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The Social Democratic League emerged in Melbourne out of the failed Melbourne branch of the Australian Socialist League. Principle founding members include S.A. Rosa, Dr W.D. Maloney, and W. Dudley Flinn.

The SDL adopted a more libertarian socialism than the state socialist position of the ASL. Its principle activity was the organisation of the unemployed. It convened mass meetings of strikers and sympathisers during the 1890 Maritime Strike. Following the defeat of the strike it turned its attention to the formation of a Labor Party, being represented at the conference which founded the Progressive Political League. The SDL program in large part became the program of the PPL.

It was effectively absorbed by the Labor Party.

Resources

Manifestos

• Social Democratic League Objective, 1917, 1917. Transcript HTML Transcript PDF Details