Political position Far-left politics Seats in the Senate 0 / 100 | Colors Red | |
Founded June 2004; 12 years ago (2004-06) Headquarters San Francisco, California;
Washington, D.C. Ideology Communism
Marxism-Leninism
Revolutionary Socialism | ||
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party in the United States, created as the result of a split within the ranks of the Workers World Party (WWP).
Contents
The PSL has numerous branches across the country. Peta Lindsay and Yari Osorio were PSL's 2012 presidential ticket. Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear ran for President and Vice President on the PSL ticket in 2008 and 2016. In 2016, she received more votes than any U.S. socialist presidential candidate since 1976.
History
The PSL was formed when the San Francisco branch and several other members left WWP in June 2004, announcing that "the Workers World Party leadership is no longer capable" of fulfilling the "mission" of building socialism.
Domestic social policy
The PSL's primary objective is to form a revolutionary workers' party based in Marxism-Leninism. The party's goal is to lead a revolution paving the way towards socialism, under which a "new government of working people" would be formed. The PSL proposes many radical changes to be implemented by this government. In the political sphere, all elected representatives should be recallable, securing freedom of speech for the working class (except in the case of xenophobia or bigotry and to prevent re-establishment of the capitalist system) and the elimination of corporate influence from politics.
Concerning economics, the PSL would, among other measures, prohibit the exploitation of labor for private profit, implement a working week of 30 hours, and eradicate poverty through the introduction of a basic income guarantee. The PSL would grant the right of self-determination to what it considers oppressed nations of the US, including "African Americans, Native, Puerto Rican and other Latino national minorities, the Hawaiian nation, Asian, Pacific Islander, Arab and other oppressed peoples who have experienced oppression as a whole people under capitalism". It would grant independence to Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Mariana Islands, which it considers colonies. The PSL would end U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and close all US foreign military bases.
International affairs
Historically, the PSL is generally positive on the former Soviet Union, describing the October Revolution as "the single biggest event that shaped global politics in the 20th century". The PSL acknowledges that the New Economic Policy of Vladimir Lenin led "to a re-polarization of social classes, especially in the countryside". The PSL blames the reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev for the fall of the Soviet Union.
The PSL supports the Republic of Cuba, and mourned the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro. While critical of the current Chinese government, it views the Chinese Revolution favorably. The PSL also supports the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. It has endorsed activities that call for the release of the Cuban Five—deemed political prisoners by supporters—and called for the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles from the US.
The PSL voiced solidarity with Nepal upon the overthrow of the monarchy and the 2008 election of Prachanda.
The PSL, in the Leninist tradition, supports the right of nations to self-determination. It has been outspoken in condemning the state of Israel and its role in the Middle East. The PSL led demonstrations against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in July 2006, and supports the right of return for Palestinian people.
Anti-war movement
The PSL co-operates with other organizations across the US in the anti-war movement, and is a member of the steering committee of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition (A.N.S.W.E.R.). As one of the most active members of the coalition, PSL has gained notice for successfully forging ties with Arab and Muslim American groups such as the Muslim American Society, Al-Awda and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Publications
The party's main publication is the biweekly newspaper, Liberation, which replaced a quarterly magazine, Socialism and Liberation PSL outlines its political perspective, including its assessment of the current international and domestic situation in the pamphlet "Who We Are, What We Stand For". The party also owns its own printing company, PSL Publications, through which it has published multiple printed books such as Socialists and War: Two opposing trends by members Mazada Majidi and Brian Becker, and an e-book which was released through Amazon titled A Woman's Place Is in the Struggle by members Ana Maria Ramirez, Anne Gamboni, Gloria La Riva and Liz Lowengard. The PSL's publication company is headquartered at their West Coast office in San Francisco, California.