Socialists of Caltech
The Socialists of Caltech envision a future in which the economy and community are democratically organized for the benefit of all people, not the profits of a few. Our project is to identify and engage in key areas of struggle to build the solidarity in our communities necessary for the social transformation leading to the just world we imagine.
About Us
The Socialists of Caltech (SoC) are a group of undergraduates, graduate students, post docs, staff members and friends committed to building an intersectional coalition against racism, xenophobia, imperialism, patriarchy, LGBTQ-phobia, ableism, and the system of capitalist exploitation that undergirds them all. Our project is to help organize and lead these struggles on campus, throughout greater LA, and within our communities around the world. In doing so we must build our collective consciousness and power as workers. However, while fully identifying with a broader working class, we also recognize that we occupy a privileged position in the knowledge economy and bear a special moral duty to use that to society’s benefit.
We believe that society should be democratically organized at all levels, including and crucially, in the workplace and at sites of economic production. To that end, we advocate for collective ownership of the means of production and the abolition of private property. We analyze society through the lenses of dialectical materialism and the history of class struggle between the owner or capitalist class (those who own the means of production) and the working class (those who do not).
Working Groups
Anti-Imperialism Working Group
Caltech is an institution with significant historical ties to both the US military and the American eugenics movement. As socialists at this institution, we recognize that the history of Western science is inextricably tied to colonialism, white supremacy, and military expansion. We will oppose imperialism via a diversity of methods, including political education events, direct action, and institutional pressure.
Healthcare and Disability Working Group
Under capitalism, the means of production and indeed the means of life itself are controlled by the capitalist class. Medical services, a crucial necessity for survival, become commodified and privatized such that healthcare becomes inaccessible and expensive for the working class. The Healthcare and Disability working group advocates for the decommodification of health care. This working group also formed Caltech for Affordable Healthcare, a campaign that is organizing to secure a student health insurance plan that works for all students, especially chronically ill and disabled students.
Housing Working Group
The Housing working group seeks to support and organize struggles for housing justice at Caltech and in the broader Pasadena community. We work closely with the Pasadena Tenants Union and the Pasadena Tenant Justice Coalition, which is a campaign to get a comprehensive rent control charter amendment in Pasadena.
Outreach Working Group
The Outreach working group focuses on programming for the Caltech community and on SoC’s presence on campus. In addition, we are committed to connecting Caltech to the greater community in Pasadena and beyond, building solidarity as a foundation for effective organizing. Often, Outreach will collaborate with other working groups or even other Caltech organizations to put on events, such as: movie nights, educational workshops, flyering, and social gatherings. In addition, Outreach also organizes in response to developments in current events, particularly those impacting the local community.
Next Week’s Events
Monday, May 6th
Caltech Grad/Postdoc Union General Meeting
For details like locations and Zoom links see the events in the full calendar below.
Calendar
View the full calendar in a new tab.
Political Education Program
With our political education program we seek to raise the political consciousness and theoretical understanding of SoC members and the Caltech community at large, in order to guide our organizing and practical action. We hold regular discussions on a wide variety of political material, and work with other working groups to hold educational workshops for the community.
SoC Library and eLibrary
SoC has both a physical library collection and a digital eLibrary collection. The physical collection is on the ninth floor of the eugenicist building on Caltech campus. Please use the clipboard provided to sign out a book. [Note: the library is currently closed due to Covid-19.] The eLibrary lives on a restricted drive, but we are happy to send you any book upon request using the form below.
The Book and Media List indicates whether any item is in the physical library or eLibrary. You can sort by “availability” to see only the books in our collection.
If you would like to add a text to the SoC eLibrary submit it to the librarian using this form.
To request books from the SoC eLibrary, please submit this form and we’ll email them to you. We’re all volunteers, so we might not get to the requests that speedily. SoC members can get access to the library drive directly.
