Socialist Workers Party (United States)

Socialist Workers Party
National SecretaryJack Barnes
FoundedJanuary 1938 (1938-01)
Split fromSocialist Party of America
Preceded byWorkers Party of the United States
Headquarters306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor
New York City, New York 10018
NewspaperThe Militant
IdeologySocialism
Castroism (since 1959)[1][2]
Historical:
Trotskyism (until 1980s)
International affiliationFourth International (1938–1953)
International Committee of the Fourth International (1953–1963)
United Secretariat of the Fourth International (1963–1990)
Pathfinder tendency (from 1990)
Colors  Maroon
Members in elected offices0
Website
themilitant.com
Logo of The Militant, the SWP's newspaper

The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is a communist party in the United States. The SWP began as a group which, because it supported Leon Trotsky over Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, was expelled from the Communist Party USA. Since the 1930s, it has published The Militant as a weekly newspaper. It also maintains Pathfinder Press.

Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the SWP was the largest Trotskyist organization in the United States.[citation needed] During the 1960s and 1970s, the SWP and its youth wing, the Young Socialist Alliance, were the third-largest socialist organizations, after the Communist Party USA and Students for a Democratic Society. The SWP suffered many splits and its membership declined. The modern SWP is smaller than its progeny, such as the Trotskyist Socialist Alternative and the Marxist-Leninist Party for Socialism and Liberation.

The SWP places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba. During the 2020s, the SWP has defended "Israel's right to exist" and "right to defend itself", especially during the Israel–Hamas war. This contrasts with other U.S. socialist organizations, which take an anti-Zionist position and defend Palestinian nationalism.[3]

  1. ^ "Balance Sheet on the Socialist Workers Party (U.S.A.)". September 2, 1990. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "About Us". Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  3. ^ "Fight against Jew-hatred! Defend Israel's right to exist, defend itself". February 5, 2024.

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