Independent Socialist Political Action, the Ballot Box, & the Labor Party Question in the U.S.

This workshop will engage in a contemporary and historical examination of independent socialist political action in the United States, as well as the various efforts that have been undertaken throughout the past century to develop a mass-based labor party capable of sustainably breaking through the United States' long-standing two-party system. Particular attention will be given to analyzing the factors underlying the historically recurrent tendency of such efforts to quickly falter back into two major parties, as well as historical exceptions to this tendency, and the comparative developments and trajectories of such efforts in other nations abroad. The workshop will also strive to identify what immediate and long-term goals independent socialist action can best be aimed at achieving, what kinds of organizational questions (if any) may have determinative impact on its success, and how efforts at independent socialist political action can most effectively relate to contemporary social movements and grassroots struggles.