Socialist Equality Party
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Founded | Sept. 1964 | (as American Committee for the Fourth International)
Headquarters | PO Box 48377, Oak Park, MI 48237 |
Youth wing | International Youth and Students for Social Equality |
Ideology |
Trotskyism Revolutionary socialism Communism |
Political position | Far-left |
International affiliation | International Committee of the Fourth International |
Website | |
http://www.socialequality.com |
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is a Trotskyist political party in the United States, one of several Socialist Equality Parties around the world affiliated with the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). The ICFI publishes daily news articles, perspectives and commentaries on the World Socialist Web Site and maintains a publishing house, Mehring Books.
The SEP began as the American Committee for the Fourth International (ACFI), headed by Tim Wohlforth, in September 1964, was renamed the Workers League in 1966, and adopted its current moniker in 1995.
According to the party's website, the SEP "seeks not to reform capitalism, but to create a socialist, democratic and egalitarian society through the establishment of a workers’ government and the revolutionary transformation of the world economy. We seek to unify workers in the United States and internationally in the common struggle for socialism—that is, for equality and the rational and democratic utilization of the wealth of the planet."
In 2008, the SEP held its official founding congress, where it adopted a statement of principles and official organizational history. It has participated in elections in the US, and joined the elections for President and Vice President of the United States in April, 2016, with Jerry White for President and Niles Niemuth for Vice President.
In the early 1960s, most U.S. Trotskyists were organized in the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) as part of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). Tim Wohlforth was a youth leader in that party and was opposed to the course of the organization, which was heading toward reunification with the International Secretariat of the Fourth International (ISFI). With others, including James Robertson, he formed the Revolutionary Tendency (RT) within the SWP. It developed links with the Socialist Labour League in Britain, led by Gerry Healy.