Continentalist Party of Sierra

  

Continentalist Party of Sierra
Chairperson	Zelda Winnifred
Founded	October 15, 1919 (1919-10-15)
Headquarters	Porciúncula
Student wing	Green Guard
Youth wing	Continentalist Youth of America Young Pioneers
Membership	9,000 (2019)
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Landonism Continentalism Anti-capitalism Republicanism Ameroskepticism
Political position	Far-left
International affiliation	Landonist International
Official colors	Crimson
Senate	0 / 155
House of Commons	0 / 326
Party flag
Politics of the Kingdom of Sierra Political parties Elections

The Continentalist Party of Sierra (CPS) is a Marxist–Landonist communist political party in Sierra. Founded in 1919, the Continentalist Party directly modeled itself after the Continentalist Party of the United Commonwealth and adopted the ideology of Continentalism among its guiding principles. No member of the party has ever been elected to parliament or a local legislature, and thus no member has ever served as Prime Minister. Despite this and their small size, the CPS has made itself known on the political scene through activism, protesting, and social media.

The party traces its origins to the Sierran labor movement of the late 19th century, specifically the Labor Party of Sierra founded in 1886. In the early 20th century the Styxie region became an epicenter for the burgeoning Continentalist movement as organized by Aeneas Warren and Zhou Xinyue, both residents of Sierra while attending The Presidio, The Military College of San Francisco. Upon the outbreak of the Continental Revolutionary War, Sierran Landonists attempted to organize similar revolutionary activity but were rebuked by government authorities during the Sierran Red Scare. Initially associated with the Landonist International, the Labor Party became internally divided over the question of expelling the reformers from its ranks. After attempting unsuccessfully to steer the Labor Party toward the party line of the Continentalists, Stephen Nygard led an exodus from the Labor Party to found the Continentalist Party on October 15, 1919.

With the success of the Continentalists in the United Commonwealth, the Continentalist Party of Sierra saw its greatest levels of public support throughout the mid 1920s. Drawing away members from the Labor Party, its remaining members joined the Democratic Socialist Party of Sierra, which later evolved into the Social Democrats of Sierra. The Continentalist Party followed closely the party line of the United Commonwealth during the rise of Seamus Callahan, and was criticized as treasonous by Sierran authorities, with the party suffering repression at the hands of the Royal Intelligence Agency. As a result, a faction of the Continentalists defected to form the Communist Party of Sierra in 1928, which has since evolved further away from Continental orthodoxy. Conversely, the Continentalist Party to this day adheres to the principles of Marxism–Landonism, and seeks alignment with the United Commonwealth. The party suffered during the height of the Sierran Cultural Revolution, with party leaders being arrested, harassed, or even killed by members of the Purple Guard and other government-aligned forces, forcing the party's activities underground. Its staunch support for the United Commonwealth and Continentalism alienated the party other major Sierran left-wing parties. The party received funding and political support from the United Commonwealth, which subjected the party to public suspicion and government scrutiny through a series of investigations and audits in the 1970s and 1980s. It also functioned as a covert apparatus for Continental espionage and intelligence activities in Sierra.

In the 21st century, the Continentalist Party is one of the country's most significant minor registered parties, and has grown in popularity, especially among the youth and in urban areas. It promotes transforming Sierra into a socialist state along the model of the United Commonwealth, and one of its major policy proposals is the outright abolition of the monarchy. Today the party is led by activist and former member of the House of Commons Zelda Winnifred.

History

Isaiah Landon is credited with publicizing and making the works of Karl Marx and Frederich Engels more accessible to Anglo-American readers. He played an important role as a Republican leader during the Sierran Civil War, and after his capitulation and subsequent life sentence under house arrest, penned his thoughts on socialism and republican thought into what became known as Landonism. As labor movements and left-wing organizations emerged during the Gilded Age, such movements were met with considerable opposition and resistance by the government and major parties. The First Red Scare during the early 20th century and the Sierran Cultural Revolution ostracized leftists, including Landonists, even within the culturally republican Styxie.

See also

• Communism in the Kingdom of Sierra
• Kingdom of Sierra–United Commonwealth relations