My impression of DSAers has been genuine people who want a better future, but most of them are not online and don’t have strong views on socialist sects and tendencies. Those of us who are nerds that are more versed in theory often talk about how socialism is a mass movement and we can’t gatekeep the revolution.
Because DSA folks don’t read the theory you see some boneheaded moves (less and less as the left actually gets a foothold), and due to the political climate in American occupied territories, the left in general has a labor aristocratic class character (to be very polite about it).
Accurate assessment. Look at the members, organizing work, and statements of the various committees and caucuses and you’ll see the more “radical” and ideologically driven organizers do most of the heavy lifting in the org.
I mean…yes. But there is no lack of effort to counter all these tendencies. Even moderates point out these problems within the org. Internal struggle is working, even prominent moderate electoralist caucuses are leading Marxist reading groups.
Theory heads like us have our own problems, we easily become sectarian, we often are not self critical enough of our own ideas, we subscribe to all sorts of idealism, usually via intellectualism, we use “Marxism” or “dialectical materialism” in a way that actually alienates us from the real struggle.
But yeah compared to like the Russian rsdlp, we are like at 1895, maybe? Probably not even that far since the ambient narodnikism in the country at least made revolutionaries really fucking serious. We are all just volunteers, but for a few exceptions.
You’re saying a minority of the DSA are “democratic socialists”?
No a minority are social democrats, who identify as democratic socialists. And most of them are strong, active, reliable organizers
My impression of DSAers has been genuine people who want a better future, but most of them are not online and don’t have strong views on socialist sects and tendencies. Those of us who are nerds that are more versed in theory often talk about how socialism is a mass movement and we can’t gatekeep the revolution.
Because DSA folks don’t read the theory you see some boneheaded moves (less and less as the left actually gets a foothold), and due to the political climate in American occupied territories, the left in general has a labor aristocratic class character (to be very polite about it).
It’s not like there’s an alternative anyway.
Accurate assessment. Look at the members, organizing work, and statements of the various committees and caucuses and you’ll see the more “radical” and ideologically driven organizers do most of the heavy lifting in the org.
I mean…yes. But there is no lack of effort to counter all these tendencies. Even moderates point out these problems within the org. Internal struggle is working, even prominent moderate electoralist caucuses are leading Marxist reading groups.
Theory heads like us have our own problems, we easily become sectarian, we often are not self critical enough of our own ideas, we subscribe to all sorts of idealism, usually via intellectualism, we use “Marxism” or “dialectical materialism” in a way that actually alienates us from the real struggle.
But yeah compared to like the Russian rsdlp, we are like at 1895, maybe? Probably not even that far since the ambient narodnikism in the country at least made revolutionaries really fucking serious. We are all just volunteers, but for a few exceptions.
I read this article by J Cannon this week, has a lot of really prescient points. https://www.marxists.org/archive/cannon/works/1925/sitdiff.htm
We advanced beyond this by 1935, but 10 or so years later we regressed basically all the way back, and now, even further behind.