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This article is about the International Socialist Organization in the United States . There is also the International Socialist Organisation (Australia) , the International Socialist Organization (New Zealand) , and the International Socialist Organization (Zimbabwe) . The International Socialist Organization ('''ISO''') is the largest Revolutionary Socialist organization in the United States . The group identifies with the tradition of ' Socialism From Below ,' and has its ideological roots in the Trotskyist tradition. The organization publishes a weekly print newspaper, '' Socialist Worker '', and a bi-monthly magazine, the '' International Socialist Review .'' The ISO also maintains a publishing house with national distribution, Haymarket Books , which publishes both new titles and classics from the socialist tradition. The ISO has branches across the United States, which hold regular public meetings. The group regularly sponsors activist conferences, including an annual event called ''Socialism''. ISO members are involved in building a range of local and national political struggles. HISTORY The ISO has its roots in the IS, which was founded in 1964 during the national Free Speech movement in Berkeley, California. Its founding members were deeply involved in leading this struggle, and had participated in previous struggles for civil rights. The ISO originated in 1977 when members of the International Socialists (US) criticized the leadership of that group for abandoning its strategy of rank and file work in the trade unions. At the same time, the dissidents developed criticisms of the positions adopted by the leadership of IS regarding the 1974 Revolution In Portugal and its aftermath. These criticisms coincided with the views held by a group of the same name in Britain, loosely linked to the IS in the United States , which at that point was renaming itself the Socialist Workers Party . The dissidents sought to deepen those links. After forming themselves into the Left Faction, the minority found themselves split from the IS and compelled to build a new organisation. The new group took the name ''International Socialist Organization'' and began publication of ''Socialist Worker'' as an organizing tool. The ISO based itself on the political theories developed by members of the British SWP , most significantly, the theory of State Capitalism . Found in the writings of Tony Cliff , Michael Kidron , and others, the theory identifies the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc as exploitative, non-socialist class societies driven by military competition with private Western capitalism rather than as Deformed Workers' States , as held by the orthodox Trotskyist tradition. The essence of the IS theory was summed up in the slogan: "Neither Washington nor Moscow, but International Socialism.". Initially the ISO was led by former members of the IS Left Faction, but by the early 1980's newer figures emerged to play leadership roles within the group, among the latter Ahmed Shawki and Sharon Smith . Although at the time of split in IS, Joel Geier was in the faction opposed to the future ISO, he too later joined ISO and has since played an important role in developing the group. Having a small membership, the organization found that its primary orientation towards Rank And File work in the unions was not sustainable. From the early 1980s , the ISO was to be oriented towards work on university campuses. The decision to orient mostly toward students was regarded as a necessary retreat given the conservative nature of the Reagan Era . Recently, the group has developed more work in the trade unions, including teachers' unions, the Teamsters , and others. The ISO grew steadily through the 1990s through its active participation in a series of movements and campaigns, including the movement against the first Gulf War and other US Military Interventions , opposition to the Death Penalty , and campus-based struggles. The group was involved in building a number of the major protests against corporate Globalization in the late 1990's, and has been very active in opposing US imperialism in the wake of September 11th. In 2001 the ISO was expelled from the International Socialist Tendency after a dispute between the majority of the IST and the leadership of the ISO. The dispute was framed in part as a response to the ISO's approach to the anti-globalisation/anti-capitalist movement, with the SWP accusing the ISO of being conservative in relation to that movement. That same year, a small number of ISO members that remained loyal to the IST left the organization and formed a collective called Left Turn . However, in 2003 Left Turn also severed its connections with the International Socialist Tendency and stopped calling itself socialist. Thus the IST currently has no affiliates in the United States. ACTIVITIES The ISO has involved itself in building a number of local and national activist efforts, including the antiwar movement; the struggle to end the death penalty; support for gay marriage and abortion rights; the Struggle For Immigration Rights ; and others. While the group focuses much of its efforts on college campuses, there are many neighborhood branches as well. The ISO does not support either of the main American political parties, which it sees as parties of corporate domination and empire. The ISO has, however, given critical support to the Green Party in various races and enthusiastically helped to build Ralph Nader 's presidential campaign in both 2000 and in 2004. One of the ISO's leading members in California, Todd Chretien , is currently challenging Diane Feinstein for Senator on the Green Party ticket. He has based his campaign on the anti-war slogan "A million votes for peace." National coalitions with which the ISO is presently involved include the Campaign To End The Death Penalty , the Campus Antiwar Network , various attempts to organize a response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina , and the new struggle for immigrant rights. INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS After their split with the International Socialist Tendency , the ISO maintained or re-esteblished relationships with Socialist Alternative (Australia) , International Workers' Left of Greece, the International Socialist Organization (New Zealand) and small groups in France and Italy, all of which had also broken with the IST. In participating in the first World Social Forum in 2001 , the ISO came in contact with the International Workers' League ; the two groups collaborated on events in the 2002 World Social Forum and exchanged articles in their respective publications. Subsequently the ISO developed has developed an ongoing collaboration with the United Secretariat Of The Fourth International , the Socialism And Freedom Party of Brazil, the Revolutionary Left Option / Party Of Socialist Revolution of Venezuela, and the Movement For Socialism of Switzerland. These groups have sent speakers to each others' events, published each others' materials, and collaborated on more specific efforts. EVENTS ISO branch meetings are usually scheduled weekly. Some are publically advertised on a relevant current event or historical topic. Members often poster neighborhoods or college campuses encouraging new people to attend. The group also sponsors panels and events featuring other left-wing speakers. |
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