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DSA

Renewed Interest in Socialism

Brian K. Noe · March 11, 2016 ·

What does it mean to socialists?

Alan Maass of the ISO and Bhaskar Sunkara of the DSA discuss what the renewed interest in socialism in the United States surrounding the Sanders campaign means for socialists who are already organized, both in terms of the opportunities and of the challenges.

Sunkara spoke about the importance of ongoing struggle beyond an election campaign.

I think you can find those little incubators of, if not what socialism looks like, then the power of collective action. And I think the memory of those moments — of strikes and other extra-parliamentary activity — is more durable and longer lasting than something like a presidential campaign.

There’s a lot to be said about that and what it would take to transform society. It’s not just a battle of ideas and convincing people that we need more social democracy, but figuring out how to organize people to exert disruptive power, be it through a strike, or disrupting the day-to-day functioning of political parties like the Democratic Party, or shaking up the regular functioning of the trade union movement by sparking rank-and-file activity and militancy.

There’s a lot that needs to be said about that vision. Just because I focus at this moment heavily on the Sanders campaign doesn’t mean that I think that’s the only arena of struggle.

Read the entire discussion: Can America go socialist? | SocialistWorker.org

Filed Under: Curated Links Tagged With: Alan Maass, Bernie Sanders, Bhaskar Sunkara, DSA, DSA Left Caucus, ISO, Jacobin, Socialism, Socialist Worker

Chicago March for Bernie – February 2016

Brian K. Noe · February 29, 2016 ·

Photo by Bob Simpson

Our family was proud to be a part of the March for Bernie on Saturday, February 27th. It was a beautiful day in Chicago, and great to be among comrades. I offered to hold the banner for the Chicago DSA, not realizing that I was volunteering to help carry it along the route as well.

My pal Bob Simpson has a photo album up on Flickr that captures the spirit of the day.

Chicago March for Bernie Sanders: February 27 2016

I put a few shots of family and friends in a Flickr album too. The set is in reverse chronological order, starting with our ride home on the Metra.

Chicago March for Bernie 27 February 2016

Also, there’s this short video from the march.

This was our daughter Caroline’s first experience with a political event. She had a lovely time.

 noe-girls-with-signs

Filed Under: Pictures, Video Tagged With: Bernie Sanders, Chicago, Chicago DSA, Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, Politics

Talkin’ Socialism

Brian K. Noe · February 25, 2016 ·

Talkin SocialismThe Chicago DSA’s Talkin’ Socialism podcast was one of the first that I found when I was looking for an education in the matter. These are recorded each month in conjunction with the regular meeting of the chapter, and have covered a wide range of topics from socialist history and theory to current events here in Illinois.

Recently, the program has undergone something of a reboot. Producer Robert Roman has moved the show site to WordPress.com, and the feed has been resubmitted to the iTunes directory.

Highly recommended. Here are some links.

Talkin’ Socialism Website

iTunes Podcast Listing

Podcast RSS Feed

Chicago DSA Website

Chicago DSA on Facebook

Chicago DSA on Twitter

Filed Under: Podcasting Tagged With: Chicago, Chicago DSA, Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, iTunes, Recommended, Socialism, Talkin' Socialism

Building A Left Wing

Brian K. Noe · February 22, 2016 ·

Note: This is another short post about my personal political journey thus far, and about some efforts to help build an effective American Left in the 21st Century. Views and characterizations are my own. I do not speak for the organizations mentioned, nor for of any of my comrades. As always, comments are welcome.

turn-leftI’ve written previously about my political awakening which began in earnest a few years ago. Early on, I recognized the need to work together with others toward fundamental change. One of the things that I did was to join the Wobblies. I remain a faithful dues-paying member of the IWW, and now also carry a National Writers Union card. Union membership is something that I consider to be part of my core identity.

I also began to learn about political organizations on the broader left. There is a dizzying range of them in the United States. There are Social Democrats, and Democratic Socialists, and Feminist Socialists, and Committees of Correspondence, and Spartacists, and Trotskyists, and Marxists and Revolutionary Socialists and Anarcho-Syndicalists, and Christian Anarchists – and many, many others.

I studied lineages and politics and structure and governance and international affiliations and a host of other details about each group. The two organizations of most interest to me were the Democratic Socialists of America and the International Socialist Organization. Both have active Chicago chapters (which was important to me since we were anticipating a move north from Central Illinois to the Chicago Southland), both are relatively large organizations, and both have lineages that can be traced back to the heroes of 20th-century American radicalism.

I joined the DSA in early 2012.

In the four years since, my political education has continued. Two particularly important influences have been Marx’s writings and Rosa Luxemburg’s Reform Or Revolution. The idea that we cannot merely reform our way to a just society is now evident to me. This doesn’t mean that reforms aren’t important, but that we do have to have strategies beyond that. The more I’ve read and learned, the further left my politics have trended.

So I was delighted when a friend in another organization mentioned, in passing, the “left wing of the DSA around Jacobin.” Up until then, I had no idea that an organized “left wing” existed.

I contacted someone I knew at Jacobin, and they put me in touch with someone involved in the DSA Left Caucus. I was welcomed into the caucus in late April of 2015.

Although there is no litmus test nor a point-by-point statement of principles which a member is bound to accept, there seems to be general agreement across the caucus around the following ideas.

  • We’d like to see a greater focus on education in theory and history throughout our organization.
  • We are socialists, organizing for socialism. We’re not liberals or progressives or social democrats.
  • We are committed to solidarity with those who are most oppressed under capitalism including women, people of color, first peoples and LGBTQ people.
  • We believe in internationalism, and in showing solidarity with the struggles of oppressed people worldwide, particularly those who are victims of American imperialism.
  • We want to help build an independent socialist political movement in the United States while maintaining a flexible and undogmatic approach to elections in the meantime.
  • We are committed to building relationships across the American Left, and to pursuing a united front with comrades from other socialist organizations where possible.
  • We are committed to solidarity with our rank-and-file union sisters and brothers, and to supporting movements for union democracy.

The DSA is not only the largest explicitly socialist organization in the United States, it is one with a rich intellectual and activist history, and a structure that continues to guard against uncritical acceptance of predominant ideas. The Left Caucus provides auspices for thoughtful discussion and purposeful organization toward a more vibrant and effective DSA, and hence a more vibrant and effective American Left. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be learning and working alongside this group of exceptionally bright and committed activists.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: America, Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, DSA Left Caucus, ISO, IWW, Jacobin, Left, National Writers Union, Politics, Socialism, Wobblies

C-SPAN Interview with Maria Svart

Brian K. Noe · October 23, 2015 ·

Maria Svart of the DSA was on Washington Journal last Sunday to talk about the organization, Democratic Socialism and the Bernie Sanders campaign.

“Do we want a society where greed rules and it’s everyone for themselves and we don’t look out for each other, or do we want a society where we work together?”

Filed Under: Video Tagged With: C-SPAN, Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, Interviews, Maria Svart, Socialism, Washington Journal

The Bi-Partisan War Against the Poor

Brian K. Noe · January 15, 2014 ·

DSA Vice Chairman Joseph Schwartz reviews the recent MSNBC special commemorating the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, noting that discussion of the thirty year bi-partian assault on working people received little attention.

The biggest change in the face of poverty in the U.S. from the initiation of the War on Poverty to today is that poverty is now a problem of working families; it was not in 1962.  Today, one half of families living in official poverty have a full-time worker in the household. In 1962, a fully employed worker guaranteed that the family would live above the poverty line.  Why this change? In part, this is due to the conscious corporate assault on union strength.

Read more: The Bi-Partisan Neoliberal War Against the Poor – Democratic Socialists of America.

Filed Under: Curated Links Tagged With: America, Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, History, Neoliberalism, Politics, Poverty, War on Poverty, War on Workers

Why the Middle Should Care About the Bottom

Brian K. Noe · January 10, 2014 ·

The middle has to care about the bottom because it represents how far our society will let someone fall.

Read the article: A Real Movement of the 99%—Don’t Look Down | Talking Union.

Filed Under: Curated Links Tagged With: Class Struggles, Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, Public Policy, Socialism, Union

Democratic Left Fall 2012 Issue

Brian K. Noe · September 18, 2012 ·

The Fall 2012 Issue of Democratic Left, the quarterly publication of the Democratic Socialists of America, is now available for download and reading online.

Democratic Left, Fall 2012 (PDF Version)

Democratic Left, Summer 2012 (Online Viewing Table of Contents)

In This Issue

  • Labor in the Labyrinth – by Chris Maisano
  • Can the Unions Survive? Can the Left Have a Voice? – by Nelson Lichtenstein
  • Triple Jeopardy: Women Lose Public Sector Services, Jobs, and Union Rights – by Mimi Abramovitz
  • We Can Do Better: Organizing for Single-Payer in the Age of ACA – by Michael Lighty
  • Book Review, Bread and Roses – or Dust and Ashes? John Nichols, Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, From Madison to Wall Street – reviewed by Maurice Isserman
  • Book Review, The Gripes of Wrath: Frank Bardacke, Trampling Out the Vintage: Cesar Chavez and the Two Souls of the United Farm Workers – reviewed by Duane E. Campbell
  • “Democracy Endangered: DSA’s Strategy for the 2012 Elections and Beyond” – by The National Political Committee of Democratic Socialists of America

Filed Under: Other Content Tagged With: DSA, Politics, Socialism

Democratic Left Summer 2012 Issue

Brian K. Noe · June 20, 2012 ·

The Summer 2012 Issue of Democratic Left, the quarterly publication of the Democratic Socialists of America, is now available for download and reading online.

Democratic Left, Summer 2012 (PDF Version)

Democratic Left, Summer 2012 (Online Viewing Table of Contents)

In This Issue

  • Make That Leap – by Chris Maisano
  • DSA National Political Committee Statement
  • The 2012 Elections: Tragic Dilemmas, Left Possibilities – by Joseph M. Schwartz
  • From Port Huron to Zuccotti Park: 50 Years of Participatory Democracy – by Dick Flacks
  • Michael Harrington and The Other America – remarks by Frances Fox Piven and Cornel West
  • Book Review: Charles Murray, Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960-2010 – reviewed by Jack Clark
  • No More Apologies: Socialist Feminism and the Struggle for Reproductive Freedom – by Amber Frost
  • YDS Mobilizes for T-Day – by Andrew Porter
  • Book Review: Cornel West (with David Ritz), Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir – reviewed by Duane E. Campbell
  • Celebrating 40 Years of Democratic Left

Filed Under: Other Content Tagged With: DSA, Politics, Socialism

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