International Socialist Organization
Encyclopedia
The International Socialist Organization (ISO) is a revolutionary socialist organization in the United States
that identifies with the politics of International Socialism, a current of Trotskyism
, and the Marxist political tradition that American socialist writer and activist Hal Draper
called "socialism from below
.".
, which it identifies as a system in which society's collective wealth and resources are democratically controlled to meet human need. To achieve socialism, the ISO argues that the working class
must lead a revolutionary transformation of society. Because capitalism is a global system, the ISO argues that the struggle for socialism must be international in scope. The ISO holds that the former Soviet Union
and Eastern Bloc
, as well as China
and Cuba
, are examples of bureaucratic state capitalism
rather than socialism. While the ISO supports struggles for economic, political, and social reforms, it also maintains that exploitation, oppression, war, and environmental destruction cannot be eliminated until capitalism is replaced by socialism.
The ISO originated in 1976 among a number of groups in the International Socialists
(IS) that were growing increasingly critical of the organization's leadership. Among them was the self-identified Left Faction, which was led by Cal and Barbara Winslow and supported by the IS's Canadian
and British
members. The Left Faction and its international supporters maintained that the IS's leadership had acquired a top-down style of operating that depoliticized the organization and placed too much emphasis on sending student activists into working class employment (a tactic referred to as "industrialization"). These disputes followed the disagreements over the 1974 revolution in Portugal
. In 1977, the Left Faction was expelled from the IS, and immediately formed the International Socialist Organization. The ISO began publication of its paper, Socialist Worker, shortly after its formation, and continues to produce a monthly print version, as well as a daily updated web site, Socialistworker.org.
Some of the political theories adopted by the ISO had been developed in the British Socialist Workers Party (SWP), including that of state capitalism. State capitalist theory identifies the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc as exploitative class societies driven by military competition with private Western capitalism, rather than as the deformed workers' states that Trotsky maintained they were in The Revolution Betrayed
.
Having a small membership in the 1980s, the ISO found that its primary organizing efforts toward rank and file
work in the unions was unsustainable. From the early 1980s, the group began organizing and recruiting on university campuses. The decision to focus primarily on students was regarded as a necessary retreat, given the conservative nature of the Reagan era.
In the 1990s the ISO expanded and participated in a series of movements and campaigns, including the movement against the first Gulf War
and other US military interventions, against racism
, and for abortion rights.
The group was involved in building a number of the major protests against corporate globalization
in the early 2000s, and has been active in opposing what it refers to as "US imperialism" connected with the "war on terror
" in the wake of September 11th
, including the invasion of Afghanistan
as well as the Iraq War. The group has also been active in opposing Israel
's occupation of Palestine.
In 2001 the ISO was expelled from the International Socialist Tendency
(IST) after a dispute with the British SWP. This dispute was framed by the SWP as a critique of the ISO's conservative approach to the anti-corporate/anti-capitalist movement. The ISO disputed this claim and criticized the SWP for maintaining what the ISO viewed as an exaggerated perspective for the 1990s, which the SWP characterized as 'the 1930s in slow motion.'
After some years with very little contact between the ISO and the British SWP, relations seem to be improving. Ahmed Shawki
, a leading member of the ISO, was invited in 2010 to speak at the SWP summer school while SWP National Secretary Martin Smith spoke at the ISO's Socialism 2010 conference, an invitation which had not been made for a number of years.
," with a bi-monthly Spanish language supplement, Obrero Socialista.. The ISO also distributes the International Socialist Review and titles from the publishing house Haymarket Books
, both of which are run by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change.
The ISO does not support the Republican party or Democratic party, both of which it views as political representatives of corporate power. The group has, however, campaigned for the Green Party in various races and assisted Ralph Nader
's presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004. In California in 2006, ISO member Todd Chretien
challenged Diane Feinstein for a seat in the United States Senate on the Green Party ticket, receiving 139,425 votes (1.8 percent).
, actor Wallace Shawn
, The Nation sportswriter Dave Zirin
, writer Glenn Greenwald
, journalist Amy Goodman
, environmental writer John Bellamy Foster
, The Nation contributor Jeremy Scahill
, Iraq Veterans Against the War member Camilo Mejía
, and Palestinian rights activists Omar Barghouti
and Ali Abunimah
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that identifies with the politics of International Socialism, a current of Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
, and the Marxist political tradition that American socialist writer and activist Hal Draper
Hal Draper
Hal Draper was an American socialist activist and author who played a significant role in the Berkeley, California, Free Speech Movement and is perhaps best known for his extensive scholarship on the history and meaning of the thought of Karl Marx.Draper was a lifelong advocate of what he called...
called "socialism from below
Socialism from below
Socialism from below , founded in 1997 and disbanded in 2007, was one of two socialist groups in France based on the International Socialism tradition of the Trotskyist movement...
.".
Ideology
The ISO advocates replacing the capitalist system with socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, which it identifies as a system in which society's collective wealth and resources are democratically controlled to meet human need. To achieve socialism, the ISO argues that the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
must lead a revolutionary transformation of society. Because capitalism is a global system, the ISO argues that the struggle for socialism must be international in scope. The ISO holds that the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
, as well as China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, are examples of bureaucratic state capitalism
State capitalism
The term State capitalism has various meanings, but is usually described as commercial economic activity undertaken by the state with management of the productive forces in a capitalist manner, even if the state is nominally socialist. State capitalism is usually characterized by the dominance or...
rather than socialism. While the ISO supports struggles for economic, political, and social reforms, it also maintains that exploitation, oppression, war, and environmental destruction cannot be eliminated until capitalism is replaced by socialism.
Strategy
The ISO identifies as a Marxist organization, and advocates the emancipation of the working class led by a revolutionary workers' party. While it supports existing trade unions as essential components of workers' struggles, it maintains that workers need to organize themselves independently of the trade union officialdom. The ISO also maintains that racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression are perpetuated by the capitalist system to keep the working class divided against itself, and therefore supports a range of social movements and struggles for social equality and civil rights. The ISO also identifies itself as a Leninist organization because it calls for the formation of a revolutionary party by the most militant workers, and states that it is committed to playing a role in helping to build the foundations for such a party.History
The ISO originated in 1976 among a number of groups in the International Socialists
International Socialists (US)
The International Socialists was a Third Camp Trotskyist group in the United States.The roots of the IS went back to the fall of 1964 when the Berkeley locals of the SP-SDF and YPSL left with 16 members to found the Independent Socialist Club led by Hal Draper and Joel Geier...
(IS) that were growing increasingly critical of the organization's leadership. Among them was the self-identified Left Faction, which was led by Cal and Barbara Winslow and supported by the IS's Canadian
International Socialists (Canada)
The International Socialists is a Canadian socialist organization. It is part of the International Socialist Tendency. The I.S. publishes an English-language monthly paper, Socialist Worker and holds an annual Marxism conference every spring in Toronto....
and British
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
members. The Left Faction and its international supporters maintained that the IS's leadership had acquired a top-down style of operating that depoliticized the organization and placed too much emphasis on sending student activists into working class employment (a tactic referred to as "industrialization"). These disputes followed the disagreements over the 1974 revolution in Portugal
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
. In 1977, the Left Faction was expelled from the IS, and immediately formed the International Socialist Organization. The ISO began publication of its paper, Socialist Worker, shortly after its formation, and continues to produce a monthly print version, as well as a daily updated web site, Socialistworker.org.
Some of the political theories adopted by the ISO had been developed in the British Socialist Workers Party (SWP), including that of state capitalism. State capitalist theory identifies the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc as exploitative class societies driven by military competition with private Western capitalism, rather than as the deformed workers' states that Trotsky maintained they were in The Revolution Betrayed
The Revolution Betrayed
The Revolution Betrayed: What Is the Soviet Union and Where Is It Going? is a book by the Russian Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky, published in 1937, analyzing and criticizing Stalinism and the post-Lenin development in the Soviet Union....
.
Having a small membership in the 1980s, the ISO found that its primary organizing efforts toward rank and file
Rank and file
In politics and labor unions the rank and file are the individual members of an organization, exclusive of its leadership. The phrase originated in the military, denoting the horizontal "ranks" and vertical "files" of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the noncommissioned officers....
work in the unions was unsustainable. From the early 1980s, the group began organizing and recruiting on university campuses. The decision to focus primarily on students was regarded as a necessary retreat, given the conservative nature of the Reagan era.
In the 1990s the ISO expanded and participated in a series of movements and campaigns, including the movement against the first Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and other US military interventions, against racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and for abortion rights.
The group was involved in building a number of the major protests against corporate globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
in the early 2000s, and has been active in opposing what it refers to as "US imperialism" connected with the "war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
" in the wake of September 11th
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, including the invasion of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
as well as the Iraq War. The group has also been active in opposing Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's occupation of Palestine.
In 2001 the ISO was expelled from the International Socialist Tendency
International Socialist Tendency
The International Socialist Tendency is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations based around the ideas of Tony Cliff, founder of the Socialist Workers Party in Britain...
(IST) after a dispute with the British SWP. This dispute was framed by the SWP as a critique of the ISO's conservative approach to the anti-corporate/anti-capitalist movement. The ISO disputed this claim and criticized the SWP for maintaining what the ISO viewed as an exaggerated perspective for the 1990s, which the SWP characterized as 'the 1930s in slow motion.'
After some years with very little contact between the ISO and the British SWP, relations seem to be improving. Ahmed Shawki
Ahmed Shawki (socialist)
Ahmed Shawki is an Arab American socialist activist and journalist, the editor of the International Socialist Review and a leader of the International Socialist Organization...
, a leading member of the ISO, was invited in 2010 to speak at the SWP summer school while SWP National Secretary Martin Smith spoke at the ISO's Socialism 2010 conference, an invitation which had not been made for a number of years.
Publications
The organization publishes a daily online and monthly print newspaper, "Socialist WorkerSocialist Worker
Socialist Worker is the name of several socialist/communist newspapers associated with the International Socialist Tendency...
," with a bi-monthly Spanish language supplement, Obrero Socialista.. The ISO also distributes the International Socialist Review and titles from the publishing house Haymarket Books
Haymarket Books
Haymarket Books is a non-profit left-wing book publisher and distributor. It is published by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change...
, both of which are run by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change.
Activities
The ISO participates in several local and national progressive movements. These include the antiwar movement, efforts to end the death penalty, support for gay marriage and abortion rights, the struggle for immigration rights, among others.The ISO does not support the Republican party or Democratic party, both of which it views as political representatives of corporate power. The group has, however, campaigned for the Green Party in various races and assisted Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
's presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004. In California in 2006, ISO member Todd Chretien
Todd Chretien
Todd Chretien , an American activist. Chretien is a leading member of the International Socialist Organization. He was the Green Party candidate for United States Senate in California in 2006.-Background:...
challenged Diane Feinstein for a seat in the United States Senate on the Green Party ticket, receiving 139,425 votes (1.8 percent).
Socialism conference
The ISO is the co-sponsor, along with the Center for Economic Research and Social Change, of an annual conference entitled "Socialism." Speakers at past Socialism conferences include filmmaker and author Tariq AliTariq Ali
Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...
, actor Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn
Wallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
, The Nation sportswriter Dave Zirin
Dave Zirin
Dave Zirin is an American political sportswriter who is currently the sports editor for The Nation, a weekly published liberal magazine dedicated to politics and culture.- Career :...
, writer Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...
, journalist Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
, environmental writer John Bellamy Foster
John Bellamy Foster
John Bellamy Foster is a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon and also editor of Monthly Review, an independent socialist magazine. His writings have focused on political economy, environmental sociology, and Marxist theory...
, The Nation contributor Jeremy Scahill
Jeremy Scahill
Jeremy Scahill is an American investigative journalist and author whose work focuses on the use of private military companies. He is the author of the best-selling book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, winner of a George Polk Book Award. He also serves as a...
, Iraq Veterans Against the War member Camilo Mejía
Camilo Mejía
Camilo Ernesto Mejía is a Nicaraguan American who was a former staff sergeant of the Florida National Guard, best known for being an anti-war activist and deserter...
, and Palestinian rights activists Omar Barghouti
Omar Barghouti
Omar Barghouti is a founding committee member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel who is currently studying for a masters degree in philosophy at Tel Aviv University...
and Ali Abunimah
Ali Abunimah
Ali Hasan Abunimah is a Palestinian American journalist and co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a not-for-profit, independent online publication about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Born in Washington D.C., he spent his early years in the United Kingdom and Belgium before returning to the...
.
Notable members
- Sportswriter Dave ZirinDave ZirinDave Zirin is an American political sportswriter who is currently the sports editor for The Nation, a weekly published liberal magazine dedicated to politics and culture.- Career :...
- Activist and historian Paul Le Blanc
- Journalist, author and womens' rights activist Sharon Smith
- Essayist and critic Scott McLemee
- Journalist, author and LGBTI activist, Sherry WolfSherry Wolf (activist)For the American surrealist painter and designer, see Sherry Wolf .Sherry Wolf is an American revolutionary socialist, Jewish anti-Zionist, independent journalist and author. Openly lesbian, she was on the Executive Committee for the LGBT National Equality March for full civil rights in October 2009...
- Board of directors member of Haymarket BooksHaymarket BooksHaymarket Books is a non-profit left-wing book publisher and distributor. It is published by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change...
and National Writers UnionNational Writers UnionNational Writers Union , founded on November 19, 1981, is the trade union in the United States for freelance and contract writers: journalists, book and short fiction authors, business and technical writers, web content providers, and poets...
activist Anthony ArnoveAnthony ArnoveAnthony Arnove is a freelance literary editor, agent and activist based in Brooklyn. He is on the board of directors of Haymarket Books, and is active in the National Writers Union and the International Socialist Organization.- Early life :... - Former Green PartyGreen Party (United States)The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
candidate for United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Todd ChretienTodd ChretienTodd Chretien , an American activist. Chretien is a leading member of the International Socialist Organization. He was the Green Party candidate for United States Senate in California in 2006.-Background:... - Author and National Council of Arab-Americans steering committee member Ahmed ShawkiAhmed Shawki (socialist)Ahmed Shawki is an Arab American socialist activist and journalist, the editor of the International Socialist Review and a leader of the International Socialist Organization...
See also
- SocialismSocialismSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
- MarxismMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
- TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
- List of Trotskyist internationals
- Workers' Councils
- International SocialistsInternational Socialists (US)The International Socialists was a Third Camp Trotskyist group in the United States.The roots of the IS went back to the fall of 1964 when the Berkeley locals of the SP-SDF and YPSL left with 16 members to found the Independent Socialist Club led by Hal Draper and Joel Geier...
- Democratic Socialists of AmericaDemocratic Socialists of AmericaDemocratic Socialists of America is a social-democratic organization in the United States and the U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International, an international federation of social-democratic,democratic socialist and labor political parties and organizations.DSA was formed in 1982 by a merger of...
External links
- Official Website of ISO
- Socialist Worker - Paper of the ISO
- Socialism conference - Annual conference co-sponsored by the ISO and the Center for Economic Research and Social Change
- http://www.isreview.org/- International Socialist Review
- http://www.haymarketbooks.org- Haymarket Books