World Socialist Party of the United States facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
World Socialist Party
of the United States |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Founded | 1916 |
| Split from | Socialist Party of America |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Newspaper |
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| Youth wing | World Socialist Youth |
| Ideology | Anti-Leninism Classical Marxism Impossibilism Revolutionary socialism Socialism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| International affiliation | World Socialist Movement |
| Colors | Red |
The World Socialist Party of the United States (WSPUS) is a socialist political group in the United States. It started in Detroit, Michigan, in 1916. At first, it was called the Socialist Party of the United States. Later, it was known as the Socialist Educational Society and then the Workers' Socialist Party. In the 1990s, the group became active again. Today, it is part of the World Socialist Movement, which includes similar parties around the world.
Contents
What the World Socialist Party Believes
The WSPUS believes it has always stuck to the original ideas of socialism. These ideas came from thinkers like Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 1800s. They see socialism as a way of organizing society where making money is not the main goal. Instead, the goal is to produce goods and services directly for everyone to use.
How They See Economics
The WSPUS describes socialism as a society without money. In this society, everyone would own the tools and places used to make things. Goods would be made for people to use, not to sell for profit. People would work together in a democratic way, without bosses or strict rules.
They also believe a socialist society would have no government, no social classes, and no wage labor. Wage labor means working for a salary or hourly pay. While these ideas are often used to describe a fully developed communism, Marx and Engels used "socialism" and "communism" to mean the same thing.
The WSPUS criticizes other groups that call themselves "socialist." They say these groups support parts of capitalism, like helping workers within the capitalist system. The WSPUS believes this is just trying to fix capitalism, not replace it. They argue that these groups give up on the main goal of building socialism. Instead, they focus on keeping the capitalist system but with some social programs.
The WSPUS also disagrees with "democratic socialists" and labor unions. They say these groups see socialism as a fight within capitalism. The WSPUS believes socialism is a completely new system to take the place of capitalism. For example, they criticize groups that want full employment. The WSPUS thinks it's more important to question why people need to work for wages at all.
They also say that when the government owns businesses, or when industries are owned by the public, it is not true socialism. This is because money, profits, and wage labor can still exist in these systems.
The WSPUS wants to get rid of all paid jobs. They believe working for wages is like a modern form of slavery. They want a society where people work because they want to, and everyone can freely access what is produced.
Their Political Views
The WSPUS believes in a political revolution. They say the government is like the "executive committee" for the rich capitalist class. So, working people must take control of the government. This is to stop the rich from using the government against the workers.
They believe this revolution must be done by a willing majority of people. These people would organize without leaders. They would elect representatives whose only job is to carry out the majority's wishes. These representatives would then get rid of the old government. They would immediately replace it with democratic control of how things are made, across the whole country and even the world.
The WSPUS has been against all wars since it started. They believe wars always help the rich owners, not the working people. Unlike many other left-wing groups, they do not pick sides in wars. For example, they did not support Vietnam against the United States.
They also oppose the usual criticism of presidents, especially Republican ones. They argue that the real problem for working people is the entire system where a few people own everything. They say focusing on "better presidents" makes people think the system itself is okay. The WSPUS wants people to understand and oppose the whole economic system.
How the Party Grew
Starting the Party
The Socialist Party of the United States (SPUS) began on July 7, 1916. It was started by 42 members who left the Socialist Party of America (SPA) in Detroit. These members were inspired by similar groups in Canada and Great Britain. They were also unhappy that the SPA was focusing more on small changes within capitalism. Many of the founding members worked in Michigan's growing car industry.
An immigrant from England named Adolph Kohn was an early leader. He wrote under the name John O'London. Kohn wanted to bring together people who were against World War I. He also believed that trying to make small improvements only made the capitalist system stronger.
The SPUS worked with other socialist groups at the time. They formed groups in cities like New York City, Cleveland, Portland, and San Francisco.
The SPUS and another group, the Proletarian Party, disagreed about the Soviet Union. The WSPUS liked that the Bolsheviks pulled out of World War I. However, they felt the new Soviet government was still a form of capitalism and should not be supported. The Proletarian Party believed the Soviet Union was a workers' state that needed protection.
The SPUS also had a regular page in the Western Clarion. This was a weekly newspaper from the Socialist Party of Canada. It was read by many left-wing socialists in America.
Growing and Changing
In the early 1920s, the SPUS faced pressure from government raids and legal threats. So, they changed their name to the Socialist Educational Society (SES). During this time, they had three local groups in Boston, Detroit, and New York. The New York group was the most active.
In 1927, the SES changed its name again to the Workers' Socialist Party (WSP).
The party published a newspaper called The Socialist from November 1929 to July 1938.
The WSP was most active in the 1930s and 1940s, with about 150 members. During this time, WSP members were very involved in the workers' movement. Many helped start the United Auto Workers union. WSP members were also active in other unions in New England.
Since 1933, the Socialist Party of Canada had published the Western Socialist. After World War II began, it could not be published in Canada as an anti-war newspaper. So, starting in October 1939, the Western Socialist was published in Boston. It became the official newspaper for both the Canadian and U.S. socialist parties. Its last issue was in 1979–1980.
In 1947, the party changed its name again to its current name, the World Socialist Party of the United States.
In the 1980s, the party started publishing World Socialist Review. The first issue came out in 1986. It has been published from time to time since then.
The Party Today
The WSPUS became more active again in the mid-1990s, thanks to the internet.
As of September 2008, it has members across the United States. It has local groups in Boston and Portland. There is also a regional group in the area around Detroit and Toledo, Ohio.
Well-Known Members
- Taffy Brown – A journalist for Labor News Agency in Detroit.
- Bill Davenport – A founding director of the United Auto Workers Education Department.
- Adolph Kohn – A key party member when the party was founded.
- J. A. "Jack" McDonald – A former member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and editor of Industrial Worker. He was also a member of the Socialist Party of Canada.
- Frank Marquart – Helped found the United Auto Workers (UAW). He was an education director for a UAW local and wrote a book called An Auto Workers' Journal.
- Samuel Orner – A former IWW organizer. He organized the 1934 New York Taxi Strike and was the inspiration for a character in the play Waiting for Lefty.
- Bill Pritchard – A former member of the Socialist Party of Canada and a dockworker. He was a founding member of the One Big Union (Canada) and was involved in the Winnipeg General Strike Trial. He also served as Mayor of Burnaby, BC.
- Issac Rab – Active in the Typographers Union and in socialist politics in Detroit and Boston for 60 years.
