Back Socialdemòcrates (EUA) Catalan Sociaux-démocrates, USA French アメリカ社会民主党 Japanese 미국 사회민주주의자들 Korean JAV socialdemokratų partija Lithuanian Social Democrats USA Swedish 美国社会民主人士 Chinese
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Social Democrats, USA | |
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| Abbreviation | SDUSA |
| Founded | December 30, 1972 |
| Preceded by | Socialist Party of America |
| Newspaper | New America (until 1985) |
| Youth wing | Young Social Democrats |
| Ideology | Social democracy[1] |
| Political position | Center-left |
| International affiliation | Socialist International (1973–2005)[citation needed] |
| Colors | Red |
| Website | |
| socialistcurrents.org | |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Socialism in the United States |
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| Part of a series on |
| Social democracy |
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Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a social democratic organization formed in 1972 as the successor to the Socialist Party of America (SPA), which had ceased running their own presidential candidates.
SDUSA was firmly anti-communist and adopted a political realignment strategy aimed at building a coalition of trade unions, civil rights organizations, and other constituencies to shift the Democratic Party toward social democracy.[2] It emphasized cooperation with unions, particularly the AFL–CIO, and prioritized economic issues as a unifying platform to mobilize working-class support.
SDUSA opposed the New Left, attributing Democratic Party candidate George McGovern’s loss in the 1972 presidential election in part to the movement’s influence. Some members of SDUSA, including Penn Kemble and Joshua Muravchik, were associated with neoconservatism. SDUSA's activities have included sponsoring discussions and publishing position papers.
The use of the term “social democrat” rather than “socialist” was meant to disassociate the group from the Soviet Union.[3] While identifying as social democratic, SDUSA has described itself as remaining committed to the broader democratic socialist tradition.[4]
The organization’s political orientation was criticized by former SPA chairman Michael Harrington, who supported an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Harrington opposed the changes made at the 1972 convention that established SDUSA. After losing all votes at that convention, he resigned in 1973 and founded the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee.
Notable members of SDUSA have included Rachelle Horowitz of the American Federation of Teachers, Bayard Rustin, Norman Hill, Tom Kahn, and Sandra Feldman. Internationally, SDUSA supported the Polish labor movement Solidarity and other anti-communist political movements abroad.
- ^ "Principles". Social Democrats USA. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- ^ Fraser, C. Gerald (September 7, 1974). "Socialists seek to transform the Democratic Party" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 11.
- ^ "Socialist Party now the Social Democrats, U.S.A." The New York Times. December 31, 1972. p. 36. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^ Hacker, David (2008–2010). "Heritage". Social Democrats USA. Retrieved February 10, 2020. "While concentrating on developing social democratic programs for the here and now, we have not given up our vision of the new socialist society that incremental change would eventually bring. We are still committed to the vibrant democratic socialist movement of the near future and our socialist vision of the far future beyond our lifetime and our children’s lifetime. ... We view the terms "social democracy" and "democratic socialism" as being interchangeable."
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