Our 2022 political resolution, giving Socialist Action's views on the major events and movements of our times, was approved at our most recent convention.
Category: Marxist Theory & History
Call for solidarity: FBI raids African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement
By JEFF MACKLER The specter of a Biden administration-authorized Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated McCarthy-era witch hunt was posed in bold relief last week as FBI agents took aim at a Black liberation organization that has been a sharp critic of the U.S./NATO-backed war in Ukraine and a defender of poor nations threatened with U.S. sanctions, coups, embargoes and blockades. These include Cuba, Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Iran.
Lessons from Vietnam for Ukraine
By RICK STERLING There are similarities today with the US and NATO pouring tens of BILLIONS of dollars in weapons into Ukraine to counter the Russian military intervention. The US and western allies are providing additional support in intelligence and military advice.
Joseph Ryan, Revolutionary Socialist, 1944-2022
By JEFF MACKLER His companion Ellen summarized his life well and donated Joe’s extensive Marxist library to Socialist Action. She wrote: “To the memory of Joseph Ryan who never gave up in his belief that the working people of the world would one day prevail.”
Capitalism’s World Economic, Political and Social Crises and the Road to Fight Back
By JEFF MACKLER Led by the dominant capitalist-imperialist nations, especially the U.S. and China, the system involves the capture and transfer of surplus value from workers in poorer countries to leading corporations in the advanced countries. Today, global value chain corporations that represent only 15 percent of all trading firms worldwide, capture some 80 percent of total trade.
Debate in the Fourth International: The Leninist Strategy of Party Building and the Impending Ecological Catastrophe
Our historic conception of the Transitional Program and its underlying method is aimed at the construction of a deeply rooted, mass revolutionary socialist working class party with the central objective of leading the proletarian struggle for state power and the construction of a socialist society. The Bureau text is silent on this fundamental question.
Robbie Mahood 1946-2021: A Revolutionary in Theory and Practice
Robbie Mahood, 75, a founding member and a leading light in Socialist Action/Ligue pour l’Action socialiste, our sister party in Canada, passed away in Montreal on December 26, 2021.
Marxism versus Anarchism
Robbie Mahood [Presented as on line educational sponsored by Ligue pour l’action socialiste (LAS)/Socialist Action/Canada. Montréal, April 23, 2021. SA/LAS is Socialist Action/USA sister party in the Canadian state] The last few decades have seen a resurgence in anarchist thought and modes of organizing inspired by anarchism. Decisions by consensus, diversity of tactics, affinity groups, … Continue reading Marxism versus Anarchism
Grace Carlson: Unsung Hero of the Early Trotskyist Movement
By Ann Montague Grace Carlson was the only female member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) (predecessor organization of Socialist Action) to be convicted and sentenced under the notorious anti-communist Smith Act of 1940. She was sentenced to sixteen months in the Federal Correctional Facility For Women in Alderson, West Virginia. The trial and convictions … Continue reading Grace Carlson: Unsung Hero of the Early Trotskyist Movement
The Power of United Front Mass Action vs. Anarchist Pretensions
The past several months of highlight the inherent power of coordinated mass action. Those who previously considered themselves non-actors in society came to realize their power.
The Militarization of American Science
To celebrate our comrade Cliff Conner's new book "The Tragedy of American Science," out now from Haymarket Books, we re-publish an early excerpt published in Socialist Action in April 2018.
Socialist Action Launches New Member Educational Series
The bi-weekly educational series is a response by the Party to educate and integrate a growing wave of new recruits drawn to the ideas of revolutionary socialism.
Philosopher Antonio Gramsci: How revolutionary?
By MARTY GOODMAN “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters.” “I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.” “To tell the truth is revolutionary.” — Antonio Gramsci, Italian communist leader and philosopher (1891-1937). “We must stop this brain working for 20 … Continue reading Philosopher Antonio Gramsci: How revolutionary?
Trotsky conference in Cuba: An interview with the organizer
By ROB LYONS From the 6th to the 8th of May, the first International Academic Conference examining the life and ideas of the great Ukrainian revolutionary and leader of the Russian revolution Lev Davidovitch Bronstein, now universally known as Leon Trotsky, was held in Havana, Cuba. The Conference was organized by the Juan Marinelo Cultural … Continue reading Trotsky conference in Cuba: An interview with the organizer
The New Deal: Roosevelt’s answer to ‘radicalism’
By DAVID RIEHLE Four score and seven years ago … Franklin Roosevelt brought forth in this country a New Deal. Not a Square Deal (Teddy Roosevelt) or a Fair Deal (Truman) but a NEW DEAL. New York Governor Roosevelt was nominated for president at the Democratic Party national convention in Chicago on July 2, 1932. … Continue reading The New Deal: Roosevelt’s answer to ‘radicalism’
The day Trotskyists shut down a country: 65th anniversary of the Sri Lankan Hartal
By RUWAN MUNASINGHE “The structuring of the LSSP leadership ... showed itself best during the August 1953 Hartal (general strike). The LSSP leadership appeared as a really revolutionary team at the head of insurgent masses, fighting in the streets simultaneously for immediate material gains for the impoverished masses and for the socialist overthrow of the … Continue reading The day Trotskyists shut down a country: 65th anniversary of the Sri Lankan Hartal
Marxism & the social reproduction of labor: Exploring the roots of women’s oppression
By LISA LUINENBURG When I became a mother three and a half years ago, I began to feel my oppression as a woman in capitalist society more acutely. All of the endless demands on my time began to add up—the sleepless nights, the feedings, child care, cooking, housework, errands and laundry around the clock. And … Continue reading Marxism & the social reproduction of labor: Exploring the roots of women’s oppression
Annette Gagne: Socialist & LGBT activist
By DAVID KIELY Our dear comrade Annette Gagne died in Providence, R.I., on March 14, the 135th anniversary of Karl Marx’s death in 1883. In her last moments, Annette was surrounded by friends and comrades. All were people who, as a close friend of Annette said, “meant the world to her.” Annette’s political legacy as … Continue reading Annette Gagne: Socialist & LGBT activist
The Militarization of American Science
By CLIFF CONNER Following World War II, a think tank named the RAND Corporation took the lead in formulating policies guiding military-industrial Big Science. Some of the titles of books and articles about RAND provide a hint of what it represented in the public imagination: “The Think Tank that Controls America,” “America’s University of Imperialism,” … Continue reading The Militarization of American Science
Essays on feminism and Marxist theory
By CHRISTINE MARIE “Social Reproduction Theory: Remapping Class, Recentering Oppression.” Edited by Tithi Bhattacharya; forward by Lise Vogel (London: Pluto Press 2017). Social reproduction feminism is not new. Marxist thinkers began to focus in earnest on the relationship between production and social reproduction in capitalist society nearly 40 years ago, in the context of what … Continue reading Essays on feminism and Marxist theory
Gun control & workers’ militias: How socialists view the issues
By GARY BILLS We are republishing an article that appeared in the print edition of Socialist Action newspaper in May 2007. The article is pertinent to the widespread discussion on gun control today, when some are calling for repeal of the Second Amendment. After a horrific gun crime like the one at Virginia Tech [32 … Continue reading Gun control & workers’ militias: How socialists view the issues
The rise and fall of the 1979 Iranian Revolution: Its lessons for today
By KAMRAN NAYERI and ALIREZA NASSAB The following paper was prepared for and presented at the III Conferencia Internacional de La Obra de Carlos Marx y Los Desafios del Siglo XXI (The Third Conference on the Work of Karl Marx and the Challenges of the 21st Century) in Havana, Cuba, in May 2006. The conference was organized … Continue reading The rise and fall of the 1979 Iranian Revolution: Its lessons for today
The relevance of the Russian Revolution, Part II
By JEFF MACKLER This is the second part of a series of articles. Part I appeared in the October 2017 issue of Socialist Action. The Russian Revolution of Oct. 25, 1917 (Nov. 7 in the new calendar) remains the seminal event in modern human history, if for no other reason that it marked the first … Continue reading The relevance of the Russian Revolution, Part II
Educational conferences reflect growing interest in socialist ideas
Connecticut: ‘Solution is Socialism’ By KEITH LESLIE — NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — On Nov. 4, Socialist Action Connecticut and the Central Connecticut State University Youth for Socialist Action held their second annual conference, entitled “The Solution is Socialism.” More than 100 workers, students, and activists from as far away as Alabama turned out for a … Continue reading Educational conferences reflect growing interest in socialist ideas
How capitalism uses gender oppression to rule
By CHRISTINE MARIE Following is the text of a talk delivered by the author on Nov. 4 at the “The Solution is Socialism” educational conference in Connecticut. The conference was hosted by the Youth for Socialist Action chapter at Central Connecticut State University, where the sessions were held. Usually, when I begin a talk about … Continue reading How capitalism uses gender oppression to rule
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