Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,[6] is a socialist political party in the United States. The party was established in 1973 as one of the successors to the Socialist Party of America, which had broken up a year prior, resulting in another group called Social Democrats, USA (legal successor) and the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (split).
This article is about the Socialist Party founded in 1973. For the Socialist Party active from 1901 through 1972, see Socialist Party of America.
Socialist Party of the United States of America
- Claudia Miller (SC)
- Nicholas Partyka (NY)
Pat Noble
- Nicholas Partyka
May 30, 1973
168 Canal Street, 6th Floor New York City, New York 10013 (A. J. Muste Institute)
The party is officially committed to multi-tendency socialism. Along with its predecessor, the Socialist Party USA has received varying degrees of support. Differently from its more moderate rivals, it advocates for complete independence from the Democratic Party. Self-described as opposing all forms of oppression, specifically "capitalist and authoritarian statist systems," the party advocates the creation of "a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control—a classless, feminist, socialist society free of racism, sexism, homophobia or transphobia," in which "the people own and control the means of production and distribution through democratically controlled public agencies, cooperatives, or other collective groups"; "full employment is realized for everyone who wants to work"; "workers have the right to form unions freely, and to strike and engage in other forms of job actions"; and "production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few."[7]
Headquartered at the A. J. Muste Institute, the party's national office is located at 168 Canal Street in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City. The party has chartered state organizations in Michigan and New Jersey, as well as several locals throughout the country.[8]
In October 2019, the Socialist Party USA nominated Howie Hawkins for president in the 2020 presidential election. Hawkins also received the Green Party presidential nomination and ran for that of various state-level parties, such as the Liberty Union Party in Vermont, in a bid to unite the "non-sectarian independent Left" behind a single campaign.[9] Hawkins received over 400,000 votes (0.3%), the highest vote percentage since Darlington Hoopes in 1952 and highest vote total since Norman Thomas in 1932.
The announced presidential and vice presidential ticket for the 2024 presidential election is; Bill Stodden (Iowa) for President and Stephanie Cholensky (Minnesota) for Vice President.[10]
Ideology[edit]
Political positions[edit]
While some party members favor a more gradual approach to socialism, most others envision a more sweeping or revolutionary transformation of society from capitalist to socialist through the decisive victory of the working class in the class struggle.[58] Some party members also advocate revolutionary nonviolence or pacifism while some consider armed struggle a possible necessity. The party's Statement of Principles rejects equating socialism with a "welfare state" and calls for democratic social revolution from below.[58] The party is strongly committed to principles of socialist feminism and strives to further embody such commitment in its organizational structure. Its national constitution requires gender parity among its national Co-Chairs and Co-Vice Chairs, its National Committee members and alternates and seated members of its branch- and region-elected delegations to the party's biennial National Conventions.[58][59][60] The Socialist Party also rejected the new healthcare reform law of 2010 approved by the Obama administration, with Socialist Party National Co-Chair Billy Wharton stating it to be "a corporate restructuring of the health insurance industry created to protect the profit margins of private insurance companies".[61]
During his campaign, 2008 Socialist Party candidate for President Brian Moore was very vocal against the idea that Barack Obama was a socialist of any kind.[62] He further commented on the issue, saying it was "misleading of the Republicans" to spread that message.[63] In a later statement about Obama's policies, Wharton called Obama's 2010 State of the Union Address a "public relations ploy" and concluded saying: "The time for slick public relations campaigns has ended—the time for building our grassroots movements is more urgent than ever. The Socialist Party USA stands ready to join in such a political revitalization".[64]
