The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a radical-left socialist political party based in San Francisco, California. In addition to running presidential candidates in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 elections, PSL operates Liberation News, an online newspaper; Breaking the Chains, a print magazine; and Liberation School, an educational website promoting radical-left ideology. PSL has publicly supported Communist dictators such as Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong and has been active in anti-police protests since 2020.

Founding and History

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) was founded in 2004 by an anonymous group of socialists. ¹ It has run a candidate in every presidential election since 2008, with Gloria la Riva being the party’s nominee in 2008, ² 2016, ³ and 2020. ⁴ The PSL nominee in 2012 was Peta Lindsay. ⁵

Other socialist groups have accused PSL of hypocrisy, including sabotaging other socialist candidates in the 2012 election. ⁶

Positions

The Party for Socialism and Liberation advocates for the complete abolition of capitalism and its replacement with socialism, as well as openly supporting Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. ⁷ IT has also praised Mao Zedong’s Chinese Revolution, ⁸ which was responsible for between 40 and 80 million deaths over a 28-year period. ⁹ PSL has also published articles denying the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre ¹⁰ and calling for the abolition of the police. ¹¹

Activism

Party for Socialism and Liberation activists have participated in numerous protests against police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as for other left-wing political goals. In the summer of 2020, PSL activists led a march in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake. ¹²

Two PSL members, Lillian House and Joel Northam, were among the six protestors arrested on charges including inciting a riot and attempted kidnapping in Aurora, Colorado, in July of 2020. ¹³ They had been leading demonstrations throughout June and July in protest of the death of Elijah McClain. On July 3, 600 protestors, including House and Northam, surrounded a local police precinct for seven hours, allegedly blocking all doors and adjacent roads. House and Northam were also charged with stealing signs from counter protesters and inciting a riot in which a protester fired at a Jeep attempting to drive through a blocked road. In March of 2021, a county judge dismissed the felony kidnapping charges against House and Northam. ¹⁴ The other charges were dropped later that year. ^{15 16}

1. Party for Socialism and Liberation. “15 Years of Building the Party, Growing, and Learning.” Liberation News. June 21, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationnews.org/15-years-of-building-the-party-growing-and-learning/
2. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Federal Elections 2008: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Federal Election Commission. July 2009. https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections2008.pdf
3. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Federal Elections 2016: Election Results For the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Federal Election Commission. July 2017. https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections2016.pdf
4. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Official 2020 Presidential General Election Results. Federal Election Commission. July 2021.
5. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Federal Elections 2012: Election Results For the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Federal Election Commission. July 2013. https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/tables2012.pdf
6. Meghan Cornish, “Leaked recording reveals how Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) cut socialist candidates from the California ballot.” Freedom Socialist Party. December 2013. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://socialism.com/fs-article/leaked-recording-reveals-how-party-for-socialism-and-liberation-psl-cut-socialist-candidates-from-the-california-ballot/
7. Party for Socialism and Liberation. “15 Years of Building the Party, Growing, and Learning.” Liberation News. June 21, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationnews.org/15-years-of-building-the-party-growing-and-learning/
8. Liberation Staff. “PSL commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution.” Liberation News. October 1, 2009. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationnews.org/09-10-01-psl-commemorates-60th-anniversar-html/
9. Valerie Strauss and Daniel Southerl, “How Many Died? New Evidence Suggests Far Higher Numbers for the Victims of Mao Zedong’s Era.” The Washington Post. July 17, 1994. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/07/17/how-many-died-new-evidence-suggests-far-higher-numbers-for-the-victims-of-mao-zedongs-era/01044df5-03dd-49f4-a453-a033c5287bce/
10. Brian Becker, “The Massacre That Wasn’t.” Liberation School. June 13, 2014. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationschool.org/tiananmen-the-massacre-that-wasnt/
11. Party for Socialism and Liberation, “How Will the Police Be Abolished? A Marxist Perspective.” Liberation School. July 11, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationschool.org/marxist-perspective-on-police-abolition/
12. Quinn Clark, “Party for Socialism and Liberation Leads March Demanding Justice for Jacob Blake.” Shepherd Express: Milwaukee’s Alternative News Source. September 1, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://shepherdexpress.com/news/features/party-for-socialism-and-liberation-leads-march-demanding-jus/
13. Elise Schmeltzer, “Protesters, demonstration leaders arrested in connection to rallies in Aurora.” The Denver Post. September 17, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.denverpost.com/2020/09/17/aurora-denver-police-protesters-arrested-riot/
14. Tiney Ricciardi, “Judge throws out attempted-kidnapping charges against Aurora protest leaders”. The Denver Post. March 25, 2021. Accessed September 23, 2022. https://www.denverpost.com/2021/03/25/aurora-protest-elijah-mcclain-kidnapping-dismissed/
15. Kaplan, Noah. “With Two Court Wins, PSL Leaders Keep Fighting for Elijah Mcclain.” Westword. Westword, April 13, 2021. https://www.westword.com/news/elijah-mcclain-protest-leaders-psl-aurora-justice-court-arrest-11942775.
16. Tabachnik, Sam. “Remaining Charges Dropped against Aurora Protest Leaders.” The Denver Post. The Denver Post, September 14, 2021. https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/13/charges-dropped-aurora-protest-leaders/