Why Not the DSA: My Time with My local DSA

Early on, when I began to discover the truths laid bare by Marxism, I was given the advice to connect with the local Left in my area. I followed this advice in an attempt to bring myself from apoliticism to a more active citizen who engages civically, beyond voting, and to also to put into practice for myself the truths of Marxism. This advice in the abstract is not necessarily bad when one is bringing themselves up from nothing - from a point of apoliticism or from a place of complete withdrawal from all political life - but like all theories, tactics, and strategies this should be weighed, evaluated, and held in contrast with our study of the socialist movement of the past and in general to the broader plan we are formulating to meet the challenges of today.

So, I took that advice and sought out my local DSA. I knew of the shortcomings even if in the beginning I did not have the vocabulary to describe the reformism, factionalism, economism, and spontaneity that plagues the DSA. I could be forgiven for choosing to build my foundation in an organization whose struggle has been, since its inception, turning Democrats and other shades of liberals in the working class of the US into left-wing democratic socialists—and is now struggling to turn Democrats, liberals, and democratic socialists further left—if only because all of the other “communist” alternatives are nothing substantially better. However, any organization is defined by who its members are, so I sought out what the make-up of my local chapter was to see where I could begin.

My local chapter was made up of an eclectic mix of “Leftists”. Interpersonally, we each had our own convictions and beliefs (the validity of said beliefs notwithstanding), yet those who found themselves organizing with the DSA came together for immediate tasks and shared goals. Those immediate tasks did not stray too far from what other left-wing organizations or non-profit organizations (NGOs) were already doing: mutual aid, canvassing, and political demonstrations.

Taken superficially, these actions and organizational methods are not without merit; however, we must look at the bigger picture. Depending on the political vehicle which leads mutual aid, it can sometimes be worthwhile work and can meet the needs of those in need. I have in mind the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) who sets up medical clinics for refugees or helps those affected by the fires or the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) whose efforts during the tragic earthquake were undeniable. However, as a tactic alone for revolutionary change, it is self-evident to us that, while necessary, mutual aid only works as a short-term relief that cannot fundamentally change the root cause of why individuals find themselves in such dire need. The reserve army of labor—and those who find themselves with the most precarious existence—are weaponized by our class enemy and turned against us as a promise of what is to come should one find themselves courageous enough to confront the conditions of wage slavery.

My chapter ran and campaigned for several individuals seeking election. Who did we canvas for? Candidates running as Democrats in coalition with other groups and organizations—candidates who sought not to build a robust independent vehicle for the working class to steer its own future, but instead to operate in conjunction with the status quo at large. The excuse: “We are too small, too insignificant and the working class in the US is too racist and reactionary for us to go out on a limb to try and build something outside of the political norm for most people.”

But if not us, then who? We were more than willing to give our labor to a capitalist-owned political party, and we saw it as a valiant struggle. We were desperately bold and irresolutely determined. The political demonstrations I found myself in were scheduled, planned, paid for, and permitted. I screamed into the void, denouncing capitalist rule and its oppression, crying for liberation. The void called back, "Go back to work." There was no follow-through on the demands, no disruption, no transfer of power—not even a whisper of how we might, at some point in the future, begin to consider these actions. It never even seemed to be a question in anyone's mind.

These revelations might not be new to some readers, and some readers would make the criticism that no organization at present has the ability to effectively work toward this vision, even if they have the framework to follow a socialist politic or worldview to its logical conclusion. Whatever the validity of these concerns, every day we continue to treat this reality as concrete, immovable, and unchangeable, the longer we postpone the work that must be done. Those of us who understand that a revolutionary transformation of our society must occur if we as a species are to have a future cannot continue to recuse ourselves from the responsibility of building that movement. We cannot shrink to the vacillating organizations that have been left to us to inherit from decades of anti-communist indoctrination and a regressing class consciousness. If we shirk our obligation now, we risk the new burgeoning communist movement becoming smothered in its gestation period.

To put it simply, my struggle trying to reconcile my early practice with what I know now may simply come down to the difference between a militant organization of obligation to an activist organization of spontaneity terms I have only recently been able to accurately define. In my self study of Marxism-Leninism I sought out a proper venue to put into practice what I had been studying and endeavoring, as you all read this now, to create a better world. I felt that I should take what was there in the hopes that I could learn about myself, how I operate in a group, what my strengths and weaknesses were, and how to get about contributing in any way I could to a revolutionary movement.

I fell into the groups that were casting the widest possible net, whose work was completely perfunctory at best and anti-revolutionary at worst. To ensure the reawakening of the class conscious communist movement in the US is not crushed in its cradle, we must organize amongst the revolutionary minded Party that wields the science of Marxism-Leninism and safeguards itself from opportunism and revisionism - the Communist Party. Many parties and organizations, both old and new, claim to be that hammer which will be wielded by the working class to smash the master's house, but held to the standard outlined above, all parties of the past have proved unfit for this purpose. A new generation of cadres trained in revolutionary struggle, rebuilt from the ground up, is needed to meet the moment we find ourselves in now.

The CWPUSA is that effort to reorganize and regroup, to learn from past mistakes and reject bourgeois influences. For a class can only be truly called a class when it has its Party to advance its interests. And if humanity is to have a future, that future must be of the working class.