• Ranks third among Marxist organizations in the United States today, in terms of size and influence
• Seeks to dismantle capitalism and replace it with socialism
• Views the United States and Israel as the two chief sources of evil on earth

The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS) was established in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its founders were a number of prominent Communist Party USA members who, in the sudden absence of Soviet funding and guidance, became disenchanted with the CPUSA and broke away to form their own group. CCDS explains that it took its name from the Committees of Correspondence that in the 1770s “were formed in all 13 colonies and became the catalyst for united action against British oppression.” Among Marxist groups in America today, CCDS ranks third in terms of its size and influence – behind only the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the CPUSA. It is particularly influential in Chicago, New York, and California, as well as in some centers of the union movement and in black communities.

Aiming to serve as a “catalyst for change” that will inspire “united action among all who feel the brunt of oppression in the U.S.,” CCDS describes its members as “activists in all the social movements of our country – [movements] of labor, civil rights, immigrant rights, women, peace, international solidarity, gay and lesbian rights, environment, youth and students, seniors, and religion.” The organization seeks “to help shape a clear-cut alternative to the destructive, mean-spirited corporate drive for profit above all else” that allegedly undergirds capitalism. CCDS also pursues “constructive solutions” to the problems it says are caused by capitalism, namely “poverty[,] unemployment, racism, sexism, [and inadequate] health, education, and housing.” CCDS envisions a world where economic resources are “used for the benefit of the many rather than for the profit of the few,” and where “the means of producing wealth -- the factories, the land, and the banks – are controlled by the people, through a broad democracy in political and cultural life.”

According to former congressional investigator Herbert Romerstein, CCDS maintains “a close working relationship with the Stalinist remnants in the former East Germany, now called the Party of Democratic Socialism.”

In 2008, CCDS supported the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama. The organization worked closely with the DSA on Obama's behalf, particularly through the political advocacy group Progressives for Obama (now called Progressive America Rising). On August 10, 2008, CCDS disseminated to its members a statement exhorting them to “work wholeheartedly to ensure a massive defeat at the polls for [Republican nominee] John McCain and his war-mongering, neo-conservative, right-wing sponsors.” “Only a massive turnout of new, young, African American, Latino, Asian American, trade union, and progressive voters casting a ballot for Barack Obama can insure this defeat,” added CCDS.

During the Obama campaign in 2008, CCDS National Co-chair Mark Solomon blamed racism for most of the criticisms that were being directed toward the senator at that time. Along those lines, Solomon deplored the “ferocious attacks” on Obama and “on his minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright and ... his predominantly African American church.”

CCDS views the United States and Israel as the two chief wellsprings of evil on earth. With regard to Israel specifically, CCDS has accused the Jewish state of “horrific war crimes” including the “bombing of innocent Palestinian civilians.” Moreover, the organization contends that the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza -- a blockade that was established to prevent Hamas from importing weaponry from Iran and other allies abroad -- has unjustifiably “denied … food and medicine” to the residents of Gaza. CCDS further claims that the U.S. is complicit in this evil by virtue of having “contributed billions of dollars annually to Israel as well as military equipment and bombs ...”

CCDS favors a single-payer health care system administered entirely by the federal government. In April 2010, CCDS lamented that the health care bill that was approved by the Senate and signed by President Obama did not go far enough toward fulfilling "the promise of affordable and equitable health care for all."

CCDS proposes “a job-creation plan to generate 5 million new jobs a year for the next ten years.” Focusing heavily on “the construction of new 'green' industries,” these jobs “would be provided by a massive, federally organized and publicly-funded restructuring of our social and physical infrastructure.” Specifically, the CCDS plan:

• would feature “permanent [jobs] with an inflation-indexed minimum starting pay of $18 an hour”;

• would “include vigorous affirmative action to guarantee job opportunities to African Americans, Latinos, Asian-Pacific Islanders, American Indians and youth, particularly in the urban centers that have been devastated by job losses and unemployment”;

• would emphasize “the rights of immigrant workers,” calling for “legalization” for "all who work" and "an end to raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement"; and

• would be financed by a transferral of “half of the annual U.S. trillion-dollar military expenses to the jobs program”; a “substantia[l] increase [in] the tax on both the income and wealth of the top 1 percent”; “a significant tax on the profits of major corporations”; and the closing of “tax loopholes and shelters that allow corporations and the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.”

A notable CCDS co-chair is Carl Davidson, who serves as the organization's field organizer. A key member of the CCDS National Executive Committee is Harry Targ. And the organization's advisory board includes such luminaries as Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis, Ruby Dee, Manning Marable, and Pete Seeger. Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee has also has CCDS connections.

CCDS is a member organization of the United for Peace and Justice anti-war coalition.