Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: DSA (Page 4 of 8)

Poster for the 2023 DSA Convention. It depicts roses on both side of a logo.

2023 DSA Convention Proposals

June 3, 2023 /

I know, I know. I’ve been writing a lot about DSA lately. But the 2023 DSA Convention draws near. And after writing about broader issues of DSA strategy, I wanted to say a word about the Convention proposals.

As I’m sure many readers know, we have lots of them still in play. Rather than try to address all of them, I’ll focus on ones I clearly support or oppose. To narrow things down a bit further, I’ll focus mostly on Resolutions rather than Constitutional or Bylaws Amendments. I’ll provide brief arguments for where I stand on each proposal I discuss, though readers should certainly reach out if they’d like more detail.

And, of course, comments always welcome!

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Pieces on a game board designed to represent DSA strategy.

DSA Strategy: Issues vs. Classes

May 29, 2023 /

As the 2023 DSA Convention approaches, let’s try to answer a strategic question. The question concerns a big picture issue, one that I think people tend to lose in the details of the various Resolutions on display.

So, let’s talk broad, national strategy. I have in mind DSA’s ‘decision’ – quotes because it’s perhaps more a starting point than a decision – to run priority campaigns around issues rather than people. DSA builds its recruitment model on attracting people to issues like Medicare for All rather than reaching out to members of target classes and building campaigns around their ideas. An org can do both, of course. But DSA probably doesn’t have the resources to do both well. And, at present, it only does the former.

I’ll argue in this post that DSA should run grassroots organizing campaigns built around classes first, rather than issues.

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tribunes of the people

Tribunes of the People

April 10, 2023 /

The DSA is full of divides and false dichotomies. So let’s try to intervene against some of that. Some in the DSA world divide the org’s electoral strategy into two possible routes. The first one amounts to collaboration with – and capitulation to – the Democratic Party and its interests.  And the second is a Bolshevik inspired strategy called ‘Tribunes of the People.’ In that latter strategy, a core of united DSA elected officials stick to the party line and agitate the working class into a political force.

Various DSA caucuses, usually obscure and sectarian ones, promote this division. But in light of actions from The Squad and majority factions within the DSA, we’ve seen it erupt in larger DSA blocs and spaces. Such as the recent public event put on by several DSA caucuses.

I share many of the critiques of the DSA ‘majority’ faction’s electoral strategy. That strategy amounts to a shortcut to build on-paper membership in the short term without building a sustainable organization that can win power in the medium or long term.

But I’m hardly more impressed by the Tribunes of the People strategy. Let’s talk about that.

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socialism youth movement

Should Socialism Be a Youth Movement?

February 27, 2023 /

Recently, a debate opened up between two DSA caucuses – Socialist Majority and Bread & Roses – over a few strategic questions. Among other things, it shows an emerging split within the national org’s majority coalition. I don’t want to review the entire debate, especially since I’ve looked at parts of it in other posts. Rather, I want to look at a new part of the debate: the issue of who the DSA should target in its recruiting efforts. Should the DSA try to be a youth movement?

As a start, I’ll note that in some ways, the DSA is already a youth movement. It grew from 2015 to 2020, often rapidly. And it did so in large part on the strength of new members under the age of 30. Nearly everyone who joined was under the age of 40. But is all this the goal of a good recruiting effort? Should DSA keep focusing its efforts on finding new members among young people?

I think the answer is more complicated than the simple “yes” given by the Bread & Roses faction.

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dsa shrinking

Why Is The DSA Shrinking?

January 23, 2023 /

The DSA skyrocketed in membership after the 2016 and 2020 Bernie Sanders campaigns. It went from a fairly obscure, irrelevant org of about 5,000 progressives and social democrats to 60,000 – and then later 95,000! – Berniecrats, social democrats, socialists, and other leftists by late 2020.

The org obviously likes to tout its growth when pitching to new members or talking to the press. But one thing it talks about far less: membership stalled at 95,000. And now it’s shrinking.

DSA isn’t shrinking as quickly as it grew. It still has around 85,000 members a couple of years after growth stalled and then declined. But, even though it doesn’t discuss the issue much in public, no doubt DSA leaders and staff are concerned about it.

Let’s talk about the big question, then: why?

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