The Social Democrats USA (SDUSA) is a small coalition of intellectuals and trade unionists. It is a successor to the Socialist Party of America and retains its membership in the Socialist International despite its relatively conservative orientation.

It was formed when the followers of ex-Trotskyist Max Shachtman gained control of the old Socialist Party of America in the early 1970s. As a result of this takeover two dissident groups were formed; the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (which would later become the Democratic Socialists of America) and the reconstructed Socialist Party, USA.

Although most of SDUSA's members are Democrats, the organization has maintained ties with both major political parties and has, in the past, supported a strongly interventionist foreign policy. It has been unwavering in its support for the State of Israel.

In the 1970s and 80s, members of the SDUSA were sometimes derisively referred to as "State Department socialists" for their support of hard-line Cold War policies. Prominent SDUSA members served in the Reagan Administration on the staff of the State Department, Labor Department and on Jeane Kirkpatrick's staff when she was US Ambassador to the United Nations. SDUSA members have long been prominent at the National Endowment for Democracy and at the prestigious Freedom House.

A number of former members of the SDUSA serve in the current administration of George W. Bush including Paul Wolfowitz.

Although some former members are now neoconservatives, and some current members are widely regarded as linked to neoconservatives (for instance, historian Ronald Radosh), the SDUSA has many differences with neoconservatism. For instance, it strongly supports workers' rights at home and overseas, and opposes many of the Bush administration's domestic policies. In the 1980s it was perhaps best known for its support of Poland's Solidarity Trade Union. One of its leading members was the late civil rights hero Bayard Rustin.

Note: this organization should not be confused with the earlier political party, the Social Democratic Party (USA)

External link

• Official site