Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: DSA (Page 7 of 8)

Join the DSA

Why You Should Join the DSA

July 30, 2020 /

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) takes more criticism than almost any group on the U.S. left. People likewise criticize those who join the DSA.

They criticize the DSA for good and bad reasons. It’s had several prominent sexual harassment and assault scandals, including coverups from Los Angeles to Lawrence. Progress against harassment remains uneven, but the DSA did pass a new policy and grievance process. Misogyny remains an issue. Others criticize the DSA for its lack of diversity. My impression is that the DSA doesn’t have enough black members and members without a college degree. But it fares much better among Asian, Latinx, LGBTQ, and non-binary people. I also suspect the DSA has very few middle income people – for better or for worse. It seems to draw its members from extremes – low income, precariat workers and wealthier people.

I’m afraid criticism of the DSA quickly goes downhill from there. Plenty of Twitter-based leftists hate the group. They’re likely worried they might have to organize rather than grandstand if they join the DSA. It simply doesn’t fit their vision of ‘politics by voguing.’ Others find the DSA at odds with their brand of leftist politics.  And the DSA is also enmeshed within a broader dispute over the role of identity politics and identitarianism. These remain difficult issues, and sometimes DSA people shove their foot in their mouth on it.

But back to the main topic: why you should join the DSA. Most of you should. Not all of you. Some of you can’t get past its problems. And that’s fine. But for most of you, the benefits greatly outweigh the problems.

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social democratic poster

A Dilemma for Social Democratic Parties

April 20, 2020 /

It’s one thing to say we need a social democratic party – or socialist party – in the U.S. It’s quite another to say who its members will be.

But plenty of leftists think they’ve got it down. The story goes something like this. First, we organize around a social democratic platform: Medicare for All, a $15-20/hour minimum wage, free college and cancellation of student loan debt, housing for all, a Green New Deal, et al. Then, we use the strength and momentum from the social democratic program to push for more. We directly challenge the basic capitalist structure of ownership and control.

Sure, the plan has its problems and pitfalls. For example, do we organize within or outside of the Democratic Party? But most leftists endorse it in its broad outlines. For a couple of recent examples among many, see Bhaskar Sunkara’s book The Socialist Manifesto and Nathan J. Robinson’s book Why You Should Be a Socialist.

I do think the plan’s proponents underestimate the difficulty of finding a constituency for a social democratic party. They heavily rely on appeals to the materials interests of the U.S. working class, but those interests – and the size of the working class to which they appeal – are shakier than they think.

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socialist party vote socialist poster

Do We Need a Socialist Party?

December 23, 2019 /

There’s been a lot of interest lately in the question of whether we need a socialist party in the US. Perhaps to put this in a way people might ask it: Do we need a socialist party in our time, and, if so, what would it look like? In one sense, it’s a surprising question. We have a socialist party in the US! In fact, we have lots of them.

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DSA Caucuses: What’s the Deal?

August 19, 2019 /

dsa caucuses

The Democratic Socialists of America recently held its 2019 National Convention, and I wrote earlier about its preconvention event in Chicago. You probably know the DSA grew from maybe 6,000 members to about 55,000 members around and after the 2016 US presidential election. Over the course of that time, the group moved significantly to the left. I’ll say more about this later in a post on the DSA itself, but it transitioned from an organization of liberals and progressives to one of social democrats-to-socialists. It endorsed John Kerry in 2004 and BDS in 2017. You know, that kind of change. The DSA Caucuses make up much of the group’s politics.

Some of you might not know much about the DSA Caucuses, especially those of you who aren’t part of the largest chapters or social networks. Here in Iowa, our DSA Chapters build working class and tenant power via tenants unions. As well as other local and regional projects. By contrast, the DSA Caucuses mostly focus on national issues or national structure. They’re not obviously relevant to our work. As a result, many of us don’t know much about them.

In a similar boat? This post is for all of you.

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The Socialist Manifesto

June 10, 2019 /

socialist manifesto

Jacobin founding editor Bhaskar Sunkara recently published his first book, The Socialist Manifesto.

He’s trying to do a lot with the book. But here’s the main goal as I see it. Sunkara wants to distinguish between social democracy and socialism. He draws this distinction primarily in terms of the political methods people use in their pursuit. And he argues that the best political vision for our times is one that helps us move from the former to the latter. He does this via a historical project, covering everything from the feudalist roots of capitalism to German and Swedish social democracy to the Soviet Union and China to the history of leftism in the United States. Again, quite a project.

I’ll lay out some of Sunkara’s key arguments in The Socialist Manifesto. And I’ll offer some agreement and criticism along the way.

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