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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
6/28: June Local Meeting
The Socialist Party of Boston met at 1 pm on Sunday, 28 June 2009 in the Lucy Parsons Center. We discussed several initiatives from the recent SP National Committee meeting, worked on final details for our anti-imperialist picnic, and made a lot of preparations for the National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations along with mobilizations that will follow it later this summer and fall.
For more information, check out the full minutes.
7/3: Boston De-Militarized Zone
Join the Socialist Party and the Stop the Wars Coalition on the first and third Friday of every month, 5:30 pm at the corner of Mass Ave. and Boylston St., to establish a De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) where all those who wish can congregate to denigrate and repudiate the war machine and celebrate the movement against war and oppression.
Bring your signs and minds, ready to chalk, talk, play music, paint art, and sing leftist songs with caring and sharing, in unity declaring that we are "chilling against the villins" in this zone to show our independence from the state.
7/4: Anti-Imperialist Fourth of July Picnic
Don't let fourth of July jingoism get you down! Join us to build world peace and celebrate independence for all nations with an anti-imperialist fourth of July picnic hosted by the Socialist Party of Massachusetts.
Comrades from across Massachusetts and New England will converge on the Charles River Park in Boston on Saturday, 4 July, 12-4 pm, to celebrate the anti-imperialist legacy of the Fourth of July and enjoy food and fun in good company.
Bring some food to share, and we'll provide the charcoal, burgers (veggie and otherwise), frisbees, and Wobbly song books. No stars and stripes, please.
The Charles River Park is located off Soldiers Field Road at Everett St. in Allston. Look for our banners and call 248/303-3785 if you have trouble finding us. Download the flyer here (pdf).
7/10: National Antiwar Assembly
The National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations will hold its second open conference at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, PA, on 10-12 July.
Like last year's assembly in Cleveland, OH, this national antiwar conference will be open to all peace activists, who will have the opportunity to submit action proposals, join in the debate, and help make decisions based on one person, one vote.
For more information, and to register for the conference, visit NatAssembly.org.
7/26: July Local Meeting
The Socialist Party of Boston will meet at 1 pm on Sunday, 26 July 2009 in the Lucy Parsons Center. We will hear back from the National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations and plan for major actions coming up in the fall, including the G20 mobilization in Pittsburgh; antiwar actions in October; Rosie Jimenez Day; and the Socialist Party National Convention. For more information, check out the preliminary agenda.
Members, supporters, and the curious are all invited to attend.
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.
Recent Statements
Statement on the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion
- 9 June 2009
- Socialist Party Queer Commission
- Remember Stonewall?
- Do we even know what Stonewall meant?
The Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian neighborhood bar with a large number of African American and Latino patrons, was also well-known as a safe space for those who did not conform to gender norms: butch lesbians, effeminate gay men, and transsexual and transgendered persons before the terms were in popular use. All of these factors brought the police to Stonewall in 1969 for the purpose of illegally raiding the bar, and arresting its occupants -- an action not unknown in New York in the 1960s... read more.
May Day 2009 -- Stop the War at Home
- 1 May 2009
- Socialist Party Women’s Commission
Stop the attacks on immigrant workers, on the unemployed, on students, on working people swindled by the banks, on women facing all the consequences of human service budget cuts, on veterans of U.S. wars and occupations. Enough!
We demand an end to the policies and practices of the U.S. government that ignore our right, and deny us our ability, to survive.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, and Mexico who are casualties of U.S. and U.S. –funded wars of conquest and occupation (including the so-called “war on drugs”)... read more.
Message to all Workers on Their Day
- 26 April 2009
- Socialist Party USA
On this International Workers Day, the majority of the workers find themselves in a great dilemma. It is obvious that free trade and deregulation have caused millions to lose their jobs. Even the United States, once the major economic power of the world, is in the process of an economic collapse. Today, more than ever, is a time to consider casting off the chains of capitalist crisis.
The truth is that the majority of the workers understand very well the economic depressions are a permanent part of capitalism. The majority of the workers are intellectuals in an organic way. Without any type of formal economic education, they know what is going on because they are forced to live capitalist economics. It is irritating to hear so many socialist intellectuals pontificate that all workers have to do is realize that they are being exploited and it will light their revolutionary fire. Workers understand that they are being exploited, what is lacking is the organizational means to ignite the spark... read more
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. An electronic edition of the magazine, The Socialist WebZine, was founded in October 2008.
- The Socialist, January-February 2009.
- The Socialist, November-December 2008 not yet online.
- Socialist Women, Fall 2008.
- The Socialist, Summer 2008.
- 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.
- Our bimonthly Boston bulletin, with brief announcements of news and events
Links
- 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.