The more folks join the World Socialist Party of the United States (WSPUS) the more we will be able to get our ideas across. The more experiences and skills we will be able to draw on and the more ideas we will have for building the movement for socialism.
The WSPUS and other parties belonging to the World Socialist Movement (WSM) are organizations of socialists and organizations of equals. There are no leaders and there are no followers. And we want to keep it that way.
That is why, unlike most political organizations, the WSPUS accepts as members only applicants who have passed a test in socialist theory. This ensures that our party will remain socialist. It also ensures that it will remain democratic, because it prevents an internal division emerging between a dominant core of ‘leading theorists’ and rank-and-file members who rely on their guidance.
At present, applications to join the WSPUS are being handled by our companion party in the United Kingdom, the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB). If and when you decide to apply to join the WSPUS, please go to https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/membership-application/, where you will be asked to provide contact information and answer a series of questions in socialist theory.
Upon passing the test you will become a member of the WSPUS. At the same time, unless you request otherwise, you will become a member of the internal discussion list of the WSPUS.
If you prefer to apply by ordinary (non-electronic) mail, please send your contact information and answers to the Membership Applications Committee, SPGB, 52 Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UN, UK.
Before You Apply to Join
We hope that you will join the WSPUS, but we do not want you to apply to join before you are sure that you agree with our ideas and are ready to take the test.
Before taking the test we strongly recommend that you read the articles on the Introductory Reading List.
Here are some other things you can do to learn more about our ideas.
— You can explore other websites of the WSPUS and WSM. For the site of the WSM as a whole go to www.worldsocialism.org/wsm. For links to sites of other WSM companion parties go to www.worldsocialism.org. For the World Socialist Party of India go to www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org. A site devoted to the meaning of socialism is www.whatissocialism.net.
— You can request to be sent free literature published by the WSPUS. Submit the form here or contact me at the e-mail address below.
— You can request a free three-month trial subscription to The Socialist Standard, journal of the SPGB, by going to www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/3-free-standards/.
Stephen Shenfield
General Secretary of the WSPUS