circumstances to start the work of organizational reconstruction, has never been to proclaim a new revelation – there has been no lack of such Messiahs, and they have all been lost in the shuffle – but to reinstate the old program and bring it up to date.
- James P. Cannon, 'The Degeneration of the Communist Party'
All of these response, which I'm very grateful for, and my research into various leftist parties has led me to a rather disheartening conclusion. Does anyone else wonder if the Left is too divided?
You do have to realize that a lot of the groups you're looking in to are likely relatively small. The radical left in the United States is, obviously, small as a whole, but some organizations are sects of less than 100 people. I think the most important thing when looking for an organization is political line and if they are expanding their reach into the working class movement. The left is divided, but it is also growing and building a revolutionary party is the best use of our time as socialists.
The basic ideas of Marxism, upon which alone a revolutionary party can be constructed, are continuous in their application and have been for a hundred years. The ideas of Marxism, which create revolutionary parties, are stronger than the parties they create, and never fail to survive their downfall. They never fail to find representatives in the old organizations to lead the work of reconstruction. These are the continuators of the tradition, the defenders of the orthodox doctrine. The task of the uncorrupted revolutionists, obliged by circumstances to start the work of organizational reconstruction, has never been to proclaim a new revelation – there has been no lack of such Messiahs, and they have all been lost in the shuffle – but to reinstate the old program and bring it up to date.
- James P. Cannon, 'The Degeneration of the Communist Party'
Because the left is divided doesnt mean it cant win.
the SPD, the first socialist party in the world, was massive in germany but never actually brought about revolution.
In russia, since the 1860s or so there have been hundreds of different groups, first with terrorism then to peasant populism(narodnik) and to more thouroughly marxist groups like the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party which initself had two divided wings. the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. Social Democracy then was something different than it is now, back them it was the term for socialist revolutionaries not for bourgeois reformists. not to mention the various anarchist trends.
out of that huge mess came the first lasting revolution under marxist principles and working class control.
when the struggle actually becomes a struggle in the US certain groups will dissolve, certain groups may merge, certain groups may be arrested, and certain groups will go under ground, and certain groups will become a mass organization. sort of a vetting process. out of it, there comes a vanguard, a class conscious and organized working class leading its class brethren to victory.
sure the left is divided, but dont lose any sleep over it. taking on an excessivley multi tendency position can lead to contradictions or inaction. im not attacking the SP-USA here im just saying, hoping that all tendencys unite is in itself a tendency
FKA Vacant
"snook up behind him and took his koran, he said sumthin about burnin the koran. i was like DUDE YOU HAVE NO KORAN and ran off." - Jacob Isom, Amarillo Resident.
A very poor understanding of Marxism? I should hope none of them have anything near what you'd consider a good understanding of Marxism, since for you that involves cheering on brutal dictators like Mugabe who actively persecute socialist activists, or meeting with and upholding Ahmadinejad who is the enemy of every revolutionary socialist group in Iran. The ISO has firmly come out against intervention in Libya and all members are required to uphold a position against the UN intervention there. You're understanding of ISO recruitment practices probably dates from the 90's when something of a revolving door/instant membership policy prevailed, but ever since I've joined and for some time before then an at least foundational understanding of Marxism has been required.
If you're idea of socialism involves Stalin, mass purges, immense bureacratic privilege and tanks running over protesters and breaking up strikes by workers, then the PSL is for you. If you want to cheerlead massacres like Hungary 56, Czechoslovakia 68, Tienanmen Square 1989, and if you're idea of revolutionary socialism includes Kim Jong-Il's private fiefdom, then the PSL is for you. If you want genuine liberation, the kind that Marx actually wrote about, then you'll want to side with people that support worker's struggle wherever it emerges.
Last edited by Comrade Ian; 23rd March 2011 at 22:56.
