this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
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chapotraphouse
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Is he doing socialist organizing? Or is this just an electoral campaign?
Electoralism is fine as a tactic in a larger strategy, but if the entire strategy is just electoralism it's doomed to fail. There has to be a larger revolutionary project at work.
The only way we get to that project is through organizing, and delivering concrete wins for people so they trust us. I will judge Mamdani on whether he delivers on his promises. I understand being skeptical, but DSA and Future Mayor Mamdani are putting in the work of organizing, showing people that a better world is possible.
The problem is that DSA and Zohran are not actually organizing for anything other than getting Zohran elected. They do not work hand in hand nor are they likely to once he's in office. This is pretty much a universal issue across all of DSA high profile elected officials. That often means DSA is used as a pool of eager volunteers for a campaign but nothing more. It also means that when the pressure to capitulate is particularly acute, DSA elected officials have a history of betraying some of DSA's core values. AOC and Jamal Bowman are key examples here but it happens at the local level too. This all unfortunately means that people are never brought into DSA because candidates aren't proud and open about their membership. It also generates a lot of internal strife within DSA which causes a lot of good organizers to burn out and leave the organization. Neither of those things is good for the development of the socialist movement.
Just to be clear though this is meant as a constructive critique. It's not unique to Zohran and it's been a problem in DSA for years. They might resolve it but I'm not entirely sure they will or if Zohran's win will help. That said, I still like DSA and Zohran. It's pretty cool seeing a sex pest cretin humiliated by some social democratic muslim guy from queens. Even if this isn't a stepping stone to socialism, I think it's fine to celebrate. It's kind of like watching cops pepper spray themselves or billionaires getting crushed in a wildly unsafe submarine. It just reminds you that the people with power are vulnerable and that's always a good feeling.
Thing is, DSA had like 7,000 members throughout then 90s, 00s and early 10s. Since then elections that put socialism front and center have driven those numbers up above 70,000. I can say the chapter near me hasn’t spent any energy on elections this year, instead focusing on buying and forgiving medical debt and putting people on a picket line so local workers didn’t have to be there for 72 hours straight without any breaks. The fact that the primary was covered so widely and people were clapping for an avowed socialist is not nothing. But we should still temper our expectations.
I want to be clear, I think it’s totally okay for DSA to spend time on electoral campaigns. I even think it’s good actually even if some members still believe in the idea of voting their way to socialism. I just think they need to act more democratically and in a more coordinated fashion.