by Adam Ritscher When most folks hear the word socialism, the first thing that comes to mind is Russia. Now for different folks, that means very different things. This is true even of the left, within which there is much disagreement on whether or not Russia was socialist. To answer the question of whether or … Continue reading Was Russia Really Socialist?
Month: August 2011
Victory to the Syrian People’s Uprising! US/NATO, Hands Off!
<!--[if !mso]> <![endif]--> Below is a speech delivered on August 20th by Socialist Action Political Committee member Andrew Pollack to a rally of 300 in New York City in defense of the Syrian uprising against Bashar al-Assad:Sisters and Brothers,It is an honor to speak today, and if I stumble over my words it is out … Continue reading Victory to the Syrian People’s Uprising! US/NATO, Hands Off!
Socialists and Elections
by Adam Ritscher With elections coming up again a lot of politically conscious people are hitting the pavement to campaign for their candidates. Voter registration drives, leafleting and yard sign distribution have become the order of the day for many activists. We in Youth for Socialist Action certainly commend people who take politics seriously and … Continue reading Socialists and Elections
What Socialists Propose
by Paul Siegel Socialism has been pronounced dead many times before-and it has always revived to continue the struggle. One instance was the time of demoralization that followed the defeat of the Russian Revolution of 1905. Lenin said at that time that the "official professors" who declared Marxism to have been "refuted and annihilated" … Continue reading What Socialists Propose
When America Goes Socialist
by Lee Smith *The article above was written by Lee Smith of the Young Socialist Alliance. It first appeared in the November 1969 issue of Young Socialist magazine. “In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association in which the free development of each is the … Continue reading When America Goes Socialist
Marxism vs. Anarchism
*This article is a slightly edited version of an article run by Socialist Action’s Fourth International comrades in the British newspaper Socialist Resistance. In the worldwide movement for social justice, many young people are attracted by the ideas of anarchism - even if they don’t call themselves anarchists. Anarchists seem to stand for the same … Continue reading Marxism vs. Anarchism
How to Make a Revolution
by Peter Camejo *The essay below was first given as a speech by Young Socialist Alliance leader Peter Camejo in New York onMay 3, 1969. Revolutionary socialists have been accused for many years of wanting to overthrow the U.S. government by force and violence. When they accuse us of this, what they are really trying to do is imply that … Continue reading How to Make a Revolution
What Is Socialism?
The German socialist Karl Marx was once asked what his favorite maxim was. He replied with a line by the Roman playwright Terence: "I am a man, and nothing that concerns a man, is a matter of indifference to me." If for the moment we ignore the use of sexist language in this ancient quotation, … Continue reading What Is Socialism?
Vanguard Parties
by Ernest Mandel *The article above is based on an address made by Ernest Mandel at the Marx Centenary Conference— "Marxism: The Next Two Decades" — held at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, March 12-15, 1983. It was published in Mid-American Review of Sociology, 1983, Vol. VIII, No. 2:3-21. To approach the … Continue reading Vanguard Parties
The Case for Reparations for African Americans
Randall Robinson, the author of "The Debt," is the founder and president of TransAfrica, an organization that has propagandized and lobbied in behalf of Africa and the Black diaspora, which it has shown are being despoiled by the policies of the IMF, the United States, and other Western nations. He recounts some of this in … Continue reading The Case for Reparations for African Americans
The Forging of Oppressed Nationalities in the U.S.
The following excerpts from a summary to a political report made at an SWP National Committee meeting in February 1970 are reprinted from Towards an American Socialist Revolution, Pathfinder Press, 1971, pp 197-2 02 They were reprinted under the title above in International Internal Discussion Bulletin, Vol. 10, No. 10, July 1973, pp 24-6. Before … Continue reading The Forging of Oppressed Nationalities in the U.S.
Black Self-Determination & Socialist Revolution
The following resolution, "Black Self-Determination and Socialist Revolution in the United States," was drafted in February 1992 and adopted by the July 29-August 2, 1992 Socialist Action convention. African Americans are an integral part of the American working class. They are also an oppressed nationality, and we support their right to self-determination up to and … Continue reading Black Self-Determination & Socialist Revolution
Young Socialist Alliance Reading List From the 1960s
The reading list below was put together by our predecessor organization, the Young Socialist Alliance, back in the 1960s. Young Socialist Alliance Introductory Reading List Introductory Material America's Road to Socialism - James P. Cannon Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx & Frederick Engels Socialism: Utopian & Scientific - Frederick Engels The State Critique of the Gotha Program - Karl … Continue reading Young Socialist Alliance Reading List From the 1960s
Study Guide for Lenin’s State and Revolution
Below is a study guide for Lenin’s "State and Revolution". Lenin wrote "State and Revolution" in 1917 in between the February and October Revolutions. It was and remains essential reading for any revolutionary seeking to seriously understand revolution. The study questions that follow are broken up according to chapter. Questions for Chapter 1 1. According … Continue reading Study Guide for Lenin’s State and Revolution
Study Guide for Mandel’s Vanguard Parties
Ernest Mandel’s essay on vanguard parties is an explanation of why Marxists believe in the need for a revolutionary party. While Youth for Socialist Action obviously is not a party, through our association with Socialist Action, we seek to build a vanguard party that will be able to successfully lead the working class to socialist … Continue reading Study Guide for Mandel’s Vanguard Parties
The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution By February 1917, the people of Russia were starving due to food shortages, freezing due to coal shortages and exhausted from the war effort. The czar had led the country into another war of aggression where workers and peasants fought on the battlefield only to help realize the imperialist dreams nursed by … Continue reading The Russian Revolution
Salvador Allende’s Chile
On September 11 1973 the Chilean army carried out the coup d’etat which it had been planning for the preceding two and a half years.The Popular Unity government was overthrown and its President, Salvador Allende, was shot dead in his room at the Moneda Palace, a large section of which was destroyed by artillery and aerial bombardment. The "Chilean … Continue reading Salvador Allende’s Chile
A Marxist analysis of Cuba
The text below consists of major excerpts from a resolution, "Death Agony of World Capitalism and the Crisis of Proletarian Leadership" that was approved by Socialist Action's national convention in August 1998.The Cuban revolution of 1959 profoundly changed economic and social life on the island. Within two years after the revolution, the capitalist system had … Continue reading A Marxist analysis of Cuba
Afrocentrism vs. Eurocentrism in Ancient History
by Cliff Conner The text below is by Cliff Conner, and is available in pamphlet form from Socialist Action Book for $2.50 by writing to 298 Valencia St., San Francisco CA 94103. The use of the word “history” in the title of this talk may be a little misleading, because the place and period of time that I … Continue reading Afrocentrism vs. Eurocentrism in Ancient History
The Russian Revolution & the Struggle Against War
by Mary Scully / December 2007 To understand the Russian Revolution in its relationship to World War I, we need to start with the origins of WW I, not as it is taught--as a response to German aggression--but as it actually was. The assassination of the Austrian crown prince by a Serbian nationalist is insignificant and the … Continue reading The Russian Revolution & the Struggle Against War
Sept. 15 march for Palestine at the UN
<!--[if !mso]> <![endif]-->A broad coalition of groups supporting Palestinian rights is sponsoring a Sept. 15 march on the United Nations. The demands of the New York City march are: Sovereignty Now! Enforce the Right of Return! Full Equality for All! End All U.S. Aid to Israel! End the Occupation! Support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions!The date … Continue reading Sept. 15 march for Palestine at the UN
Workers in Egypt: Key to Saving the Arab Spring
Throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the U.S. is using every weapon in its arsenal—military, diplomatic, financial, etc.—to try to turn the Arab Spring into a Washington Winter, an endless night of continued poverty enforced by dictatorships.But Egypt’s workers, who initiated the process leading to the mass Arab revolt with their strikes five years … Continue reading Workers in Egypt: Key to Saving the Arab Spring
SlutWalks: confronting the attacks on women’s rights
Feminists across the globe were angered as they learned last month that the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and French presidential hopeful, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, would likely be exculpated from the charges of attempted rape of a Guinean immigrant working as a maid due to questions about her credibility. Regrettably, Strauss-Kahn’s defense and … Continue reading SlutWalks: confronting the attacks on women’s rights
Activists discuss SlutWalk perspectives
On July 23, about 30 dedicated activists assembled for an politically and socially incisive panel discussion about building SlutWalks, the international movement of women fighting against blaming rape victims and the oppression of woman more generally.The tone for the open discussion was set by brief presentations from two Bay Area SlutWalk activists, Mer Stevens, a … Continue reading Activists discuss SlutWalk perspectives
Calif. prisoners wage daring hunger strike
SAN FRANCISCO—In the spring of 2011, prisoners inside Northern California’s Pelican Bay State Prison contacted Bay Area prisoners’ rights and prison abolition organizations and requested support for an indefinite rolling hunger strike against 20-40 years of mental and physical torture. The strike would begin July 1.The hunger strike organizers included 50-100 men in the prison’s … Continue reading Calif. prisoners wage daring hunger strike