The Party of the Left is one of the seven parties of the Yale Political Union and a member of the Coalition of the Left of the Yale Political Union. Founded in 2006 by individuals who sought to create rigorous dialogue and debate between competing strands of leftist thought, we are now the oldest party in the Left Coalition.

The Party of the Left comes together each week to debate issues that divide the Left and the world at large. Through thoughtful speeches and tough questions, Party members challenge and push each other intellectually. Always, the Party asks its members to wrestle with the questions “What is the Left? And why am I on it?” Past debate resolutions include: “Resolved: The Future Has No Gender” “Resolved: Bernie or Bust,” “Resolved: Abolish Police,” and “Resolved: Embrace Third-World Nationalisms.” All are welcome to come and participate in Party debates, regardless of age, experience level or affiliation. 

The Party of the Left does not only seek to help its members develop their own personal philosophies. Always in mind is the goal of working to reinvigorate and reinvent the Left as a serious political and intellectual movement in America and the world. The PoL looks to rebuild the Left to challenge ideological opponents both in the Yale Political Union and beyond. We engage in rigorous, structured debate because we believe that no idea should go unchallenged. Our mission is to “bring discourse to the outside world, and the outside world to discourse,” meaning that the Party is both an agent of change and a complement to it; whether advocating for justice for the workers of New Haven, fighting against Yale’s investment in fossil fuels, or prevailing in the face of racial and gendered injustice, members of the Party of the Left believe in doing leftism, not just discussing it. The Party serves as an opportunity to develop and refine ideological practice in both intellectual and social settings, a space in which the Left may both mourn the tragedies of the past and celebrate the promises of the future.

The Party of the Left is also a strong community of friends. Weekly Party dinners help foster informal discussions and frequent fun social events like Toasting and Games and Players’ Night serve to cement lasting friendships. In addition, the Party travels to Manhattan annually to meet with prominent figures in politics, the media, and the activism community. Previous contacts have included Matthew Bishop, Chief Business Writer for The Economist, Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director of the ACLU, and Mark Green, the former NYC Public Advocate.

The Party of the Left seeks to fulfill its mission to develop our members as people and leaders, and to develop a new vision of the Left. And while this is central to the Party’s purpose, just as important is the Party’s ability to create friendships that last.

To find out more about who we are, you can read our Constitution by clicking here.