Party for Socialism and Liberation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is a Marxist-Leninist party in the United States founded to promote revolutionary change. Since its formation in 2004, the Party for Socialism and Liberation has made significant contributions to the Anti-War Movement in local communities across the nation. It was originally created as the result of a split within the ranks of the Workers World Party. The San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C. branches of WWP left almost in their entirety to form the PSL. The PSL has since established branches in several additional urban centers across the United States.
The main publication of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, reflecting its political perspective, is the magazine, Socialism and Liberation which is published monthly. 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 PSL advocates building a revolutionary workers’ party in the United States.
The PSL supports the government of Cuba, and while a critic of the current Chinese government, it views the Chinese Revolution and Cultural Revolution favorably. The PSL also supports the "Bolivarian Revolution" in Venezuela – a frequent topic in its magazine. 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 is very active in the antiwar movement. It is a member of the steering committee of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which has taken a lead organizing role in mass antiwar demonstrations since 2001. Unlike the Workers World Party, which never maintained a formal position in the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition despite its clear influence, the PSL’s role within A.N.S.W.E.R. is overt. 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. This cooperation with these groups has been characterized on the far right as dangerous collaboration with "Islamists".
The National Offices of the Party for Socialism and Liberation are based in San Francisco, California and Washington, District of Columbia. The PSL also maintains branches and centers in Baltimore, MD; Chicago; Los Angeles, CA; New Haven, CT; New Paltz and New York City, NY; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; and West Chester, PA. The PSL's New York City branch is based in Harlem.
[edit] Sources
- ZNet article by Bill Weinberg about ANSWER anti-war coalition which discusses the split between WWP and PSL.
- Communists Against the Military an article by Ben Johnson for FrontPageMagazine which discusses PSL's participation in ANSWER noting the unusual alliance of communist and "Islamist" organizations
- World Net Daily article on "Muslim-Marxist Coalition," including PSL, demonstrating in Washington D.C.
[edit] External links
- Party web site, released July 2006.
- Socialism and Liberation Magazine
- AnswerCoalition.org official site