July 3, 2018
Socialist Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning
upset in a congressional primary electionagainst one of the most powerful
Democrats in the U.S. House has inspired discussion and debate about how this
campaign fits into the project of advancing the socialist left. SW is
hosting a dialogue in our Readers’ Views column. This first installment has two
contributions: from Dorian B., and from Jason Farbman and Zach
Zill.
Confronting the Question of Socialist
Electoral Strategy Today
Dorian B. | There is a
popular socialist movement emerging in the U.S. That is a sentence I did not
think I would be writing in 2018 when I first became an organized socialist
five years ago. At the time, there was certainly a broad political
radicalization underway, but no immediate signs of socialist organization on a
mass scale on the horizon.
The Bernie Sanders campaign in
the 2015-16 Democratic Party primary changed all that. Sanders linked up with
the political radicalization which had been growing for over a decade and
helped lend it a coherent vision: socialism, a still inexactly defined project
for the transformation of society, but one that puts working-class people at
the center and unites their common struggles into one.
For already committed
socialists, this was a major breakthrough. I remember attending a Sanders
campaign rally in the Bronx and selling the print edition of this
newspaper Socialist Worker. Except that on that day they were basically
selling themselves. “Socialist Worker! Hey, I’m a socialist worker!” one person
said to me as they asked for a paper.
In a country whose legacy of
right-wing repression has built a uniquely hostile culture toward socialist
politics, these changes were and continue to be dizzying.
Still, at the time, I wasn’t
aware that I was witnessing only the beginnings of a new movement. After
Sanders’ extraordinary success in the primaries, a socialist organization — the
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — ballooned in size.
Thousands upon thousands of
radicalizing people wanted to put their newfound socialist ideas into practice.
They joined in droves an organization which closely identified with Sanders’
project, and came in still greater numbers once the Trump disaster hit the
country.
Since that time, the DSA has
continued to grow — recently passing the 40,000 mark — and achieved success
electing socialists to office in several state races, most recently in the
high-profile Democratic primary competition for New York’s 14th congressional
district in the Bronx and Queens, in which Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated
incumbent Joe Crowley, one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress.
These dramatic changes can be
difficult to process. For decades, socialists have been unable to reach a mass
audience and to organize in numbers of scale. And now, all of a sudden, they’ve
done precisely that. Part of the reason why it has been hard to come to terms
with this change is that, speaking for myself, I had always assumed that the
Democratic Party was so monolithic that it could never be used as a vehicle to
foster a new political project, much less a socialist one.
The Democratic Party is a
“graveyard of social movements,” I rightly concluded from the history of the
populist, labor and civil rights movements of the last two centuries. But from
2016-18, the tiny left wing of the Democratic Party has actually served as an
incubator, a cradle for a new socialist movement.
This is not to say that the
party will not become a graveyard once again (hopefully it won’t!), but that
the contradictions within it, and between the party leadership and its base,
have helped spawn a socialist resurgence in this period.
To put it in the simplest
possible terms: Bernie Sanders decisively helped to re-popularize socialism by
running for president as a Democrat, several others have since done the same at
other levels of government, and a political entity, the DSA has given that
ferment an organizational expression.
To be sure, none of this would
have been possible without the longer-term political radicalization which has
pushed millions toward alternative forms of politics and protest. But it is
equally true that there would be no socialist organization on a higher scale
emerging in the U.S. today had that candidate not run in that party.
After the working-class
militant Ocasio-Cortez’s ousting of Crowley, Nancy Pelosi’s preferred successor
as House Speaker, the Democratic Party leadership is gearing up to combat the
socialist menace by whatever means at its disposal. And the party machine is
powerful — so powerful that this new socialist movement will either be
destroyed or severely set back if it is not able to break from the party and
create an independent force.
A fundamental principle of
socialist organizing is that the working class must have its own political
party to successfully fight this system. That principle remains every bit as
applicable today in 2018 as it did in 1968, 1918 and 1868.
The question that faces us now
is: how can we as socialists organize to make sure that the new socialist
movement — growing today through and in connection with candidates
running in the Democratic Party — evolves to form a new party controlled by
workers instead of capitalists? What strategies and tactics can we use to help
make sure that happens?
Much of this will have to
happen through struggle outside the electoral arena, through an expansion of
the strike movement so brilliantly initiated by the teachers this spring, and a
flowering of popular protest. And it will also require persistent efforts to
grow and develop organizations like the International Socialist Organization,
which can put forward a long-term vision and method for building a socialist
society. But this work must also have an (interrelated) electoral component.
One answer to the question of
party politics in our electoral strategy is: “Never run as a Democrat and never
vote for or support Democratic candidates because no socialist movement can be
built that way.” The problem with this answer is that it is based on a premise
which has been decisively proven wrong during the last two years. A socialist
movement is being built that way before our very eyes.
A second answer is to support
all socialist and working-class militants no matter what party they run in, all
the while arguing tenaciously with everyone in our movement that our goal must
be to form a new party of our own — by winning activists to run as independents
today, and by winning socialists inside the Democratic Party to our
perspective.
In other words, we continue to
make the argument about the need for independence, and we attempt to win and
support people to run independently at every opportunity — but we don’t
withhold our support from socialists running as Democrats, because we recognize
that they are playing a major role in building socialist organization today
(which can potentially help foster conditions for a new party in the future).
Of course, this second answer
carries with it the risk that our efforts won’t succeed and that the Democratic
Party establishment will find a way to stamp out, divide and neutralize our
growth before we are able to gain the degree of strength we need — in
conjunction with extra-electoral struggles — to form an independent party.
But the first answer also
carries with it a big risk: that our now disproved belief that socialism can
never be built in any form through the Democratic Party will lead us to argue
against building it all.
As thousands mobilize to elect
socialists — and to build organization and struggle using the new audiences these
elections help to create — will we argue not to vote for or support them when
they run as Democrats, even while they are contributing positively to the
growth of our common struggle and to the building of socialist
organizations which have struggled to get off the ground for nearly three
generations?
This is a difficult question
to answer, and one that we have to address as quickly as possible, as the
political development of the socialist movement continues.
It is not a question of
principle or of our basic political program. For those who believe that we must
build a new party — and that this entire system must be replaced through mass,
working-class organization — nothing inherent in these principles gives us an
answer to this concrete problem.
The tactical issue we face is
over what we must do today to help foster the independent growth of the new
socialist and working-class movement in the U.S. The tactics we choose will
have to be responsive to the trajectory of events as it unfolds from here.
Simply asserting that
socialists must build an independent party, an argument which is absolutely
correct, does not give us a complete answer to the question. It poses the
problem and identifies the right objective, but leaves the path toward this
objective under our current conditions undefined and under-theorized.
I look forward to charting
that path together with everyone who shares the project of Socialist
Worker.
What We Don’t Talk About When
We Talk About the Democratic Party
Jason Farbman and Zach Zill |
On the day after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning victory, the internet lit
up with leftist joy. Twelve hundred people joined DSA. “Socialism”
was the top search at Merriam-Webster. Ocasio-Cortez’s face was
splashed across every news outlet in the country. She appeared on “The Late
Show with Stephen Colbert,” explaining socialism means that “no person
in America should be too poor to live.” Thunderous applause filled the theater.
That same day, Socialist
Worker ran an article covering the Ocasio-Cortez election, called “How
far can the left go in the Democratic Party?” In the article, authors
Alan Maass and Elizabeth Schulte led with an exuberance about Ocasio-Cortez’s
victory that became a warning to the left: You will not be able to take over
the Democratic Party.
We very much agree with their
enthusiasm. As longtime socialists, we also agree when Maass and Schulte argue
that the Democratic Party cannot be taken over as a force for our collective
liberation.
But there is a rich vein of
political and strategic questions that the article did not address.
Ocasio-Cortez’s victory is one of the clearest signs to date that the world is
changing, and new opportunities are opening up for socialists in the U.S.
Socialists today face a basic question whose urgency and concreteness is felt
more acutely with every step forward that our movement takes: How do we go from
here to an independent political party of the working class?
We believe this is a strategic
question. It should be informed by political principles, but it cannot be
reduced to a set of principles or slogans. Conflating strategy and principle
leads Maass and Schulte to identify only two positions on the question of the
left’s relationship to the Democratic Party: a) work within the Democratic
Party, or (b) do not work within the Democratic Party.
But there is a third position:
c) use the Democratic Party as a launching pad to cohere a mass base for
socialism, which could eventually break
away into independent political activity. There are many socialists, particularly
some in the DSA, who make this very case.
At least for now, those
comrades appear to be correct when they argue to use Democratic ballot lines to
create a mass base for socialism. DSA now has over 40,000 members, and recent
electoral campaigns such as AOC’s have exposed millions of new people to
socialist ideas and organizations.
Seven questions of socialist
strategy
We believe our organization
needs more specific, strategic conversations about how to relate to the ongoing
radicalization through socialist candidacies — both on and off the Democratic
ballot line.
Here are some examples of
strategic questions we have:
1. How significant is current
electoral activity in building a socialist movement?
If ISO members think electoral
activity is of critical importance, should we support socialists within the
Democratic Party? Should we engage in our own electoral campaigns? Short of
supporting Democratic candidates, are there other contributions we can make in
the electoral realm?
2. What do other active and
organized socialists think the end goal is?
What proportion are trying to
reform the Democrats versus building up support for an eventual break toward an
independent socialist party? How is that proportion changing, if at all?
3. Can socialists effectively
convince people about electoral strategy without participating? Can they
recognize and act on opportunities on Democratic ballot lines, without wavering
on the Democratic Party as an ultimate graveyard for the left?
In this moment, electoral
socialism is getting a mass expression through the efforts of many allies,
working primarily within the Democratic Party. Is it a tenable position to
arrive on the scene after a campaign has already succeeded, offering what seems
patently contradictory: “We are so excited about this development! We think
it’s ultimately going nowhere! We did not and would not work on a similar
campaign!”
4. How much influence would a
small group of revolutionary socialists be able to have in the context of a
successful candidacy like Ocasio-Cortez’s?
Would we simply be steamrolled
by the far greater pressures exerted on her by the neoliberal Democratic
establishment and various reformist currents that have adapted to working
within the Democratic Party? Or would our track record of promoting socialism
and actively building social movements, including in Ocasio-Cortez’s district,
carry some weight?
5. How can the ISO support
Ocasio-Cortez going forward, without reinforcing the idea that the Democratic
Party is on our side?
Ocasio-Cortez will likely be
sworn in to Congress this coming January. She has pledged to push for
single-payer health care; demilitarizing the police and ending the war on
drugs; and guaranteed paid family and sick leave; among many others issues. The left and
social movements are going to have to think hard about how to organize the
power to effectively support these and other initiatives. And they will have to
defend her against inevitable attacks from the Democratic Party establishment.
How does our organization fit into this picture?
6. How can socialists make
sure Ocasio-Cortez sticks to her socialist politics and does not get co-opted
by the party machine?
One model might be the regular
meetings that Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has with a committee
to keep him accountable. Krasner was propelled into office due in significant
part to the efforts of the Campaign
for a Just DA, a coalition of groups dealing with issues ranging from youth
incarceration to the bail system to immigration.
They did not just campaign for
him, as
Waging Nonviolence reported, but also “drafted in-depth policy proposals.
Prisoners contributed directly to a number of these proposals. The coalition
then articulated a set of demands for the first 100 days in office for the new
district attorney.” In a city with a legendarily powerful police force,
Krasner’s political oxygen will only come from a sustained and growing
coalition.
What would it mean for our
organization to gain entry and participate in such a coalition?
7. How can the ISO work with
Ocasio-Cortez (we have plenty of comrades living in her district) to build
social movements, and to use this platform to amplify and advance our struggles
in the streets?
Some examples might include:
Defending attacks on
education. Could the Movement of Rank
and File Educators, the social justice caucus of the United Federation of
Teachers, partner with Ocasio-Cortez and community groups — to bridge rank and
file organizing with working class communities of color?
On abortion. New York City for Abortion Rights has
organized numerous clinic defenses outside Bronx Abortion. This work has
allowed our members to make strategic arguments about the
dangers of compromising on abortion, criticizing the Democratic Party and
even criticizing Bernie Sanders, that convinced others.
To abolish ICE.
Ocasio-Cortez took a
strong position to abolish ICE. What is the potential for NYC members
working on immigrant rights to enter a coalition that keeps pushing the demand
into the mainstream?
Solidarity with
Palestinians. For example, pushing back against attempts to criminalize
the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement in solidarity with
Palestinians.
Let’s get to it
None of these questions can be
answered in the abstract. They can only be answered with lived experience, and
cannot be forecast with certainty. There is an understandable weighing of the
potential risks and rewards offered by any course of action forward.
But we see Ocasio-Cortez’s
election as a trend that will continue — the New
York Daily News is already asking if little-known Julia Salazar,
running for state senate in Brooklyn, will “become the next Ocasio-Cortez.”
We think it a necessary and
urgent task to develop a more concrete perspective on how and when to engage
with socialist candidacies. Such work does not exclude a continued emphasis on
the primary importance of building social struggles outside the electoral
realm.
Many of these candidates,
including Ocasio-Cortez, have indicated they want to build a new Democratic
Party. Many socialists express concerns these victories will reinforce ideas
that the Democratic Party can be taken over by the left. We take this concern
seriously, but wonder if this isn’t missing the forest for the trees.
Individual supporters of socialist candidates are likely hold two ideas
simultaneously: hopes that the Democratic Party can be reformed, and excitement
in promoting a socialist vision for our society. This is a dynamic situation,
and people’s ideas are in flux.
Other concerns raised by
socialists are that Ocasio-Cortez is bound to either burn out or sell out. That
either the neoliberal Democratic leadership will drive her out of office, or
they will pressure and co-opt her into moderating her positions and making
peace with capitalism. Again, the situation is in flux.
Supporters of Ocasio-Cortez
will quickly and repeatedly run up against the limitations of a Democratic
Party that is an institutional pillar of U.S. capitalism. Yet between rising
hopes fueled by her victory and frustrated attempts to work through the “proper
channels,” these same supporters will draw many lessons. Which way these
lessons break will determine whether eager new socialists become co-opted, burn
out and fall away, or emerge hardened by the experience, with a clearer
understanding of what it will ultimately take to realize a new world.
Does it matter what the ISO
does? We would argue yes. That doesn’t mean we are guaranteed to prevent a
sellout or crash-out. But it does require us to take action.
We very much agree with a
recent analysis in Jacobin:
Ocasio-Cortez — a brilliant
candidate at the right moment — brought in a whole mess of volunteers from all
over the place, from other organizations as well as off the street. What’s
true, I think, is that DSA was the biggest organized bloc of her volunteers. I
hope Alexandria or someone else is out there organizing the rest of them! The
worst thing about electoral work is that sometimes there’s no organization
ready to build on the connections it creates; we need to make sure that doesn’t
happen here.
We are in a period with
promise unlike any other in our lifetimes. We don’t know how long this window
will last, but we know there is an urgent need for socialist groups to
cooperate in organizing socialism’s emerging mass base into an active and
militant movement. Our organization is faced with deeply challenging strategic
questions. We very much look forward to discussing and formulating strategies
to organize an emerging mass base of socialists into a militant wing of the
U.S. left.
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