The global pandemic, the class struggle, and the tasks of the Socialist Equality Party
This resolution was adopted unanimously by the Sixth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party in the US, held July 19–24, 2020.
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The Socialist Equality Party (United States)
Capitalism has failed in the United States and the entire world. The Socialist Equality Party is organizing the working class in the fight for socialism: the reorganization of all of economic life to serve social needs, not private profit.
Socialism means the abolition of all forms of inequality and exploitation. The fight for socialism is at the same time a fight against war, authoritarianism, environmental degradation and all the consequences of capitalist society.
Socialism must be fought for and won by the working class itself. It will be achieved only through a revolutionary movement that has as its aim the establishment of workers' power.
Socialism, moreover, cannot be realized in one country. All the great problems confronting mankind are global problems that require global solutions.
The fight for socialism, therefore, requires the unity and collaboration of workers in every country on the basis of a common program and perspective. The Socialist Equality Party works in political solidarity with the International Committee of the Fourth International, the World Party of Socialist Revolution founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938.
This page contains some of the key documents and statements on the history and program of the SEP.
Historical Foundations of the SEP
The program of the Socialist Equality Party is of a principled, not of a conjunctural and pragmatic character. It is based on an assimilation of the strategic revolutionary experiences of the working class and the international socialist movement.
The SEP traces its political ancestry to the fight for Trotskyism in the US that was initiated in 1928, when veteran revolutionary James P. Cannon, along with Canadian revolutionary Maurice Spector, declared their support for Trotsky's fight against the Stalinist degeneration of the Soviet Union.
The international Trotskyist movement has a long history of principled struggle against Stalinism, reformism and bourgeois nationalism. In the United States, the fight for Trotskyism was carried forward by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), founded in 1938 under the leadership of Cannon, and then the Workers League, which was founded in 1966 after opposing the national opportunist degeneration of the SWP.
The Workers League, in political solidarity with the International Committee of the Fourth International, based its perspective on the revolutionary role of the American working class in opposition to all forms of nationalism and revisionism, as well as the pro-capitalist politics of the trade union bureaucracy. The Workers League played a significant role in many of the major battles of the working class in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Workers League was transformed into the SEP in 1995, which was followed by a similar transformation of all the sections of the ICFI.
SEP Congress Resolutions and Reports
The Congress of the SEP is the highest body of the party. The SEP held its Founding Congress in 2008 and meets every two years to discuss and adopt resolutions on party policy and elect the party leadership. This section includes reports and resolutions from the SEP Congresses.
The Resurgence of Class Struggle and the Tasks of the Socialist Equality Party
This resolution was unanimously adopted by the Socialist Equality Party Congress, held from July 22–27, 2018.
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Opening report to the Fifth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US)
This report was delivered by David North, the national chairperson of the Socialist Equality Party (US), to open the Fifth National Congress of the SEP, held July 22-27, 2018.
David North•
Free Julian Assange!
This resolution was unanimously adopted by the Socialist Equality Party Congress, held July 22–27.
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Perspectives and Tasks of the Socialist Equality Party
The Socialist Equality Party in the US held its Fourth National Congress from July 31 to August 5 in Detroit, Michigan.
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The fight for socialism and the tasks of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality
This resolution was passed by the Fourth National Congress of t he Socialist Equality Party (US), held from July 31-August 5 in Detroit, Michigan .
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For the unity of the working class in the United States and Latin America
This resolution was passed by the Fourth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US), held from July 31-August 5 in Detroit, Michigan.
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The Fight Against War and the Political Tasks of the Socialist Equality Party
This is the main resolution of the Third National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US), adopted unanimously on August 5, 2014.
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Statements of the Socialist Equality Party
Forward to the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees!
The International Committee of the Fourth International will mark May Day with an online rally to issue a call for the formation of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).
Statement of the International Committee of the Fourth International•
An Open Letter to Maria Svart, National Director of the Democratic Socialists of America
This letter, by Socialist Equality Party Chairman David North, responds to Twitter posts by DSA leaders in support of the 1940 assassination of Leon Trotsky by an agent of Stalin’s secret police.
David North•
Praising the crimes of Stalinism: The DSA and the assassination of Leon Trotsky
During the past week, numerous prominent leaders of the Democratic Socialists of America have posted tweets celebrating the 1940 assassination of Leon Trotsky and portraying the murderer, the Stalinist GPU agent Ramon Mercader, as a hero.
Eric London•
The political lessons of the pandemic and the fight for socialism in 2021
The pandemic is a “trigger event” that manifests in a highly concentrated form the contradictions of the global capitalist system and is unleashing long-suppressed forces of social transformation.
Joseph Kishore, David North•
David North•
Patrick Martin, Joseph Kishore•
Statement of the WSWS International Editorial Board•
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party•
Joseph Kishore•
Recent online meetings
150 years since the Paris Commune
On Saturday, April 3, the WSWS hosted an international online meeting to mark the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune of 1871.
David North, Alex Lantier, Barry Grey, Therese LeClerc•
WSWS online meeting
150 years since the birth of Rosa Luxemburg
The meeting examined Luxemburg’s role as a Marxist theoretician and political leader, and discussed the significance of her legacy to the contemporary struggle to build a Marxist leadership.
Peter Schwarz, Ulrich Rippert, David North, Johannes Stern•
WSWS online Q&A with David North and Eric London
Sylvia Ageloff and the assassination of Leon Trotsky
David North and Eric London speak on the significance of the latest revelations, in the context of the decades-long Security and the Fourth International investigation by the ICFI into Trotsky’s assassination by Stalin’s GPU.
David North, Eric London•
The Trump coup and the rise of fascism: Where is America going?
This essay is based on the transcript of the remarks made by David North, the chairman of the international editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site and national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party (US), in opening an online discussion held January 17 on the significance of the fascist assault on the Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021.
David North•
Socialism and the Fight Against War
Fifteen years after the United States launched the “war on terror,” the entire world is being dragged into an ever-expanding maelstrom of imperialist violence.
Statement of the International Committee of the Fourth International•
The war crimes in Gaza and Israel’s crisis
The eruption of violence against Gaza is driven by the immense crisis and contradictions within Israeli society itself.
Statement of the World Socialist Web Site•
Stop Israel’s war on Gaza, ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem
The Netanyahu regime has killed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza and wounded hundreds more in clashes around the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Patrick Martin•
End the US war on Afghanistan
Washington has no intention of ending the longest war in US history; at best, it plans only to continue it by other means.
Bill Van Auken•
Andre Damon•
Bill Van Auken•
Bill Van Auken•
Andre Damon•
Eric London•
US CEO pay soars during pandemic
The gulf between the incomes of corporate executives and that of workers expanded dramatically over the course of 2020.
Marcus Day•
The case for expropriation: Billionaires’ wealth surged 60 percent in first year of pandemic
The newly released Forbes list reveals that in 2020, as COVID-19 was sweeping the world and killing millions, billionaire wealth skyrocketed as never before.
Niles Niemuth•
Capitalism vs. socialism: The pandemic and the global class struggle
One year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” the response of the ruling class to the pandemic has led to the deaths of more than 2.2 million people.
David North•
CDC report: Biggest drop in US life expectancy since World War II
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in the first half of 2020, life expectancy dropped by more than one year as COVID-19 ripped through the population.
Kate Randall•
Andre Damon•
Nick Beams•
Niles Niemuth•
Eric London•
Niles Niemuth•
One hundred and ninety-nine minutes in January
Testimony this past week revealed that top officials within the military delayed deploying National Guard troops during the January 6 insurrection for one hundred and ninety-nine minutes.
Joseph Kishore, David North•
US Capitol Police inspector general report confirms police stand-down during January 6 coup attempt
The damning report is the second government document released in the last week to confirm the role of the state in facilitating Trump’s attempted coup.
Jacob Crosse•
Trump intensifies fascistic agitation at CPAC conference
The elevation of an increasingly fascistic tendency in American politics is rooted in the reality of capitalism and the homicidal policy of the ruling class in response to the pandemic.
Patrick Martin•
Impeachment video reveals scale and intensity of Trump-incited assault on Capitol
The video that opened the impeachment trial leaves no doubt that what occurred on January 6 was a coup d’état whose aim was the establishment of a presidential dictatorship.
Joseph Kishore, David North•
Andre Damon•
Patrick Martin•
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party•
David North•
Patrick Martin•
Forward to the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees!
The International Committee of the Fourth International will mark May Day with an online rally to issue a call for the formation of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).
Statement of the International Committee of the Fourth International•
The sentencing of former UAW President Dennis Williams and the case for rank-and-file committees
The rise and fall of the former United Auto Workers president makes it clear the problem is not a few “bad apples,” but the entire organization.
Jerry White•
The RWDSU’s debacle at Amazon
The crushing defeat for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama plant exposes the extent of workers’ alienation from the pro-corporate unions.
Tom Hall, Joseph Kishore•
Growth in class struggle in the US pits workers against the pro-capitalist trade unions
The treachery of what is falsely called the “labor movement” is one of the chief factors behind the scale of the death and suffering of the pandemic.
Tom Hall•
Evan Blake•
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (US)•
Tennessee Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee•
Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee•
Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee•
Police violence is directed against working people and youth of all racial and ethnic backgrounds
The unending epidemic of police murder is an outgrowth of the rotten social and economic conditions which define life in the United States.
Niles Niemuth•
The murder of Daunte Wright and the class issues in the fight against police violence
Police violence is a feature of the capitalist system, a social and economic order that exploits the labor of the working class to the benefit of a small minority at the top of society.
Niles Niemuth•
The trial of Derek Chauvin and the epidemic of police murder in America
The testimony over the last three days has confirmed what millions of workers around the world already know: George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020 was a brutal police murder in cold blood.
Trévon Austin•
The protests against police murder: The way forward
The fight against police violence must be connected to the struggles of the working class, in the United States and internationally, against inequality, war and the capitalist system.
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (US)•
Niles Niemuth•
Patrick Martin•
Niles Niemuth, Joseph Kishore•
Niles Niemuth•
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party•
For the unity of the working class in the United States and Latin America
This resolution was passed by the Fourth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US), held from July 31-August 5 in Detroit, Michigan.
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After a century of plunder, US imperialism turns away Central American refugees
The American ruling class has systematically destroyed Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador for over a century, forcing millions to flee their homes.
Eric London•
Biden launches barbaric attack on immigrants
The scenes playing out across the US-Mexico border disqualify the US government from ever lecturing the world on “human rights.”
Eric London•
No to anti-Asian racism and xenophobia!
The mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia this week, whose victims were predominantly Asian American, have thrown into tragic relief the surge in anti-Asian violence in the United States amid the demonization of China by the US government.
Andre Damon•
Bill Van Auken•
Jordan Shilton•
Eric London•
Norissa Santa Cruz—SEP candidate for US vice president•
Eric London•
Free Julian Assange!
This resolution was unanimously adopted by the Socialist Equality Party Congress, held July 22–27.
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The working class must demand an end to the show trial of Julian Assange
Assange’s kangaroo court extradition hearing has seen the UK, which boasts of being one of the world’s oldest democracies, sink to the level of a tinpot dictatorship.
Thomas Scripps•
The show trial of Julian Assange: A cruel and pseudolegal farce
Yesterday’s hearing in London made clear, if any further proof was needed, that the prosecution of Assange is a shameful and degrading show trial, intended to railroad an innocent man to prison or death.
Thomas Scripps, Kevin Reed•
Vindictive court rulings prove British state wants Assange dead
Judge Vanessa Baraitser has decreed that Assange will remain behind bars and that his extradition show-trial will proceed in May, even as the coronavirus pandemic spreads rapidly in British prisons.
Thomas Scripps•
Eric London, Thomas Scripps•
Chris Marsden•
Niles Niemuth•
Mike Head•
Principles
Membership in the Socialist Equality Party is based on agreement with its Statement of Principles. The principles of the SEP incorporate the essential experiences of the revolutionary upheavals of the 20th century and the corresponding struggle waged by Marxists for the program of world socialist revolution.
Leadership
David North has played a leading role in the international socialist movement for forty-five years. He is presently the chairperson of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site and the national chairperson of the Socialist Equality Party (United States).
His many published works include: The Heritage We Defend; The Crisis of American Democracy; In Defense of Leon Trotsky; The Russian Revolution and the Unfinished Twentieth Century; The Frankfurt School, Postmodernism and the Politics of the Pseudo-Left and A Quarter Century of War.
Joseph Kishore has held the position of national secretary of the SEP (United States) since 2008. He joined the SEP in 1999 after becoming politically radicalized by the Clinton administration’s war against Serbia. Over the past two decades, he has written hundreds of articles for the World Socialist Web Site and as national secretary has directed the party’s intervention in the struggles of workers and youth.
Lawrence Porter joined the Workers League, the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party, in 1972. He has played a leading role in the Trotskyist movement in the US for several decades. He was elected assistant national secretary of the SEP at its founding congress in August, 2008.
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) is the student and youth movement of the Socialist Equality Party. It fights to unite students and young people for peace, equality, the rights of the working class and socialism.
