Left Politics

parties, groups & resources

Directories

Leftist Links Archive  --"an archive of links to leftist & progressive websites," including academic groups, art & posters, bookstores, periodicals, parties, organizations, publishers & everything else.  Many anarchist links.

Jay's Leftist Internet Resources Directory -- great place to get real news.

A Directory of Socialist Resources    Little Red Cafe

Green Stuff

Directories

Best Environmental Resources --directory of sites covering  wide variety of environmental topics (e.g. ecology, land management, regional, natural sciences, economics), really huge.

Deep Ecology Directory

Eco-Villages Directory

Green Groups

The Greens  --The American Green Party

The Green Ten Principles --Long ago, the Green "Committees of Correspondence" asked a lot of hard questions, producing what became known as The Ten Key Values of the Greens. As the various Green Parties developed, they wrote Platforms which proposed methods of implementing these Values.

Greenpeace -- great organization, a crappy website.

Forests.org  --for conservation of rainforests, forests, biodiversity and indigenous cultures thru
targeted informational networking. 

Earth Liberation Front  --This is the web site of the Earth Liberation Front Press Office, while the ELF itself remains underground, taking commendably direct (though perhaps futile) action against the goons who want to turn everything in the world into money.  If you think that property rights are somewhat on par with environmental concerns, or that one should never break the "law," then this site is not for you.  

Animal Liberation Front  --Direct action on behalf of the earth's most oppressed.

Earth First! Journal  --published by an editorial staff from within the  Earth First! Movement."  They have a grasp on the link between capitalist money-worship and environmental degradation.

Envirolink  --"The Online Environmental Community."

Inter Press Service  --Founded in 1964, IPS is a worldwide non-profit association of journalists and others in comunications fields.  It claims to have become "a major news agency," with "a network of journalists in more than 100 countries" and "satellite communication links to 1,200 outlets."  IPS's site certainly does offer interersting news coverage on environmental issues, human rights, and global economics.

GlobalWarming.org --An excellent compilation of information relating to global warming, with references to current scientific research, plus news on the Kyoto Treaty.

Union of Concerned Scientists  works to ensure that "all people have clean air and energy, and safe and sufficient food.  Concerned about global warming and nuclear war.  Committed to science in public policy.

Physicians for Social Responsibility won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.  It represents 20,000 health car professionals interested in nuclear disarmament and environmental health.  This site belongs to the USA affiliate.

I G C  --On this elaborate site the nonprofit Institute for Global Communications (IGC) offers "progressive individuals and groups a place on the Internet to learn, meet and organize."  IGC brings Internet tools and online services to organizations and activists working on peace, economic and social justice, human rights, environmental protection, labor issues and conflict resolution.  It has a national membership of over 15,000, with links to networks and activists worldwide. IGC gives quick access to alternative news and political analysis, or an easy way to search for information and web sites of progressive organizations. 

I G C's climate links  --An excellent compilation of atmosphere & climate links.

Peace in the Forest  --A small directory of regional and local campaigns for environmental preservation, as well as direct action environmental organizations.

The Ruckus Society  --Ruckus trains environmental and human rights activists the skills of civil disobedience.  Quotes from their site:  "Direct action has long been a catalyst for social change. The conscious disobedience of unjust laws can capture the depth of injustice in a single powerful moment.... Effective protest, however, does not always happen spontaneously." Ruckus was formed in October 1995 and claims to have trained and assisted hundreds of activists since.  "We wanted to create a program where people could learn skills and take action rather than sit around and argue about issues."

Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other related projects and dreams....  This site lists intentional communities around the world.  "We provide important information and access to crucial resources for seekers of community, existing and forming communities, and other friends of community."

Food First  --Information and books on world hunger, development and environmental issues.

Living Green

Co-op America  --"Co-op America's mission is to harness economic power-- the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace-- to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.  Co-op America is a national non-profit membership organization celebrating 20 years of serice to people and the planet."  This group concentrates on advising people how to spend and invest their money toward green enterprises.

The Green Pages  --Co-op America's listing of green businesses.

Shopping for Change  --Access to 100+ online stores that all agree to donate 5% of every purchase price to environmental and other decent groups.

Chelsea Green Publishers  --A publisher of books on sustainable living, including housing, gardening, food and nature.

Reference

An Introduction to Life in France

Explanation-Guide  a giant on-line encyclopedia and reference work.

DMOZ -- an open web directory 

Nupedia --"The world's largest international, peer-reviewed encyclopedia."

Wikipedia  --A "collaborative project" to build a "free and complete encyclopedia."

CIA Country Factbook --The CIA isn't an organization that an average Bergonian would love, but an intelligence agency should have good information on the countries they try to wreck and control.  For decades CIA country "factbooks" have been great reference sources-- here are online summaries.  For some reason they don't offer a Factbook on Bergonia.

Online Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Radical Philosophy

History

HyperHistory  a great summary of world history, including history of art, science, empires & technology.

Boondocks --nice site about (a) american imperialism in the Philipines, (b) american politics & culture from 1890 to 1920 and (c) Mark Twain.  Big power Imperialism is the  of this site's theme.

Dead Sociologists

Historical Atlas of the 20th Century

Spartacus--  a dependable, very broad offering of history resources from a leftist perspective.  A fine detailed introduction to history of the Left. (UK)

Public Opinion

Gallup,  Zogby,  

Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

Pew Research Institute --Polling data on prevailing attitudes in numerous nations around the world. 

Internet resources on polling (U.Miami)

Flags

Flags Of The World --Flags of the world, the most comprehensive site on the web for flags of all nations, past and present.

Heraldy links.

Tuva --Flags, seals, symbols of the Mongol nation of Tuva, formerly Tanu Tuva, absorbed by the Soviet Union in the 1920s and now part of the Russian Federation.

American Indian Tribes --Flags of over 80 tribes in the US.

Historical flags --a personal site w/ an interesting miscellany.

FAME --A Croatian site featuring flags of Austria-Hungary, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia.

Ausflag -- promoting a new flag for Australia-- sans Union Jack.  Canada spurned the Union Jack over 30 years ago, now Australia's turn.  Plus history of Australian flags.

 Do you know of a web site we should list?   Let us know.  Send us suggestions.

News, Periodicals, Reference

Newspapers Online

The World: International Herald Tribune,  Reuters,  Bear Left Links -- links to international leftist newspapers 

Agence France Presse French worldwide wire service featured on Yahoo.  Better Int'l news than AP by far.

India:  Hindustan Times 

Periodicals

Green Left Weekly (Aus.)

Red Pepper (UK) independent leftist magazine

Socialist Affairs, covers democratic socialist party politics around the world.

Monthly Review, The most venerable and respected Marxist journal in the U.S.

Dissent, (US) quarterly, prints a fine array of "leftist" commentary on current events.  Published by the Foundation for the Study of Independent Social Ideas.

New Socialist Canadian

Z Magazine (US)  offers some of the freshest American leftist opinion around.  Noam Chomsky, distinguished linguist turned gadfly, founded this mag, and writes in every issue.  Z offer a fine series of links to sources which describe the $150 billion in annual giveaways to big business.   Also see Z's page on "participatory economics,"  

Mother Jones, (US) monthly. describes itself as a journal of investigative reporting.  Its subject: "corporate backroom deals and corruption." 

The American Prospect (US) founded in 1990 by Pulitzer winner Paul Starr, columnist & author Kuttner, and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.  It claims to represent a "liberal" perspective.

The Baffler (US) an essential magazine that attacks what needs attacked the most--  American pop culture created by corporate marketing moguls.  The Baffler also roots out the myths & pretences of "free market" economies.

Adbusters, (US) monthly, A beautifully produced attack on corporate mass marketing.  Denounces all the advertising as the Brave New World propaganda that it really is.

Canadian Dimension 

The Blanket, "a journal of protest and dissent," to "facilitate analysis, debate and discussion, to resist censorship, and to create the space for a diversity of ideas."  Irish.

The New Worker, (UK) weekly web-based paper of the New Communist Party of Britain

Socialism Today, monthly, magazine of the Socialist Party of England & Wales, a Marxist-Trotskyist party affiliated with the Committee for a Workers' International.

The Rational Radical--"A radical alternative view of American politics and culture."  There is very little chance that the citizenry of the United States will ever wake from the collective right-wing delirium and recover any semblance of sanity, but this site offers a little hope. 

Language Box -- an online service that offers radio programming from all parts of the world, both music and news.

National Public Radio -- web broadcast of NPR news programs.

Art

Artcyclopedia --A commercial poster site that boasts: " a comprehensive index of 1200 arts sites, and offer more than 32,000 links to an estimated 100,000 works by 7,500 renowned artists."

Working Class Literature & Films interesting list of books & films portraying labor struggle, class conflict and critiques of corporations.

Web Gallery of Art  --fine digital reproductions of over 11,000 European paintings and sculptures from 1150 to 1800.

Webmuseum

Internet Movie Database, the best overall on-line resource for movie information.

Art Collectives --Google's Directory listing of art collectives, artist-run galleries & artist collaborations.  Our individualistic myths portray artists are solitary geniuses, often tortured and always iconoclastic, but most great bursts of creativity have occurred when artists rubbed shoulders, traded ideas and worked within the contexts of friendships & cliques.  Note how the Impressionistic masters were almost all good pals.

Democratic Socialists

socialistworld.net  --  great collections of worldwide articles & resources.  Thinksocialist.com  socialist blog & international news

The Party of European Socialists  -- the coalition of European "Socialist, Social Democratic and Labour Parties of the European Union.

Socialist Party of Holland, founded 1972, now Holland's fourth largest parliamentary party.

Socialism on Trial, the Liverpool City Council, 1983-1987

Democratic Socialists of America  The DSA is the official US full member party of the Socialist International (which includes Tony Blair's UK Labour Party, the French Parti Socialiste and 100+ other political parties around the globe). Unlike other members of the Socialist International, the DSA has never fielded candidates for office. Instead concentrating on political education and grassroots activists. The other US full member of the Socialist International is the Social Democrats USA organization, more centrist and aligned with the Democratic Party.  Both DSA and SD-USA each claim the mantle of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas.

Socialist Party USA  --True democratic socialists, advocating electoral change versus revolutionary change. Staunchly anti-communist. Founded by labor leader & pacifist Eugene V. Debs in 1900, the SP was once a mighty national third party. Debs was the SP nominee for president five times between 1900 and 1920. He received 900,000+ votes (6%) in 1912. Former minister and journalist Norman Thomas was the SP Presidential nominee 6 times between 1928 and 1948 -- his best showing 883,000 votes (2.2%) in 1932. The SP also elected congressmen, mayors and other officials from 1910 to 1950s). The party's youth wing -- the Young People's Socialist League -- has been in existence since the 1910s.

The New Party  --  This U.S. leftist party advocates a "democratic revolution" and "social, economic, & political progress" in America. Their agenda reflects values of Western European socialist and labor movement -- and similar to those of the Labor Party. It endorses like-minded Democratic candidates.

Revolutionary Socialists

Resistance  -- very active socialist youth movement in Australia. Revolutionaryleft.org -- internation forum with different tendencies.

Marxists.Org  -- great compilation of Marxist & other socialist information, including a topical encyclopedia and a huge archive of writings.

for communism  --a large site with theoretical and historical texts on communism, marxist orthodoxy, and recent revisions of marxism.  Vast amounts of stuff to explore.

Social Nerve -- a radical print zine and on-line news source, SN reports on issues ranging from "Life in Amerika" to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.  SN & affiliated groups publish radical zines, cookbooks, history books, poetry, fiction. Social Nerve does not have a board of writers, it is based on contributions which are later screened by active members of the SN group. There are however several key contributors from Russia, France, England, and Palestine. The magazine's goal has been to always stress the issues of class-war, poverty, social oppression, and military occupations, and always from a Marxist perspective.

World Socialist Movement  -- a collection of Marxist, anti-Leninist parties in English-speaking counties, with links to affiliated parties.

Socialist Action  --a political party site devoted to advancement of socialism.  

Marxism 2000 -- A conference sponsored by Rethinking Marxism to "(re)claim utopian visions for just and human alternatives."  September 2000 at the U. of Mass. at Amherst.

Socialist Party of Great Britain -- anti-soviet, independent-line Marxist group, founded 1908.

Communist Party USA  -- The CPUSA, once the slavish propaganda tool and spy network for the Soviets, barely exists today. Secret Soviet Politburo records, made public after the fall of Soviet communism, revealed that the Soviet Union illegally funneled millions of dollars to the CPUSA to ensure its survival. The flow of Soviet dollars to the CPUSA came to an abrupt halt in 1991, crippling it. Founded in 1924, the CPUSA reached its peak vote total in 1932 with nominee William Z. Foster (102,000 votes - 4th place). The last CPUSA ticket -- featuring the team of Gus Hall and Angela Davis -- was fielded back in 1984 (36,000 votes - 8th place). The CPUSA site has a stylish looking front page, and features numerous Marxist-Leninist, pro-Castro and international communist resources. The CPUSA also maintains online sites for the People's Weekly World party newspaper and the CPUSA's Young Communists League youth organization.

Socialist Workers Party  -- On Stalin's orders the leaders of the Communist Party USA expelled a Trotskyite faction in 1938. The exiles formed the SWP, and it functioned for many years as the leading voice of Trotskyism in the USA. Since the 1980s, the SWP has drifted away from Trotskyism and moved towards the brand of "socialism" espoused by Fidel Castro.  The SWP sites calls Castro's Cuba "a shining example for all workers."  The SWP has a youth section called the Young Socialists.  The SWP publishes two newspapers online: The Militant and Perspectiva Mundial (Spanish).

Freedom Socialist Party  -- The FSP was founded in the US 1966 by a group of dissident Trotskyites who broke away from the Socialist Workers Party.  They are "revolutionary feminist internationalists... in the living tradition of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky."  The FSP has party organizations in the US, Canada and Australia. In 1998, the FSP fielded a handful of local candidates in Washington, California and New York.

Socialist Equality Party  --(US)  This fairly new Trotskyite party, originally named the Workers League, forme when the Socialist Workers Party drifted away from Trotskyism.  The SEP site, updated daily, offers news, analysis, & history from a hardcore internationalist, Trotskyite perspective. 

Workers World Party  --(US)  In 1959 by a pro-Soviet communist faction of the Socialist Workers Party split off and formed the WWP.  This group supported oppressive Soviet actions: Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968, and Poland in the early 1980s. They fielded their first candidate for president in 1980. In 1996 their presidential candidate Monica Moorehead appeared on the ballot in 12 states and won 29,100 votes. They have a great site graphically, and offer updated news stories from a communist perspective, with deference to China (yech!) and Cuba.  The militant WWP believes that "the power of the workers and the oppressed is in the streets, not in Washington."  How true, but these guys are not the ones we want to be sharing barricades with.

  Peace & Freedom Party  --Founded in the 1960s in opposition to the Vietnam War.  In 1968 it nominated Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver for President. Cleaver won nearly 37,000 votes (ironically, Cleaver ultimately became a Reagan Republican in the early 1980s -- then a crack addict in the late 1980s -- before emerging as an environmental activist in the late 1990s). In 1972 the party ran Benjamin Spock (as sensible in his politics as in his views on child rearing) for president. The party since these halcyon days has faded into a stew of Marxist-Leninists (aligned with the Workers World Party), Trotskyites and non-communist left-wing activists. The PFP today is limited largely to California. In 1996, the WWP unsuccessfully tried to hijack the PFP's nomination and its California ballot spot.

Socialist Labor Party  --  Founded in 1877, a militant democratic socialist party. More moderate members of the SLP bolted to create the Socialist Party USA in 1901. The SLP ran Presidential tickets in every election between 1892 and 1976 (the SLP's final presidential candidate won 9,600 votes in the 1976 race). The SLP calls itself the party of "Marxism-DeLeonism."  The site features party history, info on Daniel DeLeon, a Marx-Engels archive, links and more. The SLP newspaper The People, first printed in 1891, also publishes regularly updated online editions.

Workers Party USA  -- Hard-core Marxist-Leninist political party founded in 1992, very similar to the Communist Party.  In Chicago they publish a bi-weekly newspaper named The Worker and a quarterly "theoretical" journal named The Worker Magazine. 

Progressive Labor Party  -- New York-based Stalinist-style communist party dedicated to bringing about a world-wide, armed, communist revolution.

Youth for Socialist Action -- Trotskyite

World Socialist Party of the USA  --   Marxian utopians who say that true socialism can only work when it is established worldwide. They renounce violence, Soviet-style totalitarianism, money and all forms of leadership. They envision a classless, "wageless, moneyless, free access society" without any national borders.  They have an affiliation with the World Socialist party, founded in 1904.

Liberal and "Progressive"

Moveon.org,   

America Coming Together

Democratic Underground -- founded on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2001, to protest the illegitimate presidency of George W. Bush and to provide a resource for the exchange and dissemination of liberal and progressive ideas.

Cafe Progressive  -- "The place to start for progressive education reform, alternative politics, multicultural community, and a huge collection of progressive resources."

Libertarian Left

Grassroots Party   --This Minnesota party of liberals advocates the legalization of marijuana and the establishment of a national system of universal health care (among other things). In general ideology, the GRP is very similar to the Greens -- but with a much stronger emphasis on marijuana legalization issues. The GRP fielded their first Presidential nominee -- Dennis Peron -- in 1996 (5,400 votes). In 1996, the GRP won permanent "major party" ballot status in Vermont.  Visit the site of the more libertarian and "states" rights  Vermont GRP.

If the soul of Capitalism resides in the Republican Party, then Capitalism erected the Democratic party as a buffer against the working classes, so that all the progressive challenges raised by the American people have been absorbed, co-opted and tamed by it.  As a fortunate "silver lining" of the process, the Democratic party has delivered essential, basic reforms that ameliorate the worst of American capitalism and its racist, hierarchical culture: witness Social Security and the labor laws of Roosevelt, the Civil Rights laws in the 60's, and the environmental laws of the 70's. 

Democratic Party (DNC) Just in case anyone is interested.  Also:  The Congressional Progressive Caucus (Sen. Paul Wellstone and the like), Democratic Leadership Council (the group of "moderate" democrats who crafted the party's come-back after Reagan.  From this hoary den has come Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Bill Bradley).  Howard Dean for President -- his campaign has creatively utilized the internet to link local grassroots.  If radicals ever get their act together, they could learn something by studying this campaign.

Anarcho-syndicalism & Syndicalism

Industrial Workers of the World, known as the "Wobblies," was the main US syndicalist union.

The Digger Archives  -- history of the anarchist guerilla street theater group, "The Diggers," one of the legendary groups in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury.  Name borrowed from the original English Diggers (1649-50) who had a vision of society free from private property, and all forms of buying and selling.

Anarchy or "libertarian socialism," prominent in the Spanish Revolution which Franco and his Fascist friends destroyed. To find something in the real world close to Bergonian economic organization, look to the anarcho-sydicalism workers collectives which briefly flourished in Spain during the 1930's.  Had the "good guys" won in this tragic struggle, leftists around the world would have had another model besides the worthless obscenity of "red star" socialism.

The Anarchist Black Cross Federation network of collectives supporting political prisoners in the US for their work building resistance and leading movements.  As New Afrikan anarchist POW Ojore Nuru Lutalo has so famously stated, "Any movement that does not support its political internees is a sham movement."

Links to anarchist sites     Anarchist Archives

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs   "Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government."

Communitarians  -- believe that people must participate actively in their communities to have a whole life.  The Communitarian manifesto states in part:

Amnesty International Send them your money.

Peace and Antiwar

Noam Chomsky's website.

United for Peace -- direct action in the service of pro-peace and anti-globalization.

Organization for Autonomous Telecommunicans -- Canadian antiwar activists.

Labor