Party for Socialism and Liberation

Party for Socialism and Liberation
Founded	June 2004[1]
Headquarters	San Francisco, California; Washington, D.C.
Ideology	Marxism–Leninism Marxism Communism Socialism Anti-Capitalism Proletarian internationalism
Political position	Far-left
Website
pslweb.org
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The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the United States,^[2] created as the result of a split within the ranks of the Workers World Party (WWP).^[3]

The PSL has two national offices in Washington, D.C. and in San Francisco, alongside 23 local branches across the country. In 2008, Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear ran for President and Vice President on the first PSL ticket. In November 2011, Peta Lindsay and Yari Osorio were announced as the PSL's presidential ticket in 2012.

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.^[3]

Ideology

Domestic social policy

The PSL's primary objective is to form a revolutionary workers' party based in Marxism-Leninism. This party would 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 all 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, Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Mariana Islands, which it considers colonies. The PSL would end the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and close all US foreign military bases.^[4]

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.^[5]

The PSL supports the government of Cuba, and while critical of the current Chinese government, it views the Chinese Revolution favorably.^[6] 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.^[7]

The PSL voiced solidarity with Nepal after the election of Prachanda.^[8]

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 organisations across the US in the anti-war movement,^[9] 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.

Office locations

The national offices of the Party for Socialism and Liberation are based in San Francisco, California and Washington, D.C.

The PSL also maintains branches and centers in Austin, TexasT; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire in California; Miami, Florida; New Haven, Connecticut New Paltz and New York City (Harlem), New York; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and St. Louis, Missouri.^[10]

Electoral participation

The PSL often fields candidates for public office. However, because of challenging ballot access rules in many states, the party sometimes uses the ballot line of a different party or is on the ballot as an independent. The PSL has used the ballot line of the Green Party or the Peace and Freedom Party in the past. The party did manage to get on the ballot in 12 states for the 2008 presidential elections, with Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear as respectively president and vice president. The PSL managed to gain 6,821 votes, finishing 10th, out of a field of 23 candidates .^[11] Below is a selection of other races that the PSL have contested.

Lindsay-Osorio campaign

The party's 2012 ticket for President listed Peta Lindsay, a 28 year old activist and educator who is constitutionally barred from serving as President if elected due to her age, and Yari Osorio, who was born in Colombia and is unable to serve if elected because he was not born a United States citizen. Lindsay/Osorio were denied access to the Peace and Freedom Party's primary in California for this reason.^[13] The PSL was on the ballot in 13 states (Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin).^[14]

Publications

The party's main publication is the biweekly newspaper, Liberation,^[15] which replaced a quarterly magazine, Socialism and Liberation^[16] 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".^[17] 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,^[18] 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.^[19] The PSL's publication company is headquartered at their West Coast office in San Francisco, California.

See also

• Workers World Party
• List of political parties in the United States

References

External links

• plsweb.org Party's official website (launched July 2006)
• AnswerCoalition.org official site
• Socialism and Liberation Magazine