League for the Revolutionary Party
Encyclopedia
The League for the Revolutionary Party is a Trotskyist organisation in the United States
.
The group was founded by a faction of the now defunct Revolutionary Socialist League
in 1976. The RSL had in turn split from the International Socialists in 1973.
The LRP took from the RSL a strong stress on the need for a Leninist party and coupled this with an emphasis on the general strike tactic. They also developed their own version of what is called "state capitalist theory" to explain the class nature of the USSR and similar states. In later years they abandoned use of the term "state capitalist" in favor of the term "statified capitalism, arguing the difference between Stalinist and traditional capitalist countries is in the form that the ruling class holds its property, and that the proletariat is still exploited and surplus value created in the same way. The LRP views the state in Stalinist countries as a weaker form of the capitalist state, less capable of exploiting the workers but still ruling in the interest of the bureaucracy. This form of state is seen as a compromise by the ruling class, sacrificing a portion of profits to pacify the workers and prevent proletarian revolutions. As such, the LRP viewed the collapse of the Soviet Union as a defeat for the workers not because the workers lost control of the state, as many Trotskyists believe, but because of the increased rate of exploitation and destruction of social welfare programs that accompanied the collapse.
The group is based in New York
with a branch in Chicago
. It also organizes a group of international co-thinkers called the Communist Organisation for a Fourth International. They publish a journal called Proletarian Revolution, formerly Socialist Voice, to which the late Sy Landy
and Walter Daum have been notable contributors.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The group was founded by a faction of the now defunct Revolutionary Socialist League
Revolutionary Socialist League (US)
The Revolutionary Socialist League was a Trotskyist group in the United States.The RSL originated in the Revolutionary Tendency within the International Socialists led by Sy Landy and Ron Tabor...
in 1976. The RSL had in turn split from the International Socialists in 1973.
The LRP took from the RSL a strong stress on the need for a Leninist party and coupled this with an emphasis on the general strike tactic. They also developed their own version of what is called "state capitalist theory" to explain the class nature of the USSR and similar states. In later years they abandoned use of the term "state capitalist" in favor of the term "statified capitalism, arguing the difference between Stalinist and traditional capitalist countries is in the form that the ruling class holds its property, and that the proletariat is still exploited and surplus value created in the same way. The LRP views the state in Stalinist countries as a weaker form of the capitalist state, less capable of exploiting the workers but still ruling in the interest of the bureaucracy. This form of state is seen as a compromise by the ruling class, sacrificing a portion of profits to pacify the workers and prevent proletarian revolutions. As such, the LRP viewed the collapse of the Soviet Union as a defeat for the workers not because the workers lost control of the state, as many Trotskyists believe, but because of the increased rate of exploitation and destruction of social welfare programs that accompanied the collapse.
The group is based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with a branch in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. It also organizes a group of international co-thinkers called the Communist Organisation for a Fourth International. They publish a journal called Proletarian Revolution, formerly Socialist Voice, to which the late Sy Landy
Sy Landy
Sy Landy was an American Trotskyist politician.Born in Brooklyn, Landy studied at Brooklyn College, where he joined the third camp Trotskyist Independent Socialist League , led by Max Shachtman. The ISL moved away from revolutionary politics and merged with Norman Thomas' Socialist Party in 1958...
and Walter Daum have been notable contributors.