4 ms·

DSA isn't no-quotes-left. It has gone full steam into identity politics if you ask me (I'm not American, but this is just based on what I've been seeing from th

by eyko 6y ago

DSA isn't no-quotes-left. It has gone full steam into identity politics if you ask me (I'm not American, but this is just based on what I've been seeing from them, correct me if I'm wrong). I don't mean that in a negative way and I'm not making any judgements of morality or anything, but no-quotes-left has a class conscience, today's left has an identity conscience (gender, ethnicity, etc). Both fight for equality (new left also for equity) but the ideology has shifted from a class struggle to a new kind of struggle that has replaced the nobility and bourgeoisie for the white cis male, and the proletariat for BIPOC, women, gender non conforming, etc. Edit: equality+equity.

cmrdporcupine 6y ago
The DSA is a mix. It has grown in leaps and bounds, but before it did that it was this kind of small social democratic organization with a kind of unique politics that came from Michael Harrington, and was more interested in being a bit of a left wing lobby inside the Democrats. With the rise of Bernie Sanders and a new generation of people getting into socialist and left wing politics, it became quite a bit broader and larger and vibrant. And my impression is it became of a centre of gravity for other left tendencies in the US to coalesce. There's quite a few different groupings in there these days. I don't think you can make a broad generalization like you did here.
- eyko 6y ago
  Apologies for the broad generalization (as I said, correct me if I'm wrong, and I stand corrected here). That being said, if what you say is true, it's a pity that either the main stream media's reporting doesn't reflect that diversity or that the louder voices don't leave space for the rest of viewpoints.
orthecreedence 6y ago
Agreed. I'm a far-left (libertarian) communist in America, and from what I've seen/read, the DSA is effectively the slightly-left wokish arm of the Democratic party. Think "public healthcare" with a big dose of "what are everyone's pronouns?!" They're more concerned about trigger words and identity politics than dismantling capitalism.
eli_gottlieb 6y ago
IIRC up-thread I wrote complaining about "woke" leftists who are "three times as strict on culture-war issues as on economics", and I was referring precisely to today's DSA. As a supporter of the Harringtonite social-democratic class-struggle approach, what the org has become kind of disgusts me.

by eyko 6y ago

cmrdporcupine 6y ago

The DSA is a mix. It has grown in leaps and bounds, but before it did that it was this kind of small social democratic organization with a kind of unique politics that came from Michael Harrington, and was more interested in being a bit of a left wing lobby inside the Democrats. With the rise of Bernie Sanders and a new generation of people getting into socialist and left wing politics, it became quite a bit broader and larger and vibrant. And my impression is it became of a centre of gravity for other left tendencies in the US to coalesce. There's quite a few different groupings in there these days. I don't think you can make a broad generalization like you did here.

eyko 6y ago
Apologies for the broad generalization (as I said, correct me if I'm wrong, and I stand corrected here). That being said, if what you say is true, it's a pity that either the main stream media's reporting doesn't reflect that diversity or that the louder voices don't leave space for the rest of viewpoints.

orthecreedence 6y ago

Agreed. I'm a far-left (libertarian) communist in America, and from what I've seen/read, the DSA is effectively the slightly-left wokish arm of the Democratic party. Think "public healthcare" with a big dose of "what are everyone's pronouns?!" They're more concerned about trigger words and identity politics than dismantling capitalism.

eli_gottlieb 6y ago

IIRC up-thread I wrote complaining about "woke" leftists who are "three times as strict on culture-war issues as on economics", and I was referring precisely to today's DSA. As a supporter of the Harringtonite social-democratic class-struggle approach, what the org has become kind of disgusts me.