The Democratic Socialists of America is an organization which is making some critical decisions which will affect the future of the socialist movement and even the country. Should it be a party or not? How do we declare independence from the Democratic Party without fading into irrelevance? How can we claim to be an organization of the multiracial working-class but be dominated by white and middle-class voices? How can we adopt a bold and detailed program without fracturing or losing our identity as a multi-tendency group? National or local? Reform? Or Revolution?
These questions and the subsequent decisions are made all the more important now that we are now the most powerful socialist organization in the country. Only the Green Party has a larger membership base. Bernie Sanders, as flawed as he was, served as unifying force for the movement, a force which is no longer present.
None of these questions have clear answers. But I think there is a solid path forward, which can encourage unity and diversity(in thought and membership). I think the future of the DSA lies in coalition building and a true united front. Not a united front between those who want to dismantle the capitalist system and those who enable it, but a true organ of Left unity which can truly defeat the dual forces of fascism and capital. This is the reasoning behind the resolutions I introduced for the YDSA convention, I explained my vision of the national coalition in a previous post. But I want to get a bit more into detail how this fits into a wider vision for the DSA and the future of the socialist movement.
Advocates of Democratic Centralism make many good points, those organizations are able to act as effective revolutionary machines, with an impact which exceeds their size. But they are by their nature, smaller. They seek to have a firm(er) ideological line(no party can truly escape factions), and are more exclusive with membership in the name of building a more compact and effective organization. DSA by contrast has become much larger almost overnight, but has core issues relating to its inability to make and enact decisions. Chapters are almost autonomous, the beauty of our intellectual diversity has also led to an organization who can hardly even agree on what socialism is. But if we got more picky, more centralized, with a firmer ideological line, it would certainly fracture the organization, not to mention go against our organization's identity up to this point.
I see the solution in dual carding. The DSA doesn't need to be THE organization, or involved in every action. Where it can have real merit as the binding glue of the united front, a common organization and forum where you can discuss and organize with comrades of many different viewpoints. It can give the socialist movement something it has always lacked, unity. This is why I also don't view it as a party per se, although we are party-like. A big part of this will be lifting the ban on Democratic Centralist members(there is a lovely amendment in the convention which does just that), another will be figuring out how to best facilitate robust and respectful ideological debate within the organization. Friendly roundtable discussions on relevant issues between the caucuses could be a step in the right direction.
A national coalition would help in the united front and diversity departments, as well as help alleviate some of our chronic resource shortage. This coalition would not just be between national organizations, but between local chapters and their local allied groups. By pooling information and resources, the whole movement will be far more powerful. While the middle-class dilemma has more or less always plagued Leftist politics in the West, it could be helped by devising a better dues scheme(I think one based on reported income is preferable) and working with organizations which already engage working-class people, and critically to learn from their successes to expand our own base. In terms of racial and gender diversity, I think it is good to realize how much the problem stems from our still living in a segregated society. We need to reach out to radical Indigenous, Latinx, Black, and Asian-led organizations. I have noticed a lot of progress on the local level where DSA has partnered with local M4BL and other social justice groups. This isn't just about pulling from allied groups' pools of organizers, but establishing chapters as members of the community and building trust. We have to show that socialism isn't just something for activists and college students.
The resource question is probably the most common criticism I have received regarding a coalition strategy. DSA is already stretched pretty thin with both it's money and it's people. Why should we focus on other groups instead of working on our internal structure? I would say a lot of our issues stem from isolation, we want to do everything, but since we are not well-connected to the wider movement, we have to do everything in-house, which is a massive drain on resources. We could work with allied groups on common areas of interest. Why must we have our own Green New Deal committee instead of working with the Green Party? Why not tap into Our Revolution's resources to advocate for M4A? Partner with the Rose Caucus for electoral work? We could find and partner with allies who do what our members are wanting, like a bail fund. By not having to do everything ourselves, we would free up more resources to focus on core campaigns, political education, and fixing internal structural issues.
Finally, I think one thing which would massively help the connection between the chapters and the national organization would just be to make some simple materials explaining the basics of DSA as an organization, where to go to get more involved, and send them out as "must-runs" every 6 months or so. My chapter is not very well-connected to the national organization, and so I knew almost nothing about the internal workings of the national DSA before I became a delegate. I thought I did, but after I was elected I realized how much the national organization was separate from the chapters.
I truly believe in the Democratic Socialists of America as an organization, not just as one that will be able to succeed, but will be on the front lines of change.