I met the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) and its sister organisation, Radical Women (RW) back in 2014 when I was still at secondary school. Throughout my teens, I always considered myself to be a feminist who cared deeply about social justice issues. The quest was to find a political home that reflected the feminist ideology I embraced.
I searched online for feminist groups in Melbourne and stumbled across Radical Women’s web page. Its multi-issue program immediately appealed to me. Next step was meeting with RW organiser Debbie Brennan at Solidarity Salon. I came ready with lots of questions and Debbie had plenty of answers for me!
I distinctly remember that light bulb moment when she said that the root cause of oppression wasn’t just patriarchy — it was an economic system we live under, called capitalism. In-depth conversations about class, and how capitalism exploits the labour of workers for profit, followed. As a teenage retail worker helping financially support my family during a difficult period of sickness, recession and unemployment, this made sense to me. I related to struggles for secure work. The sexist discrimination women and girls face all over the world angered me. I knew I had to be involved in an organisation at a serious level if patriarchal capitalism was to be toppled, and for workers to gain control of society. I joined Radical Women towards the end of my final year of high school.
Before I got to know the political programme of the Freedom Socialist Party, I was off to university. There I was recruited by another socialist organisation that was big on campus. I decided to leave Radical Women and join them but quickly realised I had made a mistake. Their anti-feminist rhetoric and practice was not something I could tolerate, nor was their bureaucratic top-down form of leadership.
Fortunately, my brief, albeit jarring, time in Socialist Alternative (which in Australia is a different group from the one in the U.S. with the same name), did not shake my belief that only achieving socialism could combat the mess that capitalism imposes on working people. But not just any kind of socialism — socialist feminism. I got back in touch with the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women and found I was welcomed with open arms. In 2020, I proudly re-joined Radical Women. A year later, I became a member of the FSP, seeing party membership as the next logical step.
Capitalism disempowers oppressed people. Belonging to a Bolshevik party is the perfect antidote. I have the belief and scientific knowledge that ordinary people can rise up and lead a revolution! I made the conscious decision to join the FSP because I knew that committing to a vanguard party meant learning from history, recognising leadership coming from the most oppressed, and being ready to push things forward when a mass upsurge comes.
I grew up hearing stories of the abject poverty my orphaned grandmother experienced during the Great Depression, as well as tales of my paternal grandfather, a member of the Australian Communist Party and rank-and-file union militant. Through this, I came to appreciate that while poverty is inescapable under capitalism, it is also possible to fight against it. In the party, I am learning how.
The socialist feminist politics of Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party spoke to me as a young teenager and continue to do so today. The party champions the rights of oppressed peoples around the globe. From union organizing, to the fight for racial justice, LGBTIQ+ rights, and First Nations’ sovereignty, the Freedom Socialist Party has been on the frontlines and is prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead. And just as important, the FSP is a party with solutions! We work collectively, think critically and train new leaders.
I have found my political home. I will continue to be in the FSP for the long haul until we workers rise up and take what rightfully belongs to us!
Send comments to the author at freedom.socialist.party@ozemail.com.au.
