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Democratic Socialists of America

 

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Democratic Socialists of America



 
 
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a social democratic
Social democracy

Social democracy is a political philosophy of the left-wing politics or centre-left that emerged in the late 19th century from the socialism movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
/democratic socialist
Democratic socialism

Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialism movements, tendencies, and organizations, to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation....
 organization in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and the U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International
Socialist International

Socialist International is a worldwide organization of Democratic socialism, social democracy and labour party political parties. It was formed in 1951....
, a federation of social democratic
Social democracy

Social democracy is a political philosophy of the left-wing politics or centre-left that emerged in the late 19th century from the socialism movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
, democratic socialist
Democratic socialism

Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialism movements, tendencies, and organizations, to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation....
 and labor parties
Labour Party

The name Labour Party, Labor Party or similar is used by several political party around the world, particularly common in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations....
 and organizations.

DSA was formed in 1982 by a merger of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee

The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee was founded in 1973 by the bulk of those members of the Socialist Party of America who opposed the party's takeover by the followers of Max Shachtman....
 (DSOC) and the New American Movement
New American Movement

The New American Movement was founded in 1971 by a group of leaders of opposition to the Vietnam War to serve as a forum for discussing where and how to redirect their activities....
 (NAM). DSOC was the largest group to emerge from the splintering of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America

The Socialist Party of America was a Democratic socialism political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America which had split from the main organization in 1899....
 in 1973; two other Socialist Party factions went on to form Social Democrats USA
Social Democrats USA

Social Democrats USA , one of the successors of the Socialist Party of America-Social Democratic Federation , was a small coalition of democratic, anti-Communist intellectuals and trade unionists, whose active life lasted for about three decades after its foundation in 1973....
 and the Socialist Party USA
Socialist Party USA

The Socialist Party USA is one of the heirs to the Socialist Party of America of Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It is a democratic socialism, multi-tendency party, advocating a broad-based, social revolution from below....
. NAM was a coalition of writers and intellectuals with roots in both the New Left
New Left

The New Left were the left-wing movements in different countries in the 1960s and 1970s that, unlike the earlier leftist focus on labour movement activism, instead adopted a broader definition of political activism commonly called social activism....
 movements of the 1960s and the more traditional parties of the Old Left
Old Left

The Old Left is a term used to describe classic 1930s-era Western Leninisms, Trotskyisms and Stalinisms to differentiate them from the Marxisms of the New Left who emerged between the 1960s and the 1970s....
.

At its founding, DSA consisted of almost 5,000 ex-DSOC members and 1,000 ex-NAM members.






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Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a social democratic
Social democracy

Social democracy is a political philosophy of the left-wing politics or centre-left that emerged in the late 19th century from the socialism movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
/democratic socialist
Democratic socialism

Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialism movements, tendencies, and organizations, to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation....
 organization in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and the U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International
Socialist International

Socialist International is a worldwide organization of Democratic socialism, social democracy and labour party political parties. It was formed in 1951....
, a federation of social democratic
Social democracy

Social democracy is a political philosophy of the left-wing politics or centre-left that emerged in the late 19th century from the socialism movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
, democratic socialist
Democratic socialism

Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialism movements, tendencies, and organizations, to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation....
 and labor parties
Labour Party

The name Labour Party, Labor Party or similar is used by several political party around the world, particularly common in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations....
 and organizations.

DSA was formed in 1982 by a merger of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee

The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee was founded in 1973 by the bulk of those members of the Socialist Party of America who opposed the party's takeover by the followers of Max Shachtman....
 (DSOC) and the New American Movement
New American Movement

The New American Movement was founded in 1971 by a group of leaders of opposition to the Vietnam War to serve as a forum for discussing where and how to redirect their activities....
 (NAM). DSOC was the largest group to emerge from the splintering of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America

The Socialist Party of America was a Democratic socialism political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America which had split from the main organization in 1899....
 in 1973; two other Socialist Party factions went on to form Social Democrats USA
Social Democrats USA

Social Democrats USA , one of the successors of the Socialist Party of America-Social Democratic Federation , was a small coalition of democratic, anti-Communist intellectuals and trade unionists, whose active life lasted for about three decades after its foundation in 1973....
 and the Socialist Party USA
Socialist Party USA

The Socialist Party USA is one of the heirs to the Socialist Party of America of Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It is a democratic socialism, multi-tendency party, advocating a broad-based, social revolution from below....
. NAM was a coalition of writers and intellectuals with roots in both the New Left
New Left

The New Left were the left-wing movements in different countries in the 1960s and 1970s that, unlike the earlier leftist focus on labour movement activism, instead adopted a broader definition of political activism commonly called social activism....
 movements of the 1960s and the more traditional parties of the Old Left
Old Left

The Old Left is a term used to describe classic 1930s-era Western Leninisms, Trotskyisms and Stalinisms to differentiate them from the Marxisms of the New Left who emerged between the 1960s and the 1970s....
.

At its founding, DSA consisted of almost 5,000 ex-DSOC members and 1,000 ex-NAM members. By 1983 DSA reached 7,000 members, which it would not surpass until the early 1990s. Recently, membership has increased to around 10,000. Michael Harrington
Michael Harrington

Edward Michael "Mike" Harrington was an United States democratic socialism, writer, political activist, professor of political science, and radio commentator....
 and socialist-feminist author Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich is an American feminist, Democratic socialism and activism. She is a widely read columnist and essayist, and the author of nearly 20 books....
 were elected as the organization's co-chairs.

DSA, elections, and the Democratic Party

Originally DSA, like DSOC before it, was very strongly associated with Michael Harrington
Michael Harrington

Edward Michael "Mike" Harrington was an United States democratic socialism, writer, political activist, professor of political science, and radio commentator....
's position that "the left wing of realism is found today in the Democratic Party." In its early years DSA backed relatively mainstream liberals such as Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale

Walter Frederick Mondale is an Politics of the United States and member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He was the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States under President of the United States Jimmy Carter, a two-term United States Senate from Minnesota, and the very unsuccessful Democ...
 in spite of the dramatic growth of a left wing associated with Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an American civil rights activism and Baptist Minister of religion. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as "shadow senator" for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997....
 and the Rainbow Coalition
Rainbow Coalition

Rainbow Coalition may refer to any of the following groups:* National Rainbow Coalition, the ruling Kenyan political party* The Government of the 27th D?il#24th Government of Ireland, formed after the previous coalition fell apart...
. Subsequently DSA did enthusiastically support Jackson's second presidential campaign in 1988.

DSA's position on U.S. electoral politics has since evolved; its present official position (roughly that held since 1993) is that "Democratic socialists reject an either-or approach to electoral coalition building, focused solely on a new party or on realignment within the Democratic Party."

During the 1990s, DSA began looking to the Religious Right's activism within the Republican Party as a model for how the Left could gain a greater foothold within the Democratic Party, which at the time was dominated by President Bill Clinton's "New Democrats" in the Democratic Leadership Council
Democratic Leadership Council

The Democratic Leadership Council is a non-profit 501 corporation that argues that the United States Democratic Party should shift away from traditionally Populism positions....
. The group gave the Clinton administration an overall rating of C-, "less than satisfactory".

The Congressional Progressive Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus

The Congressional Progressive Caucus is the single largest partisan Congressional caucus in the United States House of Representatives, and works together to advance political progressivism issues and causes....
, a group of 65 Democratic legislators in the U.S. Congress, worked with DSA against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment
Multilateral Agreement on Investment

The Multilateral Agreement on Investment was negotiated between members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development between 1995 and 1998....
. DSA's website included commentary supportive of the Progressive Caucus throughout much of the late 1990s.

DSA's involvement with the Democratic Party has largely been one of convenience, because certain Democratic politicians "possess strong labor backing and operative social democratic politics." The DSA's leadership believes working within the Democratic Party is necessary because of the nature of the American political system, which rarely gives third parties a chance politically. That said, DSA is very critical of the corporate-funded Democratic Party leadership, the Democratic Leadership Council
Democratic Leadership Council

The Democratic Leadership Council is a non-profit 501 corporation that argues that the United States Democratic Party should shift away from traditionally Populism positions....
 in particular.

"Much of progressive, independent political action will continue to occur in Democratic Party primaries in support of candidates who represent a broad progressive coalition. In such instances, democratic socialists will support coalitional campaigns based on labor, women, people of color and other potentially anti-corporate elements... Electoral tactics are only a means for democratic socialists; the building of a powerful anti-corporate coalition is the end..."

In 2000, the DSA took no official position on the presidential election, with several prominent DSA members backing Green Party
Green Party (United States)

One of the political parties in the United States, and similar in mission to many of the worldwide Green party, the Greens have been active as a third party since 2001....
 presidential candidate Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader is an American attorney at law, author, lecturer, political activism, and perennial candidate for presidency as an independent candidate for President of the United States in United States presidential election, 2004 and United States presidential election, 2008, and a Green Party candidate in 1996 and 2000....
. In 2004, the organization backed John Kerry
John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the Junior Senator United States Senate from Massachusetts and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.As the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party , he was defeated by 34 electoral votes in the United States presidential election, 2004 by the Republican Party incumbent President of the United States...
 after he won the Democratic nomination. The only resolution on upcoming elections at the DSA's 2005 convention focused on Bernie Sanders's independent campaign for the U.S. Senate.

The 2007 convention in Atlanta, Georgia featured record-breaking attendance and more participation by the organization's youth wing. The convention was highlighted by a keynote address from Senator Sanders.

In 2008, the DSA critically backed Barack Obama
Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the List of Presidents of the United States and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office....
.

Organization and membership

DSA is organized at the local level, and works with labor unions, community organizations, and campus activists on issues of common interest. Nationwide campaigns are coordinated by the organization's national office in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. the DSA website lists 24 chartered locals.

DSA publishes Democratic Left, a quarterly journal of news and analysis. In 2008, DSA members active in the U.S. labor movement founded Talking Union, a blog that focuses on labor politics, working class struggles and strategies.

Notable DSA members have included United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers

The United Farm Workers of America is a trade union that evolved from unions founded in 1962 by C?sar Ch?vez, Philip Vera Cruz, Dolores Huerta, and Larry Itliong....
 co-founder Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta

Dolores C. Huerta is the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO ....
, SDS
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)

Students for a Democratic Society was, historically, a student activism movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left....
 veteran Steve Max, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is an AFL-CIO/Canadian Labour Congress trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries....
 President William W. Winpisinger
William W. Winpisinger

William Wayne Winpisinger, was the eleventh International President of the million member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers from 1977 until his retirement in 1989....
, literary critic Irving Howe
Irving Howe

Irving Howe , was an American literary and social critic. He was born as Irving Horenstein in The Bronx, New York, as a son of immigrants who ran a small grocery store that went out of business during the Great Depression....
, feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem

Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminism icon, journalism, and social activism and political activism. Rising to national prominence in the 1970s, she became a leading politician of the decade, and one of the most important heads of the Feminist Movement in the United States ....
, actor Ed Asner
Ed Asner

Edward Asner is an Emmy Award-winning film and television actor and former Screen Actors Guild President, primarily known for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant ....
, former Congressman Ron Dellums
Ron Dellums

Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums is the mayor of Oakland, California. From 1971-1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the United States House of Representatives from Northern California's Progressivism 9th Congressional District, which currently has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D +38....
, author Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich is an American feminist, Democratic socialism and activism. She is a widely read columnist and essayist, and the author of nearly 20 books....
, 1997 New York City mayoral candidate Ruth Messinger
Ruth Messinger

Ruth Wyler Messinger is a former political leader in New York City and a member of the Democratic Party . She was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1997, losing to incumbent mayor Rudy Giuliani....
, United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers

The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a trade union which represents workers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico....
 co-founder Victor Reuther, leading African-American Studies professor Cornel West
Cornel West

Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, critic, pastor, and civil rights activist. West currently serves as the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University, where he teaches in the Center for African American Studies and in the department of Religion....
, linguist Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is an United States linguistics, philosopher, cognitive science, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor emeritus and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
 (a "very passive" member), political scientist Stephen Rosskamm Shalom
Stephen Rosskamm Shalom

Stephen Rosskamm Shalom is a professor of political science at William Paterson University in New Jersey. He is a writer on social and political issues and is a contributor to Znet and Democratic Left, the publication of Democratic Socialists of America....
, political columnist Harold Meyerson
Harold Meyerson

Harold Meyerson is a Jewish American journalist, Editor-at-Large of The American Prospect. Meyerson is also political editor and columnist for the L.A....
, executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at the Harvard School of Law Elaine Bernard
Elaine Bernard

Elaine Bernard is the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School....
, labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein
Nelson Lichtenstein

Nelson Lichtenstein is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is best known as a Labor history and for his research into 20th century United States Political economy....
, and political scientist Stephen Eric Bronner.

In August 2005, DSA announced that its membership had increased by some 13% since July 2003 as the result of a recent direct mail campaign. Membership in DSA is defined primarily by payment of annual dues.

Young Democratic Socialists
Young Democratic Socialists

Young Democratic Socialists is a democratic socialism youth organization in the United States. It is the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America, whose political outlook it shares, and the American affiliate of the International Union of Socialist Youth ....
 (YDS) is the official youth section of Democratic Socialists of America.

DSA has a Religion and Socialism Commission
Religious socialism

Religious socialism is a term used to describe forms of socialism that are based on religious values.Several major religions have found that their beliefs about human society fit with socialist principles and ideas....
, in which Cornel West
Cornel West

Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, critic, pastor, and civil rights activist. West currently serves as the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University, where he teaches in the Center for African American Studies and in the department of Religion....
 has played a leading role. John Cort
John Cort

John C. Cort , was a longtime Christian socialist writer and activist. He was the co-chair of the Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America....
 was a founding editor of the Commission's magazine, Religious Socialism.

External links