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Who We Are
The Socialist Party of Boston is the Boston-area local of the Socialist Party USA, the successor to Eugene Debs's and Norman Thomas's Socialist Party of America. We are a democratic socialist, feminist, anti-racist party, and we strive to establish a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control.
Socialism is not mere government ownership; it is not a welfare state; it is not a repressive bureaucracy. Socialism is a new social and economic order in which workers and consumers control production and community residents control their neighborhoods, homes, and schools. The production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. Socialism produces a constantly renewed future by not plundering the resources of the earth.
Radical democracy is the cornerstone not only of our socialism, but also of our strategy. A society based on radical democracy, with power exercised through people's organizations, requires a socialist transformation from below. People's organizations cannot be created by legislation, nor can they spring into being only on the eve of a revolution. Our tactics in the struggle for radical democratic change reflect our ultimate goal of a society founded on principles of egalitarian, non-exploitative and non-violent relations among all people and between all peoples.
Our aim is the creation of a new social order, a society in which the commanding value is the infinite preciousness of every woman, man and child.
You can learn more by reading the Socialist Party's Statement of Principles. If you agree with our principles, we encourage you to get involved and join the Socialist Party today. For more information, feel free to contact us at
- Socialist Party of Boston
- PO Box 15342
- Boston, MA 02215
or by sending an email to "spboston (at) spboston (dot) org".
Events
For a more complete list of upcoming events in Boston, check out our current events listing.
4/27: April Local Meeting
The Socialist Party of Boston met at noon on Sunday, 27 April 2008 in the Lucy Parsons Center. With May Day right around the corner, we heard back from the regional antiwar conference held the previous day and planned a number events for the coming weeks and months. For more information, check out the full minutes.
5/16: Stand Out Against the Wars
The Socialist Party of Boston will hold an antiwar action on the next Iraq Moratorium day, Friday, 16 May. We need to promote vigorous opposition to the war on all levels -- from local demonstrations such as this to the large regional and national demonstrations we have helped organize in the past, and expect to work on in the future as well.
Join us in Copley Square, starting at 5 pm, going until the end. We will stand out with signs and banners for traffic, and engage passersby to keep the war in Iraq an issue, and agitation against it alive.
5/17: Petition for Ballot Access
Join us as we collect signatures to help get Socialist Party Congressional candidate Todd Vachon on the ballot. Todd is running for US Congress in Connecticut's Second District, and we'll be carpooling down from Boston and other locations across New England for a day of electoral activism. Please contact us if you're interested in joining the fun.
5/25: May Local Meeting
The Socialist Party of Boston will meet at noon on Sunday, 25 May 2008 in the Lucy Parsons Center. We'll have a chance to catch up on the aftereffects of our May Day actions and Iraq Moratorium demonstration, and will also wrap up planning for the upcoming performance of Howard Zinn's Marx in Soho, the National Assembly to End the War in Iraq, and all the rest of our Socialist Summer 2008 projects. For more information, check out the preliminary agenda.
The Lucy Parsons Center is located at 549 Columbus Ave. in the South End, near the Mass Ave. T stop on the Orange Line, the Symphony T stop on the Green Line (E), and the #1 bus line.
5/31: Howard Zinn's Marx in Soho
- Imagine all Karl Marx would have to say after one hundred years of just being able to watch...
On Saturday, 31 May, Socialist Party Co-chair Jerry Levy will perform Howard Zinn's one-person play Marx in Soho. The show will start at 8 pm in Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave., fifth floor, by the Chinatown T station on the Orange Line, the Boylston T station on the Green Line, and the Downtown Crossing T station on the Red and Blue Lines.
Tickets are $10-$20 sliding scale at the door. Click here (pdf) for more information or to find out how to reserve tickets in advance.
Books and literature
The Socialist Party of Boston has a small library of radical books for sale, listed here. We're offering each of them for $5, well below the cover price. To order, or for more information, email us at "spboston (at) spboston (dot) org" or stop by an upcoming meeting or event.
We have a wide variety of literature outlining our past, present, principles and positions, available for free online. This includes
- Pamphlets and statements.
- Socialism as Radical Democracy, the Statement of Principles of the Socialist Party USA.
- "You Don't Have to be a Saint to be a Socialist", a primer on democratic socialism.
- A Century of Struggle, History of the Socialist Party USA, 1901-2007.
- Socialist Party USA: Who We Are, Where We Stand.
- A Lot of What's Best About America is Socialist! Don't believe it? Take a look.
- Democratic Socialism, the way to jobs, peace and freedom.
- International Women's Day, our day of empowerment, resistance, and celebration.
- May Day Greetings, a joint statement by Rune Lund, a Member of the Danish Parliament representing the Red-Green Alliance and Eric Chester, Convener of the International Commission of the Socialist Party USA.
- Recent back issues of our magazines, The Socialist and Socialist Women.
- The Socialist, May Day 2008.
- The Socialist, International Women's Day 2008.
- The Socialist, Year-end 2007.
- Socialist Women, Fall 2007.
- The Socialist, Fall 2007.
- Socialist Women, Summer 2007.
- The Socialist, May Day 2007.
- The Socialist, International Women's Day 2007.
- Socialist Women, Fall 2006.
- The Socialist, Fall 2006.
- Socialist Women, Summer 2006.
- The Socialist, May Day 2006.
- The Socialist, International Women's Day 2006.
- Issues of our bimonthly Boston bulletin, with brief announcements of news and events.
- Volume 3, Number 2, April-May 2008.
- Volume 3, Number 1, February-March 2008.
- Volume 2, Number 6, December 2007-January 2008.
- Volume 2, Number 5, October-November 2007.
- Volume 2, Number 4, August-September 2007.
- Volume 2, Number 3, June-July 2007.
- Volume 2, Number 2, April-May 2007.
- Volume 2, Number 1, February-March 2007.
- Volume 1, Number 1, December 2006-January 2007.
Recent Statements
Child Care as a Social Justice Issue
- 11 April 2008
- Socialist Party Women's Commisssion
For many women these days, child care is a major issue. As parents, they face formidable, sometimes insurmountable, hurdles trying to find affordable, high-quality care for our young children. As child care workers, they commit themselves to a career characterized by low status, low pay, and insufficient benefits. This should not come as a startling revelation, since an abundance of documentation exists on both these issues. In fact, the solution is also clear: uniting for quality child care means linking affordability and accessibility to the right of child care workers to good wages, benefits, and working conditions; it means expanding the struggle for quality child care to include the quality of the program, the quality of the workplace, and the quality of society as a whole. Demands and action must occur in all these areas if our communities are ever to create and maintain a just, equitable, and compassionate child care system... read more.
Statement on Tibet
- 26 March 2008
- Socialist Party International Commission
The unfolding events in Tibet are a tragedy. The Chinese government has occupied Tibet for more than fifty years, using every conceivable method to incorporate the occupied territory into an integral part of China. Tibetan cultural and religious sites have been desecrated and Buddhist monks have been forced to sign a pledge of allegiance to China. In its desire to extract the valuable natural resources of Tibet, the Chinese government has ignored essential environmental safeguards... read more.
Support American Axle Workers
- 9 March 2008
- Socialist Party Labor Commission
The Socialist Party USA stands in solidarity with the American Axle workers as they carry out a strike in defense of their wages and benefits. The American Axle Corporation has attempted to reduce wages to $14/hour from $23/hour and cut retiree pension benefits. An almost 40% wage decrease is intolerable under any circumstances, but in a time of financial surplus - when American Axle is able to pay a hefty dividend to its shareholders it is simply unconscionable. This episode is the most recent example of the overall offensive waged by corporations against manufacturing workers in America... read more.
Links
Our affiliates are:
- Socialist Party USA, the national organization (MySpace, Facebook)
- Socialist National Committee, the SP's electoral arm
- Young People's Socialist League, autonomous youth affiliate
- Socialist Party of Massachusetts (MySpace)
More links can be found here.