Dsa?

[un_person]

I've been looking at different leftist groups in America and I was wondering what you all think of the Democratic Socialists of America and their youth wing the Young Democratic Socialists?

[Revy]

They support the Democratic Party, in order to strengthen the left-wing of the Democrats. They justify this by saying that a viable third party is impossible right now.

Their view of socialism is social democratic and reformist. They belong to the Socialist International, which includes the UK Labour Party and other social democratic parties.

[chegitz guevara]

I think of them as little as possible. They're a social democratic outfit that considers themselves party of the Democratic Party. It's a great shame that dual membership between them and the SPUSA is allowed on our part.

[the last donut of the night]

I've worked with them in their national office and their position towards everything -- capitalism, the state, Zionism, and women's liberation, is despicable at best. They should just dissolve themselves and be part of the Democratic Party; in fact, they'd probably get more money that way.

[un_person]

So THC what is your personal view of them? positive, negative, or neutral?

[9]

I was in the DSA briefly when I was in high school. They are basically liberals and are part of the far left base of the democratic party, as has basically been said.

[Terminator X]

I worked with them a bit in college and I have no use for them. Very reformist, and their reps are incredibly annoying. They want money above all else, even if you have spent countless hours volunteering on their behalf. I got calls at least 3 times a week from them asking for contributions.

I wondered why all of the other leftists in college laughed when I told them I represented the DSA - now I know why.

[Proletarian Ultra]

It's basically an Elks' lodge for union bureaucrats and midwestern aldermen, except without the pool tables or funny hats. Lame.

[black magick hustla]

I was in the DSA briefly when I was in high school. They are basically liberals and are part of the far left base of the democratic party, as has basically been said.
yeah i was "in it" too for a while. a lot of their membership have disgusting zionist views too

[the last donut of the night]

yeah i was "in it" too for a while. a lot of their membership have disgusting zionist views too

I agree. Their youth national organizer was talking to me and said that the left apparently criticizes Israel too much while not focusing enough on other struggles. Not too surprisingly, he's also Israeli and supports the failed two-state solution.

[syndicat]

i was briefly in each of the predecessor groups of DSA, DSOC in late '60s and NAM in 1972-74. Altho NAM called itself a "revolutionary" group initially, and had been influenced by Slaughton Lynd, they quickly moved towards a lowest common denominator liberalism. In its early years NAM was multitendencied, including Maoists and libertarian socialists.

Most of the Maoists left in 1974 to form Communist Workers Party, and most of the libertarian socialists left then too, including me. the left of NAM who refused to join DSA ended up in Solidarity. DSA is totally fixated on electoral politics, tends to identify union bureaucrats with the working class, and is actually liberal or, at best, social democratic in the Bernie Sanders way.

[graymouser]

The DSA is openly social democratic, supports the Socialist International, and solicits members via direct mailings. (I got one just the other day!) It does have a fairly strong base in the trade union bureaucracy and among academic leftists, but is virtually entirely a paper organization, without a strong presence in movement work.

My experience with DSA members is that they aren't as bad as the CPUSA when it comes to pushing for support for the Democrats - for instance they didn't drop their position of single payer in favor of the "public option," which the CPUSA effectively did during the healthcare debate. I haven't gotten the sense that they, unlike the CPUSA or CCDS, are really enforcers of the popular front, but social democrats following Michael Harrington's long-term plan to make the Democratic Party into a social democratic party.

Objectively they're to the left of the CPUSA today, but they still operate in the popular front with the Democrats and as such are beyond the pale politically. The really loose character of the organization combined with the electoral rottenness means that they wouldn't be a candidate for entryism; any revolutionary with half an ounce of sense should be able to find his or her own way out of the DSA post haste.

As far as programmatic objections, in the case of the DSA it's really quite old hat - they're reformists and honestly, I'm not sure why you'd even get into it when the group thinks it's going to change the Democratic Party. It's pointless to raise critiques about Israel, for instance, when the whole thing is rotten to the core.

[The Hong Se Sun]

At a multi-party/ORG socialism conference in Seattle back in early 09' When the DSA rep started to his talk he started by saying: (I'm paraphrasing here) We need to stop all revolutionary action and concentrate all of our time, funds and abilities into getting Obama re-elected in 20012" The ISO guy who was there was pissed.


When I first became socialist I was thinking about joining them..... but then started reading their stuff and ran as fast as I could.

[Adil3tr]

They're social democratic pussies

[chegitz guevara]

At a multi-party/ORG socialism conference in Seattle back in early 09' When the DSA rep started to his talk he started by saying: (I'm paraphrasing here) We need to stop all revolutionary action and concentrate all of our time, funds and abilities into getting Obama re-elected in 20012" The ISO guy who was there was pissed.

Why get pissed? Why not laugh your ass off? :lol: