Socialist Equality Party (United States)


The Socialist Equality Party is an American Trotskyist political party. SEP first formed in 1964 as the American Committee for the Fourth International, created by expelled members of the Socialist Workers Party. SEP and its previous forms were associated with the International Committee of the Fourth International, a Trotskyist political international.
SEP describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party, with a core belief that capitalism can never be reformed and only "a revolutionary movement that has as its aim the establishment of workers' power" can win socialism.
Notable members include David North, Jerry White, and Joseph Kishore.
WWW socialequality.com

History

Background

In the 1950s, most Trotskyists in the United States were members of the Socialist Workers Party, which was part of the Fourth International's tendency International Committee of the Fourth International.
In 1958, SWP adopted a policy of "regroupment": Pursuit of former members of Stalinist communist parties, who had been disillusioned by the Secret Speech.
In 1961, Tim Wohlforth, James Robertson, and other SWP members who opposed regroupment created a tendency within the SWP, the Revolutionary Tendency. RT saw the SWP as shifting toward the FI's other tendency, the International Secretariat of the Fourth International, led by Michel Pablo. RT opposed "Pabloite" politics and Pablo's "entryism sui generis" plan, in which Trotskyists would maintain separate parties but personally enter into communist and social democratic parties. RT developed links with the Socialist Labour League in Britain, led by Gerry Healy. Lyndon LaRouche was briefly an RT member.
In 1962, the RT split: Robertson's majority kept the name. Wohlforth's minority renamed itself the Reorganized Minority Tendency.
In 1963, in preparation for merging the ICFI with the ISFI, Wohlforth was removed from the SWP's Political Committee.

Formation

In November 1963, the SWP expelled Robertson and the RT, who created the Spartacist League. Robertson's appeal was denied in April 1964.
In September 1964, the SWP expelled Wohlforth and the RMT, who created the American Committee for the Fourth International and launched the biweekly Bulletin of International Socialism. ACFI maintained connections with Gerry Healy and the ICFI, which they considered the legitimate Trotskyist movement. ACFI became the American section of the ICFI.
Wohlforth argued that the split was due to their demand for discussion of the decision by the Sri Lankan Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party to participate in the national government.

Subsequent history

In 1966, ACFI renamed itself to the Workers League.
In 1973, WL entered serious organizational crisis. About 150 members and most of its founding leaders left. At Healey's insistence, Wohlforth was forced out of leadership.
In 1985, ICFI split in two. The Workers Revolutionary Party in Britain argued that ICFI should support nationalist leaders like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gadhafi. In 1985, the WRP expelled Gerry Healy, and WL sided with the ICFI majority over Healy's minority.
In 1995, parties affiliated with ICFI each renamed themselves as Socialist Equality Party. In 1998, the ICFI launched the World Socialist Web Site. ICFI runs the publishing house Mehring Books, formerly named Labor Publications.
In 2006, the Socialist Equality Party relaunched its student movement as the International Students for Social Equality. In 2012, the SEP renamed the ISSE as the International Youth and Students for Social Equality.

Ideology

SEP is a Trotskyist party.
SEP supports a "revolutionary struggle against capitalism" and rejects socialist reformism, stating that "our aim is not the reform of capitalism, but its overthrow". In its list of transitional demands, the SEP includes: Universal employment, universal healthcare, ending foreclosures and evictions, workplace democracy, high inheritance taxes, nationalization of large corporations, and replacement of the volunteer-based US military with "popular militias controlled by the working class and with elected officers".

Election results

The SEP has fielded electoral candidates in the United States for local, state, and federal offices. SEP candidates usually run as official SEP candidates on their own ballot line.
No SEP candidate has yet won an election.

Presidential elections

YearPresidential candidateVice presidential candidatePopular votes%Electoral votesResultBallot accessNotesRef
2024Joseph KishoreJerome White4,6590 Lostrunning as a Socialist Equality Party candidate
2020Joseph KishoreNorissa Santa Cruz3450 Lostran as Socialist Equality Party candidate
2016Jerome WhiteNiles Niemuth3820 Lostran as write-in candidate
2012Jerome WhitePhyllis Scherrer1,2790 Lostran as Socialist Equality Party candidate
2008Jerome WhiteBill Van Auken180 Lostran as write-in candidate
2004Bill Van AukenJim Lawrence1,8570 Lostran as Socialist Equality Party candidate
1996Jerome WhiteFred Mazelis2,4380 Lostran as Socialist Equality Party candidate
1992Helen HalyardFred Mazelis3,0500 Lostran as Workers League candidate
1988Edward WinnHelen Halyard18,6930 Lostran as Workers League candidate
1984Edward WinnHelen Halyard10,7980 Lostran as Workers League candidate