Democratic Socialists of America | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Abbreviation | DSA |
| Governing body | National political committee |
| National co-chairs | Megan Romer Ashik Siddique |
| National director | Vacant |
| Founder | Michael Harrington |
| Founded | March 20, 1982; 43 years ago (1982-03-20) |
| Merger of | Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee New American Movement |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Newspaper | Democratic Left Socialist Forum The Activist (youth wing publication) |
| Youth wing | Young Democratic Socialists of America |
| Membership(2025) |  85,000[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing[9] tofar-left[15] |
| Regional affiliation | São Paulo Forum (associate, since 2023)[16] |
| International affiliation |
|
| Colors | Red |
| Website | |
dsausa | |
TheDemocratic Socialists of America (DSA) is apolitical organization in theUnited States and the country's largestsocialist organization, with more than 80,000 members as of 2025. DSA is abig tent of socialists on theleft-wing tofar-left of thepolitical spectrum, primarily organized around the tenets ofdemocratic socialism.[19][20] DSA, which is not a political party with aballot line, has a decentralized structure in which local chapters and ideological caucuses have high autonomy.
DSA's stated goal is to participate in theworkers' rights movement with a long-term aim ofsocial ownership of production such aspublic enterprises,worker cooperatives, ordecentralized planning.[21][22] At its founding, it supportedgrassroots social movements andprogressives in theDemocratic Party. The organization was founded in 1982 through the merger of theDemocratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC), led by the socialist intellectualMichael Harrington, and theNew American Movement (NAM), led byDorothy Ray Healey, an organization ofNew Left veterans. DSA was a minor political force until the2016 presidential campaign of SenatorBernie Sanders, a self-identified democratic socialist, after which itsmembership swelled from about 6,000 members in 2015 to more than 90,000 in 2021. Its median membership age dropped from 68 to 33. These new, young members shifted DSA to the left, away from its historicallysocial democratic leadership and towarddemocratic socialist and other socialist ideologies. The organization's foreign policy isnon-interventionist and strongly supports pro-Palestinian andanti-Zionist causes. It also supports spending cuts to theUnited States Military.[23][24][25]
DSA, which has a long-term goal of establishing an independent socialist party, engages in electoral politics by endorsing candidates who align with its values, includingDemocrats,Working Families,Greens, andindependents. Particularly notableDSA elected officials include U.S. representativesRashida Tlaib andAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez andNew York State Assembly member andNew York City mayor-electZohran Mamdani. In 2025, over 250DSA members held elected public office across 40 states, with 90% elected after 2019.[26][27] Some of its members in Congress have initiated various pieces of legislation central to themodern progressive movement in the United States, including theMedicare for All Act in 2003 byJohn Conyers[28] and theGreen New Deal in 2019 by Ocasio-Cortez.[29] Former longtime members of theUnited States House of Representatives, including Conyers,[30]Ron Dellums,[30] House whipDavid Bonior,[31] andMajor Owens[32] have been affiliated with the DSA.
The Democratic Socialists of America was formed in 1982 through the merger of two left-wing organizations: theDemocratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) and theNew American Movement (NAM).[33][34]
DSOC was founded in 1973 by the socialist intellectualMichael Harrington. Harrington had become a prominent national figure after his bookThe Other America (1962) helped inspire thewar on poverty, and he was a leader of a faction within theSocialist Party of America and later theSocialist Party USA.[35][36] He had resigned as co-chair of the Socialist Party in 1972 in protest against the party's rightward drift and its stance on theVietnam War. Growing from a few hundred members to nearly 5,000 in less than a decade, DSOC was a union ofOld Leftsocial democrats,trade union leaders, and progressive youth dedicated to working as a left-wingpressure group within theDemocratic Party. Harrington envisioned the DSOC as the "left wing of the possible", and its main strategy was "realignment", the idea that socialists could work with labor unions and social movements to push the Democratic Party to the left, drive out its conservativeSouthern wing, and transform it into a social democratic party.[37][25] A key project for this strategy was the Democratic Agenda, a DSOC-inspired coalition of labor and liberal activists that challenged the centrist policies of theJimmy Carter administration from within the party during the late 1970s.[38]
The New American Movement (NAM) was founded in 1971 byMichael Lerner and other former members ofStudents for a Democratic Society (SDS), the main campus-based organization of theNew Left.[39] Emerging from SDS and thesocialist-feminist women's unions of the period, NAM was led by New Left veterans who sought to recover the early SDS's humanistic, revolutionary spirit while rejecting theMaoism andvanguardism that had led to its implosion.[40][38][41] In 1974, the organization was bolstered by the entry ofDorothy Ray Healey, a longtime leader of theCommunist Party who had broken with the party over its lack of internal democracy and its support for theSoviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.[42] NAM developed a socialist feminist andEurocommunist orientation, emphasizingGramscianMarxism and building agrassroots presence through local struggles around affordable housing, utility rates, and reproductive rights.[43][38]
By the early 1980s, both organizations saw a need for unity. DSOC had influential union allies and a foothold in mainstream politics but few young activists. NAM had a more youthful activist base but lacked DSOC's political influence.[44] The merger convention, held inDetroit on March 20–21, 1982, created DSA with a combined membership of 6,000.[38][45] It was a deliberate effort to heal the rift between the Old Left and the New Left.[33] Harrington took the lead of the new organization, which adopted DSOC's strategy of realignment while incorporating NAM's commitment to socialist feminism and grassroots organizing.[46]
In the 1980s, DSA functioned as a home for a diverse group of activists, including democratic Marxists,Fabians,religious socialists, formerCommunists, andlabor Zionists.[47][48] All were united by opposition toReaganism.[47] DSA continued the DSOC strategy of working within the Democratic Party to support progressive candidates and policies. It did not endorseJesse Jackson's1984 presidential campaign, but was part of theRainbow Coalition that supported his1988 campaign.[38][48] A central ambition for Harrington was to build a "conscience constituency" of educated professionals who, he argued, were predisposed to social planning and could become allies of the poor and the labor movement in a new progressive coalition.[49]
DSA's membership and influence during this era extended across academia, the labor movement, and politics. Its intellectual wing includedIrving Howe,Michael Walzer,Frances Fox Piven,Richard Rorty, andIris Marion Young.[50]Cornel West became an honorary chair of DSA and developed his "prophetic pragmatism" in dialogue with the organization's multi-tendency traditions.Barbara Ehrenreich became co-chair with Harrington in 1983.[51] The organization also had influential allies in the labor movement, includingAFSCME presidentsJerry Wurf andVictor Gotbaum,UAW presidentDouglas Fraser, andMachinists presidentWilliam Winpisinger.[52] Its political reach extended to elected officials like CongressmenJohn Conyers,Bella Abzug,Ron Dellums, andRobert Kastenmeier; New York mayorDavid Dinkins; and feminist iconGloria Steinem.[53]
DSA played a significant role inCentral American solidarity activism, opposing theReagan administration's policies inEl Salvador andNicaragua in solidarity with theSandinistas and leftist rebels.[54][48] DSA was also particularly active in theanti-apartheid movement, linking struggles forsocial justice abroad to those at home.[38] Despite these efforts, DSA's membership remained small, growing to 8,000 by 1983 but never surpassing that number during Harrington's lifetime.[55][38] Harrington's final book,Socialism: Past and Future (1989), written as he was dying of cancer, served as a "letter to the next left", urging it to adapt socialist values to the newly globalized,post-industrial world.[56]
After Harrington's death in 1989, DSA struggled for relevance in the 1990s and early 2000s.Gary Dorrien has said the organization struggled "merely to hang on" during this period.[57] With thecollapse of Communism in 1989 and the rise ofThird Wayneoliberalism under PresidentBill Clinton, the political space fordemocratic socialism seemed to vanish.[58] The youth wing, theYoung Democratic Socialists (YDS), was largely responsible for keeping the organization afloat.[48] In many parts of the country, DSA chapters functioned primarily as study groups for "scattered, stubborn types holding out against the 1990s".[59] But direct-mail campaigns in the early to mid-1990s boosted paper membership to 10,000.[38][48] Despite its small size, DSA maintained a principled opposition to the Democratic Party's neoliberal turn. In 1995, DSA updated its foundational document, "Where We Stand", placing economic globalization and the power of multinational corporations at the center of its analysis.[59] It called for a humane social order based on democratic planning and market mechanisms and for "economic democracy... from below, through a democratic transformation of the institutions of civil society."[60] DSA participated in the1999 Seattle WTO protests and moved the organization further to the left.[61]
DSA also initiated key campaigns during this period. In the early 1990s, it made the fight for asingle-payer healthcare system a major national priority, sponsoring a multi-city tour by Canadian health advocates to promote the model.[38] It actively campaigned against Clinton's signature policies, including theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the1994 crime bill, and thegutting of welfare (AFDC).[59] It also founded the Prison Moratorium Project in 1997 to oppose mass incarceration.[59] In the2000 presidential election, the organization was divided and took no official position, with prominent members like Cornel West supportingGreen Party nomineeRalph Nader while others reluctantly supported Democratic nomineeAl Gore.[62] After the9/11 attacks, DSA actively participated in theanti-war movement against thewars in Iraq andAfghanistan and developed an "Economic Justice Agenda" that prefigured many of the proposals of the 2016 Sanders campaign.[38] In 2011, longtime YDS leaderMaria Svart was hired as National Director.[63] In the wake of movements likeOccupy Wall Street in 2011,Fight for $15 in 2012, andBlack Lives Matter in 2013, the socialist movement began to gain new steam;[63] by 2012, membership stood at 6,500.[38] In 2014, an internal Left Caucus formed that challenged some of DSA's assumptions and advocated a pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) position, which at the time was difficult to discuss within the organization.[63]
The2016 presidential primary campaign ofBernie Sanders was a turning point for DSA.[64][34] An independent senator fromVermont and self-described democratic socialist, Sanders brought the term "democratic socialism" into mainstream U.S. politics.[65] DSA, which had been urging Sanders to run, endorsed him in December 2014, becoming one of the only major socialist organizations to do so,[65] and its members became active volunteers in his campaign.[34][38] The campaign, followed by the election ofDonald Trump in November 2016, triggered a massive influx of new, mostly young, members, a phenomenon known as the "Trump bump".[66][25] The organization grew from 6,500 members in the fall of 2014 to 8,500 by Election Day 2016. The day after Trump's election, 1,000 new members joined.[38][64][67] By July 2017, DSA's membership had reached 24,000; by the end of 2018, it was 55,000; and by 2021, it peaked at 94,000 before experiencing a decline.[68][69][70][38][71] The median age of members dropped from 68 in 2013 to 33 in 2017.[36] The organization was transformed, in the words of one commentator, from a "musty debate club for retired social democrats into an electoral powerhouse of young, ecumenical radicals".[70] At its 2017 national convention, the new membership officially took over, passing proposals to leave theSocialist International, formally endorse the BDS movement, and prioritize a national campaign forMedicare for All.[67]
This resurgence was reinforced by electoral victories. In 2017, fifteen DSA members were elected to local and state offices across the country, includingLee J. Carter to theVirginia House of Delegates.[72][64] In the2018 midterm elections, DSA memberAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez won a primary upset against incumbent CongressmanJoe Crowley inNew York's 14th congressional district, becoming a national political star.[73][74] The victory of Ocasio-Cortez, who had been endorsed and supported by DSA, triggered another large influx of members in July 2018.[74] The same year, DSA memberRashida Tlaib won a primary for a congressional seat in Detroit.[73][69] Both went on to win in the general election, though DSA noted that these were not "home-grown" DSA campaigns in the way that later victories were, such asJulia Salazar's 2018 win in theNew York State Senate, the election of a six-member socialist slate to theChicago City Council in 2019, a five-member slate to theNew York State Legislature in 2020, and two members to theNew York City Council in 2021.[75][70][68] In 2021, a slate of DSA members was elected toNevada Democratic Party's leadership, though some party staff resigned in protest, and a more moderate "unity" slate was elected to replace them in 2023.[76][77] As of August 2025, over 250 DSA members held public office, with 90% elected after 2019; that included 96 city councilors and county commissioners and eight mayors or county executives.[27] DSA members made up significant blocs on several major city councils, including seven of 50 seats in Chicago (where they formed an official Democratic Socialist Caucus), four of 12 seats inPortland, Oregon, four of 13 inMinneapolis, and four of 15 inLos Angeles.[27]
This growth transformed the organization's character and strategy. It moved from a system of annual mailed membership checks to monthly recurring payments tied to income, and its nonprofit arm hired communications professionals who had previously worked on mainstream Democratic campaigns.[26] DSA shifted away from the realignment strategy of working within the party establishment, instead adopting an electoral model focused on building its own independent capacity to run openly socialist candidates accountable to DSA's political agenda, often in primaries against incumbent Democrats.[78] This strategy has been described as a "dirty break" aiming to build a "self-standing political force" that could eventually lead to a new labor-socialist party.[79] The 2019 national convention formally endorsedSanders's 2020 presidential campaign and affirmed the organization's commitment to building an independent, working-class political organization.[80][81] Consistent with its electoral strategy strategy, DSA did not endorse Democratic nomineeHillary Clinton in 2016. In 2020, it organized their members to vote and organize against Trump after Sanders lost the Democratic nomination toJoe Biden.[82][83][84] The strategy also created conflict with the Democratic establishment; in the2021 Buffalo mayoral election, DSA-backed primary winnerIndia Walton was defeated in the general election by incumbentByron Brown, who ran as a write-in candidate and framed his victory as a "rebuke of socialism".[27] The organization made no endorsement in the2024 presidential election, with its National Political Committee releasing a statement that read, "This choice sucks; join DSA so we can have a good option someday."[85] Many DSA members actively campaigned against Trump and for the Democratic party in 2024, but many were unwilling due to the Democratic Party's stance on Palestine.[86]
DSA's growth was accompanied by internal controversies that reflected its strategic debates, particularly on foreign policy. In 2021, an internal crisis was sparked when RepresentativeJamaal Bowman, a DSA member, voted to provide funding for Israel'sIron Dome missile defense system, a vote which many members saw as a betrayal of the organization's pro-Palestinian stance.[70][87] After the NPC declined to expel Bowman, its BDS Working Group continued a campaign against him, leading the NPC to de-charter the working group for violating the organization's code of conduct.[70] In the weeks before the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, DSA's International Committee (IC) released a statement condemningNATO expansion but not Russia's military buildup, drawing condemnation from other progressives. Although DSA's NPC later released a second statement condemning the invasion, the IC's initial response was criticized as a liability for the organization and its elected officials.[70][25] DSA organizations later called for Ukraine'snational debt to be canceled, supported material aid to Ukraine, and described the invasion asimperialistic, while still calling fordemilitarization.[88]
After theOctober 7 attacks on Israel and the start of theGaza war in 2023, DSA condemned the violence against all civilians and the subsequentGaza genocide.[25] In 2024, DSA's National Political Committee withdrew its endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez over her support for a House resolution stating that "denying Israel's right to exist is a form of antisemitism"; her local chapter,NYC-DSA, maintained its endorsement.[25] The NPC argued that a national endorsement required a "serious commitment to the movement for Palestine" but the NYC chapter defended its decision, citing a "fruitful partnership" with Ocasio-Cortez on local issues.[26] The dispute continued into 2025, with resolutions submitted for the DSA national convention to formally censure Ocasio-Cortez and review her membership over her vote against cutting funding for Israel's Iron Dome system.[26] In contrast, DSA stood by representatives Bowman,Cori Bush,Ilhan Omar andRashida Tlaib after they adopted strong pro-Palestinian positions. All faced primary challenges in 2024 from centrist Democrats heavily funded by theAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC); Bowman lost his primary after AIPAC spent a record $14.5 million against him, and Bush was also defeated.[25] DSA members such as Harrington biographerMaurice Isserman left after 41 years, calling the organization's response to the Gaza War "morally bankrupt."[89][36][25] Others have left to form separate pro-Palestine groups, arguing DSA was not progressive enough.[25]
Since its 2021 peak, the organization's membership has declined, dropping to 64,000 by October 2024, leading to a budget crisis and National Director Svart's resignation in January 2024.[90][25] In January 2025, DSA laid off more staff amid a seven-figure budget shortfall and "ugly internal bickering".[26] At the contentious 2025 national convention in Chicago, delegates passed a resolution called "For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA", which called for the expulsion of members and endorsed elected officials who provide "material support to Israel" or related lobbying groups or make statements such as "Israel has a right to defend itself".[91] An amendment to remove the expulsion clause was defeated, but 40% of delegates opposed the final resolution.[91] The convention also passed a resolution to run a socialistpresidential candidate in 2028, likely on the Democraticballot line, after a debate in which a push for a third-party run was defeated.[91] DSA members' alienation from the Democratic Party during theGaza War led many left-wing voters, especially young voters, not to supportKamala Harris in 2024.[92][93]
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Despite these challenges, DSA saw a surge in membership after the2024 presidential election, growing to over 80,000 members by October 2025.[85][94] In November 2025, NYC-DSA, the country's largest chapter, secured what was called the biggest electoral victory in DSA history with theelection of memberZohran Mamdani asmayor, despite tens of millions of dollars insuper PAC donations toAndrew Cuomo during the primary and general election.[36][85][94] Mamdani's victory over Cuomo in the Democratic primary was energized by a massive grassroots canvassing effort organized by NYC-DSA, which provided an early endorsement and a legion of volunteers.[91][94] Mamdani won on a progressive platform that included free bus service, frozen rents, universal childcare, and a higher minimum wage, though he noted during his campaign that his platform differed from that of DSA, taking a more moderate stance on issues like eliminatingmisdemeanor offenses anddefunding the police.[94]
The DSA scored another victory in 2025 when democratic socialistKatie Wilson[a] won the2025 Seattle mayoral election.[95][96]
DSA is a multi-tendency organization, encompassing a wide range ofsocialist andleft-wing viewpoints.[47] The organization's core commitment is todemocratic socialism, which it distinguishes from both bureacratic forms of socialism and capitalistsocial democracy, arguing that democratic socialism goes further than the latter's model of a strongwelfare state operating under capitalism.[97][94] This has sometimes led to internal semantic debates; some longtime members have argued for emphasizing the word "democratic" to distinguish the movement from authoritarian states, while others have argued the term is redundant, as true socialism's interest in equity "encompasses democracy."[36]
DSA's economic vision calls for a "democratic transformation of the institutions of civil society, particularly those in the economic sphere".[60] The organization defines this as wanting "to collectively own the key economic drivers that dominate our lives, such as energy production and transportation".[94] This involves a mixture of public ownership,worker ownership, and market mechanisms.[98] The organization's 2016 "Resistance Rising" strategy document advocated that large, strategically important sectors like housing, utilities, and heavy industry be subject to democratic planning, while market-driven worker-owned firms would produce and distribute consumer goods.[99]
The organization supports a broad range of what democratic socialist writerAndré Gorz termed "non-reformist reforms" or "structural reforms". Acknowledging that an immediate end to capitalism is unlikely, this strategy involves fighting for reforms that weaken corporate power, increase the power of working people, and point toward a world beyond capitalism.[100][94] At the local level, this has included campaigns for government-run grocery stores, free public transportation, and universal rent freezes.[27] Key platform planks include:
For much of its history, DSA followedMichael Harrington's strategy of political realignment, working to elect progressives within theDemocratic Party in the hope of transforming it from within.[109] Following its post-2016 growth, DSA's strategy shifted significantly. The organization now prioritizes building its own independent electoral capacity to run socialist candidates who are accountable to DSA's agenda, often in primaries against incumbent Democrats.[106][78] This strategy is often called a "dirty break" from the Democratic Party, an approach influenced by a 2016 article in the socialist magazineJacobin, "A Blueprint for a New Party".[25] The goal is not to immediately form a third party, which is seen as "suicidal in America'stwo-party tyranny", but to "bore from within in guerrilla insurgency fashion" by using the Democraticballot line to build an independent political force.[79][110] The New York City chapter, DSA's largest and most electorally successful, developed a blueprint that became a model for the national organization. This involves a democratic process to select races and candidates, a massive volunteer-led field organizing program, and a coordinated fundraising arm called "DSA For The Many".[70] Other strategic orientations within the organization include the "realignment" strategy of shifting the Democratic Party leftward and the "clean break" strategy of immediately forming a third party.[111][105]
The dirty break approach involves building a national movement organization with strong local chapters that can contest elections on a case-by-case basis, sometimes in Democratic primaries and sometimes independently, with the long-term goal of a "mass socialist political formation".[106] This approach was formalized at the organization's 2023 national convention, which passed a resolution to "Act Like an Independent Party" by developing its own fundraising, candidate schools, andvoter lists.[25] This strategy has also produced internal debate about the proper role of socialist legislators. One view is that their primary role is agitational—to "fight people who are against our policies" and politicize the obstacles to socialist reform. Another view is that socialists must also participate in the legislative process, working with progressives and even centrists to pass reforms that benefit the working class.[70] The strategy also includes holding its endorsed candidates accountable to the organization's platform; candidates endorsed by the NYC chapter, for instance, are expected to function as a bloc and attend weekly "Socialists in Office Committee" meetings to coordinate strategy.[70] In 2018, the New York City chapter criticized Ocasio-Cortez for suggesting she would rally behind all Democratic nominees, including GovernorAndrew Cuomo, whom the chapter considered a political enemy.[112] This strategy was reaffirmed at the 2025 national convention, where delegates voted to encourage running a socialist presidential candidate in 2028 on the Democratic ballot line, rejecting an amendment that would have pushed for an independent third-party run.[91]
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DSA's platform describes itself as "deeply feminist andantiracist".[60] According to the organization's 2016 strategy document, democratic socialism "connects antiracist, feminist, LGBTQ, labor, anti-ableist, and anti-ageist movements to each other" because each struggle's success depends on the success of the others.[99] Its platform includes calls to abolishmandatory minimums andcash bail, demilitarize police departments, treat drug addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal one, and establish universalrent control and a right to counsel for all tenants.[102] At its 2019 national convention, DSA passed a resolution calling for the full decriminalization ofsex work.[80]
DSA advocates a non-interventionist foreign policy based on international working-class solidarity. Its platform calls for a significant reduction in theU.S. military budget, closingoverseas military bases, bringing troops home, and ending economic sanctions on countries such asCuba,Venezuela, andIran.[113] DSA supports Palestinian rights, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. military and economic aid toIsrael.[113] The organization's anti-Zionist position was further defined at its 2025 national convention. Delegates passed a resolution that established "red lines" for members and endorsed officials, threatening expulsion for providing "material support to Israel or related lobbying groups like AIPAC or J Street" or affirming that "Israel has a right to defend itself".[91] An amendment to remove the expulsion clause was defeated, though 40% of delegates opposed the final resolution.[91] The resolution's passage followed years of internal debate over the actions of endorsed representatives like Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez concerning Israel.[91]
Over the months after theGaza war began, various DSA chapters and DSA rank-and-file members and public officials organized and participated in protests and vigils alongside Jewish and Palestinian advocacy groups, includingJewish Voice for Peace,IfNotNow, andStudents for Justice in Palestine, in support of a ceasefire and Palestine.[114][115][116][117][118]
DSA supportsopen borders andfreedom of movement for all people.[80] Its platform calls for allowing workers to freely migrate, demilitarizing the U.S. border, ending all immigrant detention and deportations, and providing immediate amnesty and access to social services for all immigrants.[113]
The organization's platform calls for fundamental reforms to the U.S. political system.[119] These include:
After its post-2016 resurgence, DSA embraced a "rank-and-file strategy" for the labor movement, influenced byKim Moody's writings.[99] This approach involvessocialist organizers taking jobs in key industries to become active shop-floor union members in order to agitate against bosses and concessionary union bureaucracies, democratize unions, and develop organic leaders from the rank and file.[79][120][105] This strategy holds that change must come from the bottom up by building a "militant minority" of rank-and-file unionists.[120] At its 2019 national convention, DSA passed a resolution formally adopting the rank-and-file strategy as part of its labor work.[121] In 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, DSA and theUnited Electrical Workers founded the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) to provide training and resources to non-union workers.[70][87] Despite the formal adoption of the rank-and-file strategy, some members have argued that electoral campaigns receive disproportionate attention and resources compared to labor and tenant organizing.[70] In 2021, YDSA began the Rank-and-File Pipeline Project to place young organizers in strategic industries.[87] DSA members were active in the reform movement in theTeamsters union that electedSean O'Brien as president and have been involved in organizing drives atStarbucks andAmazon.[87] This work has faced setbacks; the YDSA pipeline project was narrowly voted down at a convention, and internal divisions have arisen among DSA members within the Teamsters andUnited Auto Workers reform movements.[87]
DSA is a membership-based organization with a national structure and local chapters across the United States. Its highest decision-making body isits national convention, held every two years.[80] Between conventions, the organization is led by the 17-seat National Political Committee (NPC), which is elected by delegates at the convention.[122][105] The post-2016 membership is significantly younger than the pre-2016 organization.[123] But the new membership's demographics are "primarily white and largely made up of college-educated members" and DSA has undertaken campaigns to root itself more deeply in the multiracial working class.[124] Since its rebirth, the organization has also focused on developing a layer of "cadre"—militant, politically developed, and dedicated organizers—in numbers not seen on the American left in decades.[69] The rapid influx of young, digitally native members has also created challenges, with some critics inside and outside the organization pointing to an "insular culture of debate, primarily online, in which disagreement can take on toxic, personal dimensions".[70] Public disputes on social media have sometimes become a liability, complicating relationships with allies and elected officials.[70]
The red rose is part of DSA's logo,[125] having been asymbol of socialism since the 1886Haymarket Affair and resultingMay Day marches. It was drawn from the logo of DSOC, its precursor organization, and previously of theSocialist International, which shows a stylized fist clenching a red rose, the fist replaced by a biracial handshake symbolizing DSA's antiracism.[126] Thefist and rose logo was originally designed for the FrenchSocialist Party in 1969[127] and later shared by socialist and labor political organizations worldwide.
Following its rapid growth after 2016, DSA developed a number of internalcaucuses organized around specific ideological tendencies or strategic priorities. These factions are often broadly grouped into a "left wing", which advocatesrevolutionary socialist politics and a clear break from theDemocratic Party, and a "right wing", which advocatesreformist socialist politics and a more flexible electoral strategy.[128][105] The caucuses are a visible presence at DSA's national conventions, where members often display their affiliation through distinct clothing and accessories.[91] While this has raised some concerns about sectarianism, many members view the open disagreement and debate as an intentional and healthy feature of the organization's political life.[91]
At the 2023 DSA National Convention, elections for the National Political Committee resulted in what observers called a "leftward shift" in leadership.[105] A coalition of caucuses on the organization's revolutionary left, including Red Star, Marxist Unity Group, and Bread and Roses, won a majority of seats, displacing the previous governing coalition led by the more moderate Socialist Majority and Groundwork caucuses.[134][105] The new NPC has been described as having matured into a "multi-caucus parliament", where building majority blocs requires negotiation and persuasion among the different tendencies.[138]
DSA publishesDemocratic Left andSocialist Forum, quarterly magazines of news, analysis, and internal debate.[139][140]Democratic Left continues in an uninterrupted run from theNewsletter of the Democratic Left published by theDemocratic Socialist Organizing Committee, a DSA predecessor, since its establishment in 1973.[141] Caucuses within DSA often have their own publications to spread their views within and outside the organization, such asThe Call,[142] Reform and Revolution,[143] Partisan Magazine,[144]The Agitator,[145] and Light and Air.[146]
Left-wing quarterly magazineJacobin often aligns with DSA, although they are not affiliated.[147] In 2014,Jacobin's founder and then-editor,Bhaskar Sunkara, a DSA member, praised DSA founderMichael Harrington, calling him "very underrated as a popularizer of Marxist thought".[148]
DSA was a member of theSocialist International from 1982 to 2017. A majority of delegates at the 2017 DSA National Convention voted to leave the International due to its alleged support forneoliberal economic policies.[18]
Delegates at the 2021 DSA National Convention voted to apply to join theSão Paulo Forum,[149] and DSA became an Associate Member organization in 2023.[16] In August 2023, the DSA National Convention voted to join theProgressive International,[150] and DSA became an official member in October 2023.[151]
with a progressive platform and backing from the far-left Democratic Socialists of America
Azzopardi said, referring to the far-left Democratic Socialists of America.
Infighting within DSA chapters is making headlines across the country — a sign that the far-left faction of the progressive wing may be fracturing as the result of its success.
Within DSA, everyone is on the far left, but some are further left than others.
Clearly there is not a lot of strategic thinking going on the far left today. As DSA's choice regarding Ocasio-Cortez tells us, what really concerns them is political purity.
In addition, many are viewing the DSA convention this week in Chicago as a key turning point within the organization. Coming out of the DSA is a new caucus called the Libertarian Socialist Caucus. The LSC promotes a vision of 'libertarian socialism' ...
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