World Socialist Movement

The World Socialist Movement (WSM) is an international organisation of affiliated socialist parties created in 1904 with the founding of the Socialist Party of Great Britain. Rather than participating in electoral politics as most political parties, the goal of the WSM member parties is to proliferate a proper understanding of socialism, to correct misconceptions regarding socialism, to make people aware of the structural issues with modern society, and to facilitate debate regarding the future organization of society.

The World Socialist Movement is solely dedicated to the establishment of socialism, and nothing else. The WSM takes the position that at the current stage of social and economic development, capitalism is regressive and cannot meet the needs of the majority, regardless of how progressive it becomes, and that the rational solution is a fundamental restructuring of present society. It does not participate in labor union activity, social activism or "progressive" movements. The WSM perceives such activity (such as support for organized labor unions) to be a part of the capitalist system or insufficient for bringing about fundamental change in the structure of society (such as social activism and reformism). The WSM is therefore differentiated from the majority of socialist parties that have become defined by their strategy, immediate demands, gaining and maintaining political office or adopting capitalist perspectives.

The WSM defines socialism in its classical formulation; as a "system of society based upon the common ownership and democratic control of the means and instruments for producing and distributing wealth by and in the interest of the community". Socialism is characterized as a stateless, propertyless, post-monetary economy based on calculation in kind, free association of producers (workplace democracy) and free access to goods and services produced solely for use rather than for exchange.

The WSM takes an anti-Leninist stance, argues that a transitional period of "market socialism" between capitalism and socialism is no longer necessary with modern technological developments, believes that socialism can only be achieved through mass support for socialism and educating the public toward that end, and neither promotes nor opposes political reforms of capitalism (such as social democracy) for being ineffective for fundamental restructuring of society, and therefore capitalist, rather than socialist, in nature.

Affiliated Parties
All the parties, except the Austrian BDS, began as offshoots from the Socialist Party of Great Britain; WSM members in countries without a companion party of their own are as a rule SPGB members. It is made up of the following parties:


 * Socialist Party of Great Britain
 * World Socialist Party of Australia
 * Socialist Party of Canada
 * World Socialist Party (Ireland)
 * World Socialist Party (New Zealand)
 * World Socialist Party of the United States

The following parties were at one time companion parties of the WSM but have since disaffiliated or been expelled:


 * Bund Demokratischer Sozialisten (Austria)
 * World Socialist Party of India

A group used to exist in Sweden, with the name Världsocialistiska gruppen.