The Polish Socialist Party (PPS) was a democratic socialist party in Poland which was active from 23 November 1892 to 1948 as a major party and from 1987 to present as a minor party. The party was founded in Paris, France by Polish exiles in 1892, and the party adhered to Polish nationalism, seeking to create a free and independent state of Poland separate from the Russian Empire, as well as socialism. The PPSS' program was the creation of an independent and democratic Republic of Poland, direct universal voting rights, equal rights for all nations living in Poland, equal rights for all citizens regardless of race, nationality, religion, and gender, freedom of press, speech, and assembly, progressive taxation, the eight-hour work day, the minimum wage, equal wages for men and women, a ban on child labor until the age of fourteen, free education, and social support in case of injury in the workplace. The Polish Socialist Party assisted in organizing underground groups that opposed Russian rule, and many early Polish leaders belonged to the party due to its nationalist views. Many PPS leaders backed Jozef Pilsudski's May 1926 coup, but Pilsudski's tyrannical rule would lead to the PPS forming the center-left opposition to his government; several PPS leaders were jailed at the Bereza Kartuska prison. The party would merge with the communist Polish United Workers' Party in 1948 following the communist takeover of Poland, but the Polish Socialist Party was re-formed in 1987 to continue the former PPS's politics. However, the party was confined to the margins of Polish politics.
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