All over the world democratic socialism failed in the face of ascendant fascism, as a fickle fascination with form saw “socialists” ally themselves to bourgeois republics. The many millions of dead call to us from beyond the grave to not repeat this mistake.
The post The DSA Is Repeating the Historic Failures of the Social Democrats appeared first on Left Voice.
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I don’t see this as snubbing out the flame, though; we have seen what happens if pressure isn’t kept up with candidates like this. The masses engage in the election, they win, then they return home. Some become disengaged as the duldrum of life beats that revolutionary spirit out of them; others return content, thinking the Democrats are finally making progress. Time passes, goalposts are changed, and lukewarm versions of campaign promises are implemented. There is a new wave of voters every year who fall for the same traps because they’ve never seen them before. I think this kind of discussion is good, and having it openly is good. People shouldn’t take it as “doom and gloom”. They should take it as, “Look what we’ve achieved, but we can do it better next time”. This article feels very directed at the rank and file DSA members, if I’m being honest. I am interested to see what comes out of “Our Time”, if they can keep themselves out of trouble, that is. They have to be committed to critique of Mamdani, though, if he strays from his stated agenda. The risk of him straying is far more likely with him associated with the Democrats than it would be if he wasn’t.
The thing about these incremental wins, and I do see Mamdani as a win, is that the masses that are being built are now behind the Democrats and a Democratic Candidate. The Democrats will claim all his victories and push all his failures onto his socialist leanings. People who saw what Mamdani was offering and thought, “Yes, that is what we need!” are correct. He ran a very grounded and materialist campaign. The trouble, however, is that there isn’t a party that shares his values backing him, and his supporters will not be funneled into a revolutionary movement because he isn’t associated with one. He has associated himself with the status quo movement in hopes that he can shift that status quo. People who think they should join him in the realm of politics might go to the DSA, but they’re just as likely to go to the Democrats, who are a real political party and hold office in their localities.
I think now is the time to start learning how to walk; we’ve been crawling for a long time.