The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) is

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in the United States. FRSO formed in 1985 as a merger of several

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

-oriented

New Communist movement The New Communist movement (NCM) was a diverse left-wing political movement during the 1970s and 1980s in the United States. The NCM were a movement of the New Left that represented a diverse grouping of Marxist–Leninists and Maoists inspired ...

organizations. FRSO describes itself as a

revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolu ...

and Marxist-Leninist party, because capitalism "cannot be reformed out of existence", so socialists must "take the sledgehammer of revolution to the chains of oppression". FRSO describes itself as a Marxist–Leninist organization, working to "build a new, revolutionary, communist party" in the United States.

Membership

FRSO has two levels of membership. "General" members pay dues annually and must attend one online seminar per year. "Cadre" members must adhere to

Leninist Leninism (, ) is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the Dictatorship of the proletariat#Vladimir Lenin, dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary Vangu ...

organizational norms, including

democratic centralism Democratic centralism is the organisational principle of most communist parties, in which decisions are made by a process of vigorous and open debate amongst party membership, and are subsequently binding upon all members of the party. The co ...

. In December 2020, FRSO claimed "over 500" general members. In March 2021, FRSO claimed almost 1000 members and "hundreds" of cadre.

Associated groups

In 2002, FRSO created the Anti-War Committee (AWC), which it leads. In 2008, the AWC protested the

2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's convention fell on Labo ...

. In 2006, FRSO helped create the new Students for a Democratic Society (SDS or "new SDS"), which has significant FRSO leadership and FRSO collaboration.

Publications

FRSO's main publication is the website and monthly paper ''Fight Back! News'' (FB!N) and its Spanish section ''Lucha y Resiste''.

History

Origins

In 1985, the Proletarian Unity League and the

Revolutionary Workers Headquarters Revolutionary Workers Headquarters (RWH) was a U.S. Marxist-Leninist organization that formed out of a split from the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) in 1977. After Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Commun ...

merged to create FRSO. In 1986, FRSO fused with the Organization for Revolutionary Unity. In 1988, FRSO absorbed the Amílcar Cabral-Paul Robeson Collective. In 1993, FRSO merged with the Socialist Organizing Network (SON) and adopted the placeholder name "Freedom Road Socialist Organization / Socialist Organizing Network" (FRSO/SON). The SON was formed by former members of the

League of Revolutionary Struggle League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Leagues (band), ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer ...

(LRS), which had dissolved in the late 1980s. The 1994 FRSO Congress, which formalized the merger, was called the "First Congress of FRSO/SON". However, no new name emerged, and FRSO/SON reverted back to FRSO afterwards. FRSO's component groups believed that ultraleftism was the US

's main error. Merging under the FRSO banner, these groups hoped to consolidate the movement's remnants in a single organization and move beyond the

sectarianism Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or Religious violence, religious conflicts between groups. Others conceiv ...

that marked the previous decades.

1999 split

In response to

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

and the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, FRSO began to develop two distinct positions on socialist countries. The "Left Refoundation" group, aligned with

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic ideology, economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and wor ...

, argued that these events resulted from a deep crisis of Marxism. The "Fight Back!" group, aligned with Marxism-Leninism, argued that these events resulted from revisionism rather than failures within Marxism. These divisions grew during the 1990s. In 1998, the Left Refoundation group wrote an internal document, "Theses on Left Refoundation", and requested an organization-wide discussion. The FRSO National Executive Committee (NEC) unanimously rejected this discussion. In 1999, the Left Refoundation group received a second hearing, at which the NEC and FRSO as a whole split in two. Both factions claimed the name "Freedom Road Socialist Organization". In 2006, the Left Refoundation group renamed itself to "FRSO/OSCL", combining the English and Spanish acronym. In 2019, the Left Refoundation group renamed itself to Liberation Road.

FBI raid

On September 24, 2010, over 70 FBI agents raided the homes of 6 antiwar activists, 5 of which FRSO members, and the Anti-War Committee (AWC) headquarters. The FBI claimed to be searching for evidence of "material support of terrorism". FRSO formed the "Committee to Stop FBI Repression" and claimed that FBI agents left behind documents indicating that the raids were aimed at people suspected of FRSO membership, due to the AWC's political support for the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in ...

(FARC) and

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP; ) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation ...

(PFLP). FRSO further claimed that the FBI had placed informants inside its organization. On February 26, 2014, a federal judge unsealed the extensive documents the FBI collected during its nearly three-year surveillance of FRSO. The FBI never charged any person involved.

Ideology

FRSO is a Marxist–Leninist and

democratic centralist Democratic centralism is the organisational principle of most communist parties, in which decisions are made by a process of vigorous and open debate amongst party membership, and are subsequently binding upon all members of the party. The con ...

organization. In labor, FRSO advocates a strategy of the building of a "militant minority" within the unions and opposing "collaborating union officials". In elections, FRSO generally encourages members to tactically vote against the "most reactionary" candidate, usually Republicans. However, in the 2024 election, FRSO stated "we don’t advocate voting for Harris as a way to oppose Trump", as a result of Harris' support for Israel bombing Palestine. FRSO recognizes

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

socialist countries A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ab ...

. FRSO "positively evaluates"

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

countries, but argues they "gave up on Marxism". FRSO also supports the

United Socialist Party of Venezuela The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (, PSUV, ) is a Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. It was formed from a merger of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivar ...

and

Nicolas Maduro Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

as "leading the masses of people in building a new society". FRSO participates in the annual International Communist Seminar. FRSO is

Anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

National conventions

The table below includes only the "Fight Back!" majority faction, which retains the FRSO name.

References

External links

Freedom Road Socialist Organization
(majority group, also called Freedom Road - Fight Back!)
Liberation Road
(minority split, also named Freedom Road Socialist Organization from 1999 to 2019)

at the

Marxists Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive, also known as MIA or Marxists.org, is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Enge ...

(MIA) Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism Online (EROL) {{Authority control Anti-imperialist organizations Anti-racist organizations in the United States Anti-revisionist organizations Far-left politics in the United States Political parties established in 1985 1985 establishments in the United States Marxist–Leninist parties in the United States Communist organizations in the United States