Socialist Resurgence: Who We Are
In response to the very fractured American left, we print this article from a new organization in line with a policy we adopted a few years ago to invite socialist organizations to explain who they are and how they differ from others. We take a non-sectarian viewpoint welcoming discussion and common work in the class struggle. —The Editors, Socialist Viewpoint
Socialist Resurgence (SR) is a new national organization of activists committed to the interests of workers and the oppressed. We have hit the ground running, and already our members are actively involved in the immigrant rights, feminist, GLBTQIA+, anti-racist, labor and climate activism. Our ultimate goal is the creation of a socialist world in which society is organized according the needs of working people rather than profit.
We think that the moment is extremely favorable for the founding of a new revolutionary socialist organization. We are greatly enthused by the increased interest in socialist ideas in the United States, the rise in activism in the labor movement as well as in many social movements, and the fervent dialogue within the socialist movement about how to advance the efforts to build a revolutionary party. We wish to participate in that dialogue.
Most of our members were until recently part of Socialist Action. We emerged from that group after years of debate and disagreements. One key issue that was debated was how to apply the theory of permanent revolution in a world that is increasingly seeing an inter-imperialist rivalry. Should we give active solidarity to the struggles of working people against their own governments in the semi-colonial world, or do we keep mum about their struggles in favor of solidarity with alleged “anti-imperialist” regimes. We argued that it is very much possible to oppose the machinations of U.S. imperialism, while supporting the struggles of working people against their governments in countries like Syria, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
For folks interested in delving into more detail about the debates that unfolded in Socialist Action, there are documents available on our website. But Socialist Resurgence is a forward-looking organization. From union organizing drives to solidarity with protesting workers in Chile and Bolivia, we are actively looking for meaningful ways of contributing to the fight to make the world a better place.
And part of that forward-facing perspective is our commitment to explore and pursue regroupment with other revolutionary activists and organizations. On one hand, the world is facing an existential crisis in the form of climate change and capitalism’s ever mad drive for profits at all cost. On the other hand, we are seeing massive working-class upsurges around the world, as well as millions of young people in the U.S. exploring socialist ideas. If ever there was a need for a creative, dynamic revolutionary movement, it’s now! And we are eager to do whatever we can to help make a contribution to pulling together such a movement.
We want to thank Socialist Viewpoint for opening up its pages for us to present this brief introduction to our group. We welcome you all to get to know us further by checking out our website at www.SocialistResurgence.org and by following us on Facebook and Twitter. We are confident that we can find common ground in which to work together. One modest proposal that we would like to make to you is to invite the readers of Socialist Viewpoint to participate with us in a solidarity campaign with the students and workers of Chile who have courageously risen up against their rotten government. We are urging folks to take selfie pictures of themselves holding up messages of solidarity with, and with the hasthtag of #ChileRevolution on the top of the sign.
But of course, let’s not stop with selfies! Let’s all re-commit ourselves to attending every strike and picket line. Let’s redouble our efforts to build effective social movements. And let’s try to find ways to bring revolutionaries together, into the kind of revolutionary workers party that this country so desperately needs!