In order for the Democratic Socialists of America’s 2017 Convention to be successful, three major tasks needed to be accomplished this past weekend.
1. Members needed to develop meaningful relationships with comrades from around the country.
2. Members had to participate in debate and discussion that was participatory, democratic, and (overwhelmingly) comradely.
3. Members needed to leave the convention confident that DSA is their political home and inspired to build the organization locally and nationally.
On these three points, the convention was unquestionably successful. There have been many takeaways, and some folks have already written about them eloquently. Rather than a simple run-down, I wanted to give some more specific perspectives. I was an observer to the convention from New York City and for the past eighteen months have been on the organizing committee for our Brooklyn Branch. Here are fourteen reflections on the convention, both procedural and political.
1. There Is an Alternative. Margaret Thatcher’s famous phrase that there is no alternative to capitalism has less power and relevance now that it has had since she uttered it three decades ago. The journey from the financial crash of 2007 to the rise of Occupy, to the Bernie Sanders campaign, and now the building of a 25,000 person socialist organization garnering media attention in every major news outlet in the country, has collectively demonstrated to millions of Americans that in fact, there is an alternative. It’s socialism.
2. More Debate Time. The first item of debate at the convention was a constitutional amendment to expand the size of the National Political Committee. Despite the fact that this was a decision of enormous importance for the organization, it was debated for roughly five minutes. The resolution regarding the development of a national training program, which the writers estimated would cost between $40,000 and $190,000, was debated for roughly fifteen minutes. In the conversations I had with members during the weekend and immediately after, this was the point of most contention. More debate time could be achieved if the Activist Conference were in fact held on the off-convention years as it should according to our constitution. I’m optimistic this will happen in some form (perhaps simultaneous regional trainings) — many members of the Momentum slate vocally advocated for more debate time. Many members of the Praxis slate vocally advocated for significant training and caucus time (of course with considerable overlap in these perspectives). Holding the Activist Conference will devote significant time to training in the off year, open up more debate time during the convention, and thus allow both slates to achieve their aims.
3. More Staff. The efforts of DSA staff were jaw dropping, as were those of volunteers who contributed countless hours to ensure a successful convention. Still, it was clear that they were all overworked and some nuts and bolts were loose as a result. Unions with a few thousand members regularly have dozens of staff. DSA currently has ten, some of whom are part time. Hopefully the resolution on the development of a monthly dues program will encourage this. I already changed my dues from $60 per year to $30 per month. I hope you’ll contribute what you can.
4. The Tent is Big, But It’s Not Infinite In the wake of the BDS vote overwhelmingly in favor of endorsement, a few members on social media exclaimed that they would leave the organization. They might have been upset by a single decision they disagreed with in a heated moment, but they also might fundamentally oppose the now dominant political position. As a “mini-mass organization,” we’ll have to accept this reality that as we clarify our politics, some (though hopefully few) people will disagree with them, and leave as a result. Some have also threatened to leave in the wake of the controversy surrounding the employment history of Danny Fetonte. When confronted with this dynamic, we should do our absolute best to coherently communicate our positions and make clear the wide range of politics we do share with each other. We should impress upon our members, particularly newer ones with little organizing experience, that if you are serious about building socialism, you must also be serious about building a socialist organization, and in turn, the question of leaving should be taken very seriously.
5. The “Soft Stuff” Matters. The convention had a quiet room for members to decompress and relax, a care station with tea, medicine, medical supplies, and yes, condoms, staffed by a registered nurse along with volunteers. The meals provided had vegetarian and gluten free options. Volunteer convention marshals were trained at the start of the conference in de-escalation strategies and the few conflicts that arose between members were then interrupted and dealt with restoratively. Staff members were accommodating to individual needs at every turn, despite their extreme overextension. My first reaction to these practices was a reminder of Occupy and the obsessive moralism that went along with that moment. But this was different, because these supports served a serious and organized political project. They weren’t valuable in their own right, but because they enabled members to participate comfortably and earnestly in democratic socialist politics.
6. A Mandate for a Multiracial DSA Of nearly 800 delegates, not a single one voted against the creation of an Afro-Socialist and People of Color Caucus. Though there was some spirited pre-convention debate, it was clear that the vast majority of members recognize that the organization is not yet genuinely multiracial, that it needs to be if it wants to develop into a mass organization, and that in addition to robust political education and race analysis, organizing around issues that disproportionately affect people of color is the way forward.
7. Putting Roots in the Working Class Another noncontroversial vote was for the creation of a Democratic Socialist Labor Caucus — a national body to coordinate union-affiliated work throughout the country. All of this aligned with the earnest intention of seemingly everyone at the convention to establish an organizational base in working class communities. I was part of a group of twenty teachers that met to establish a national network of educators with a labor orientation and coordinate industry-specific organizing across geographies. This type of network for other industries would be exactly the kind nested under the DSLC, among many other tasks.
8. There’s No Consensus on Electoral Politics, But We Should Aim for One Regardless. It was clear from the debates as well as the workshops that there is no universally agreed upon strategy of how to approach electoral politics. The orientations range from intensive involvement in the Democratic Party to those advocating total (or near total) independence. Most seemed to think that using the Democratic ballot line, at least in the short-term, was advisable. The workshop on electoral strategy revealed this. Facilitators asked small, geographically diverse groups of members to read electoral scenarios and discuss potential approaches within the context of our chapters. This open and experimental orientation is at this stage in DSA’s redevelopment a healthy one. In the months and years to come we should learn from our electoral experiences, document and share them widely, and aim to develop a sense of best practices and a more unified vision that can inform our strategy and program two years from now.
9. Healthcare is a Human Right and an Organizational Priority As reflected in the passing of DSA’s priorities document, one of the organization’s key areas of focus in the next two years will be organizing around a national single payer program or “Medicare for All.” This was relatively non-controversial at the convention and even included a preface that while single payer represents progress, entirely socialized medicine which eliminates the profit motive from healthcare is ideal. Incoming members of the NPC along with local leaders and members now need to begin strategic discussion of what a nationally coordinated program would look like, how we could win, and in what time frame.
10. Good Faith Takes Practice. By and large, the tenor of debate was comradely and respectful. There were earnest arguments put forth on questions of strategy, program, and organization. But it wasn’t perfect. Well-reasoned arguments against BDS were hissed at, shouting from the floor was limited but existent, and assumptions of bad faith on the part of other members were more common than I hoped for. Given most DSA members relative lack of experience in democratic organizations, it’s not surprising that a style of discussion which favors inquiry and dialogue was less prominent than one that tends towards polemic and confrontation. A more deliberative and productive style of debate can be developed through mentorship from those more experienced in organizational politics and above all, practice in local chapters.
11. 25,000 is a Good Start. The growth of DSA in the past year is beyond what anybody in the organization expected. We are nearing the point where we are able to make direct political interventions by ourselves, or at least in coalitions that we lead. But we are not a mass organization. As Jacobin Editor in Chief Bhaskar Sunkara mentioned in a panel this weekend, if we wanted to match the proportional membership of the Socialist Party at its height, which as he noted was not a mass organization, we’d need roughly 320,000 members. Our growth in the past year was by and large unintentional — people came to us. Growing from here on out and preventing dropout will take intentional recruitment strategies, both locally and nationally. The incoming NPC in discussion with local leaders and members, should begin to set reasonable goals for membership leading up to the 2019 convention.
12. Next Steps for DSA’s Left. The left-wing in DSA has in many (but not all) ways captured the soul of the organization. The vote to leave the Socialist International at the 2015 Convention was bitter, controversial, and failed narrowly. Two years later it was near unanimous. Endorsing BDS, thought by many to be highly controversial just months ago, was a similar blowout. Positions that once seemed outlandish in a social democratic organization committed to realigning the Democratic Party, are no longer. Given their success in achieving these aims, those on the left of DSA need to think seriously about what tasks it should set for itself in the next two years. One political holdout is that of a more confrontational stance towards the Democratic Party. The amendment to this end, put forth by NYC Co-Chair Zelig Stern and NYC member Dan LaBotz, received about 40% of the vote, but still failed.
13. Act Local, Think Global Of all that members experienced this weekend, I would bet that most novel was the international solidarity on display, as expressed through a delegation of members from a number of European and Latin American parties including the UK’s Labour Party, Podemos in Spain, and France Insoumise, among others. To hear Catarina Principe, a leader in Portugal’s Bloco Ezquerda (Left Bloc), claim how inspired she was by the “restarting” of the American Left emphasized the burgeoning and promising international relationships within DSA. Furthermore, our exit from the Socialist International opens up new and exciting avenues for direct relationships between socialist organizations around the world.
14. Let’s Do It Again and Again and Again. The convention concluded with a singing of the Internationale. As nearly 1,000 socialists sang and reinvigorated the centuries old demand for a world free of exploitation, tears rolled down the eyes of comrades from across the country. The moment was surreal and one that many members will never, ever forget. Moments like these, in addition to discussing, singing, laughing, and yes, partying for a weekend gives us the energy and drive needed to continue to build socialism, even in a hostile and at times seemingly hopeless political climate. But those engaged in this inspirational process are only 4% of our organization’s members. We need to replicate as much as we can of what was experienced this weekend in local and perhaps regional conventions to multiply and distribute that energy. This will take similarly daunting amounts of work, but it’s necessary.