Class

In this episode, we celebrate Eugene Debs’s powerful insights and brilliant writing on the occasion of his passing 100 years ago. If you like what you hear and want to read more Debs, let us know by sending us a message! 

Debs's writings featured on this episode:

The Power of Persistent Effort

Labor, the Genius of Civilization

Abolitionists

Why We Have Outgrown the United States Constitution

Statement to the Court Upon Being Convicted of Violating the Sedition Act

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Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change. 

On this episode, we talk with Paul Heideman (Jacobin, Catalyst) about the theory and practices of penal or carceral minimalism, which has recently been suggested as an alternative to abolitionism by some social theorists and political strategists and which has been influencing debate within DSA and elsewhere (as listeners to the last two episodes may realize). This is the third in a series discussing socialism and abolition, related to the “End Mass Incarceration and Police Immunity” plank in Workers Deserve More. 

To read Workers Deserve More, DSA’s program, go here.

To read Paul’s article, "The Case for Carceral Minimalism," go here. 

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Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change. 

On this episode, we talk with Alec Karakatsanis, author of the book Copaganda and executive director of the Civil Rights Corp, about the aggregation of the punishment bureaucracy under capitalism, and recent left-wing criticisms of the abolitionist horizon that Workers Deserve More demands.

We did make an error on the introduction to last week’s episode with Alex Vitale, and the introduction was mismatched — human error on the backend. This *is* the Alec episode, fully collated.

DSA's Program

Alec’s Copaganda Newsletter

Usmani and Lewis’s article

Center for Working Class Politics “The Left’s Coalition Crisis” report

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Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change. 

On this episode, we talk with Alex Vitale, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the author of The End of Policing. We focus on the latest left-wing criticisms of Workers Deserve More's "End Mass Incarceration" plank and its abolitionist horizon, or what Alex critically calls "carceral socialism." 

Workers Deserve More

Alex Vitale’s Substack

Center for Working Class Politics “The Left’s Coalition Crisis” report

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Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America.

Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter. 

Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change. 

On this episode, we talk with Aziz Rana, a professor of law at Boston College and the author of the recent book, The Constitutional Bind, about various demands for democratic reform, the histories and complexities of these interlocking demands, and the importance of socialists pointing the way to a radically just and equal socialist future. 

Read Workers Deserve More here.

You can find out more about Aziz and his work here.

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Clarissa Redwine and JS Tan, authors of Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World’s Most Powerful Industry, discuss the political and economic motivations behind their organizing and writing, and the class-conscious role tech workers can play in building a truly democratic society. 

JOIN NPEC, DSA’s National Labor Commission, our Tech Committee, Haymarket Books, and EWOC on Monday, September 14th, 12:30 PT/3:30 ET to kick off the Against Tech Oligarchy reading group! Attend the event, and you can get a copy of the book for free! 

RSVP for the ATO event HERE 

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Hayley and John from DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) discuss the planning, programming, vibes, and takeaways from DSA’s first—but definitely not last—Socialist Summit in Chicago, held at the end of July.

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Sebastian and Kelly discuss the exciting rise of tenant unionization on the socialist left and how it fits into the broader scope of working-class organizing and the crucial fight for decent housing. To learn more about how you can organize with your neighbors, join the ETOC summer cohort, starting August 8th!

Join the Emergency Tenant Organizing Committee’s Summer Cohort, starting on August 8th! 

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On this episode, Luke talks with Michaela about DSA’s new Workers Deserve More Program. We talk about the program’s origins, the drafting process, and all of the cool demands it contains. We also discuss some of our favorite parts, the initial media reaction, future political education opportunities revolving around Workers Deserve More, and how DSA’s elected officials can support the program. Check out a recording of the mass call announcing the program. And of course, the program itself! 

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It's the summer of sports and socialism! Connell (River Valley DSA) and Jason (Connecticut DSA) join us to talk about socialist fandom, the political economy of sports in the US, and how sports can bring us together as an organization.

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