The Direct Action Tendency are Anti-Authoritarians from both the Anarchist and Marxist traditions who are active participants in the class struggle. However, members of the Direct Action Tendency absolutely reject a mechanical application of class analysis and the use of archaic terminology. We reject attempting to force fit today's worker into yesterday's reality. The DAT looks to develop a Revolutionary Class Analysis based on the situation today - and to use this analysis to build a fighting program which we will implement - in the streets.

While we believe that well informed debates on theory are useful to a degree - we also believe that there is a qualitative difference between talking about socialism, and building the Party for socialism. We believe that there has been, all too often, a culture within our Party that promotes a disconnect between ideas and discussion on the one hand, and action on the other.

The Direct Action Tendency (DAT) has been formed by members of the Socialist Party, USA who believe that our Party needs to focus on our actions, not just words. While the term "direct action" is often associated with anarchists, the DAT feels it has relevance, in its broadest definition, to socialists as well. Direct action is the theory and practice of creating more favorable conditions using immediately available means. As advocates of direct action we choose to act with whatever resources and methods are within our power, either on our own or as part of a larger coalition, in order to solve the pressing problems with which capitalism and imperialism confront us.

The members of the DAT appreciate the wide spectrum of socialist theories and ideologies, but we wish to prevent ourselves being pigeonholed as adherents to a specific thesis. Moreover, we believe using ideology as a litmus test distorts reality and provides a substitute for the kind of critical analysis demanded by our times. We see ourselves in a manner similar to those who gathered to write "The Port Huron Statement" in 1962: American radicals wishing to build a radical movement capable of speaking to the men and women, young and old, who live in a 21st century United States of America.

We see our task as one of building the Socialist Party on the picket lines, as well as on the Internet or in the cafe. We believe Party visibility will increase if we are present and participate in the wide sphere of progressive struggles on issues of jobs, education, medical insurance, civil rights, affordable housing, and the rights of immigrants, among others. We reject the notion that socialists should only associate with other socialists. We agree with Tom Hayden that radicals are made, not born. We reject any notion of "purity," a worthy goal in vaccines, but not in politics. We reach out to those who are working class, middle class, as well as those who aren't sure what being part of a social class means. We believe that members of all classes can recognize the fallacies of their own social order, and act for the good of all humankind.

We reject the concepts that promote division, and we embrace those that promote unity. We reach out to those, both inside and outside the Party, who have little patience for well-worn arguments taking the place of action. We are activists, first and foremost, who believe the Socialist Party represents the best home for those who are tired of rigidity in any of its forms, and who are up for the challenge of building a vibrant Left movement. We are socialists, not liberals. We are radicals, not authoritarians. We are human beings, and in the course of this project we will make mistakes. We believe the key issue in acknowledging mistakes is to correct them without seeking first to assign blame. We will strive to work with comrades in order to keep as many as possible in our Party - we will not look to cast out those who wish to be a part of the struggle just because they focus on a different part of the battle than we do. We will strive to include all who want democratic socialism in our tendency and our Party.

In the final analysis, we stand for an end to the boom-bust cyclical crises of capitalism. We want to build a society that stands for a moral and humane social order. We want to bring down the artificially created and reinforced wall built by corporate America; the wall that has obstructed dreams, blocked hopes, and solidified apathy. We want a nation which rejects both a King George and a George W. Bush, in which our representatives know of our difficulties because they share them, and not because they've been briefed. We are for socialism, we are members of the Socialist Party and we are activists.

Direct Action Tendency