Can DSA be a vehicle for fundamental social change?
DSA Moves Further Right
Steve Leigh
The 2021 DSA Convention is over . DSA continues to endorse lesser-evilism domestically . It is moving away from the “dirty break” strategy which claims to support a new working class party someday. Instead it is moving toward a realignment strategy — i.e. staying in the Democratic Party indefinitely . The realignment theory is that the DP can be converted from a capitalist party to a socialist or labor party.
https://www.leftvoice.org/dsa-the-left-wing-of-the-possible/
By passing resolution #14 at its 2021 convention it now openly embraces lesser-evilism internationally as well.
Resolution 14 was originally included in a packet of resolutions proposed by the National Political Committee that were to be passed together. It took a serious fight to take resolution 14 out of the packet. It was debated separately and passed by a 2–1 margin. A key part of the resolution is
Therefore be it resolved, the International Committee will also begin the process of developing exchange programs with mass parties in other countries in the pursuit of knowledge sharing and building DSA’s relationship with the international left,
Therefore be it resolved, the International Committee will also continue efforts to establish relationships with mass Parties of the Latin American left,
Therefore be it resolved, the Democratic Socialists of America will apply for membership within the São Paulo Forum
This follows a very controversial DSA delegation to Venezuela and other countries in Latin America to confer with leaders of Left parties. The DSA delegation did not meet with organizations of workers who oppose those governments and parties from the left.
This position is very consistent with DSA’s overall politics. DSA is fundamentally a reformist organization. It does not seek to overthrow capitalist “democracy” and the capitalist economic system. It enthusiastically backed Bernie Sanders for President. Sanders is a critical supporter of Israel and continues to vote for military budgets and keeping the US borders closed. He wants major reforms within capitalism but does not actually favor eliminating capitalism. He does not call for actual working class ownership and democratic control of the economy. He opposed defunding the police.
In spite of Sanders’ center left positions, DSA endorsed him because he claims to be a socialist. By this he means that he supports a Western European style welfare state. This shows what DSA means by socialism.
Since DSA does not support working class revolution in the US , it makes sense that it would not support revolution in Latin America. Instead of allying with the working class opposition to the Pink Tide governments and parties, it wants to have good relations with the leaders of “mass Parties of the Latin American left”. It wants to be part of the Sao Paulo forum which is a coalition of these parties.
DSA leaders call this internationalism. If anything it is internationalism from above. It does not build solidarity with working class organizations fighting against exploitation. It does not support the campaigns of the indigenous against oppression by the Pink Tide governments and parties.
This is not an abstract question! Left wing workers in Venezuela and Nicaragua are being repressed by governments that claim to be on the left. Both the Maduro and Ortega governments have been cracking down on working class opposition. DSA has chosen the wrong side in this active conflict !
https://www.leftvoice.org/nicaragua-encachimbada-a-popular-uprising/
The leaders of DSA present this resolution as the only way to oppose US Imperialism. If the US government levies sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela etc. then socialists in the U.S. must be in political solidarity with the governments of those countries they say. Of course , socialists , working class activists, internationalists and any decent human being should oppose the US attacks on any other country. We should demand an end to the embargo on Cuba, sanctions against Venezuela etc. These US actions are not aimed at helping the people of those countries. They are only aimed at imposing US economic and political control.
However, opposing US attacks on other countries is not the same as giving political support to the governments of those countries! In regard to the conflict with the US, we need to support the right of self-determination against US control. On the other hand , in the internal conflict between workers and their still capitalist governments, we need to be on the side of the workers and specially oppressed including the indigenous. Instead of siding with the oppressed and exploited , DSA has come down on the side of the oppressors and exploiters. In the fight between the US and the Latin American governments , it has politically supported the “lesser evil”, rather than working class alternative. In each country it follows the lesser evil strategy of supporting supposedly left parties that are actually pro-capitalist and anti-working class.
DSA’s embrace of lesser evilism internationally is consistent with its support of the Democrats in the US. Both are consistent with its reformist politics. In both cases , DSA wants to gradually change the dominant capitalist parties rather than building for a revolution against them.
However, in another sense its “new” policy is internally contradictory and hypocritical. DSA supports Democratic politicians that support imperialism. Even “The Squad” votes for US military budgets. AOC etc have criticisms of US imperialism but fundamentally support it. DSA even supports candidates who back the sanctions the US is imposing on the countries it now claims to be in solidarity with !
https://www.leftvoice.org/the-politics-of-aoc/
Resolution 14 is a hypocritical left cover for its actual embrace of the Imperialist, Militarist Democratic Party. It makes no rational sense at all to formally officially declare solidarity with governments the US attacks while campaigning for candidates that vote for those attacks!
DSA is a broad organization. It includes all varieties of people who claim to support socialism, or even anarchism ! Its dominant politics are resolutely reformist and even moving more to the right. In spite of that, there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of people in DSA that are to the left of its dominant politics. Many revolutionaries want to build the influence of Marxism within DSA. However , it is hard for Marxists in DSA to win people to those politics externally when they are representing a reformist organization. Internally, it is difficult to win the organization to Marxism when it is so committed to reformism. New people join DSA with at least some idea of its reformist bent. The leadership of DSA reinforces this. None of the more left wing caucuses have made much progress in changing the direction of DSA , even as it grows.
It is time for Marxists in DSA to seriously consider forming or joining a revolutionary organization that can resolutely oppose lesser evilism domestically and internationally.
5 years of involvement in DSA by revolutionaries is long enough to show that the experiment in revolutionizing DSA has failed.
