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Today’s episode will be the first of a 2 episode series on the National Convention, one of the primary democratic mechanisms within the structure of DSA. To discuss the national convention Justin Charles from the NPC will return. We’ll also be joined by Renée Paradis. Both are members of the Platform and Resolutions Subcommittee.

Justin Charles is a member of North Brooklyn DSA, and has been a member of the DSA National Political Committee since July 2020.

Renée Paradis is a member of East Bay DSA, and has served on the Resolutions and Platform convention committee for the last two conventions. She’s also a member of the CA-DSA State Committee and a past chair of DSA's National Electoral Committee.

2023 DSA Convention

https://convention2023.dsausa.org

2023 DSA Convention Compendium (Resolutions)

https://s3.amazonaws.com/actionkit-dsausa/dsa/2023_DSA_Convention_Compendium.pdf

Not be confused with the 2023 Socialism Conference 

https://socialismconference.org

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Something big has been happening in Chicago. If you have not heard, Chicago recently elected the most progressive mayor in the country. Brandon Johnson was endorsed by a variety of unions, especially the Chicago Teachers’ Union, of which he was previously a member and an organizer. He was also endorsed by Bernie Sanders. 

In this episode we have Miles Kampf-Lassin, a journalist from In These Times that followed the Brandon Johnson campaign, to talk about something we have talked about a number of times on this podcast: when workers come together they can fight back against the capitalist class. 

Miles Kampf-Lassin is a writer and editor at In These Times magazine. Follow him on Twitter @MilesKLassin

Brandon Johnson Defeated Paul Vallas’s Austerity Agenda Last Night

https://jacobin.com/2023/04/brandon-johnson-mayoral-election-paul-vallas-austerity-agenda-left-victory

Why Chicago’s Mayoral Election Is One of the Most Important Races of 2023

https://perfectunion.us/why-chicagos-mayoral-election-is-one-of-the-most-important-races-of-2023/

Chicago’s Political Revolution

https://inthesetimes.com/article/chicagos-political-revolution

Credits:
Producer: Elton LK
Logo by Michaela Brangan
Sound Engineer & Opening Music by Casey Stikker
Additional Assistance, including content by Palmer Conrad

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What would a socialist economy look like? Sam Gindin stresses the importance of establishing the feasibility of an alternative socialist society for the development of a strong socialist movement. He presents a vision of a future socialism, and poses important questions that a socialist society will have to figure out.

In this episode members of DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) discuss Sam Gindin's essay.

José La Luz is a lifelong labor organizer and campaigner with roots in the New Left in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He was a founding member of DSA after joining DSOC prior to the merger with NAM in the mid 80’s. He is the most senior member of the NPC (in age) adding a multigenerational presence to the national leadership.

Sofia Cutler is a member of North New Jersey DSA, and has been a member of the DSA National Political Committee since 2021 as part of the Bread and Roses Slate. She is a rank-and-file member of Unite Here Local 33.

Justin Charles is a member of North Brooklyn DSA, and has been a member of the DSA National Political Committee since July 2020.

DSA NPEC Curriculum

https://dsa-education.pubpub.org/modules

DSA’s Leadership and Structure

https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/structure/

NPEC Curriculum on Sam Gindin’s "Socialism for Realists"

https://dsa-education.pubpub.org/pub/what-is-socialism/release/6#reading-c-socialism-for-realists-abridged-by-sam-gindin

Credits:
Producer: Elton LK
Logo by Michaela Brangan
Sound Engineer & Opening Music by Casey Stikker
Additional Assistance, including content by Palmer Conrad

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Responding to the swelling socialist movement, Tarnoff builds on the work of Nicos Poulantzas and “Eurocommunism” to illustrate how growing a socialist movement requires both competing within the institutions of the state (for example through elections) and developing an autonomous layer of “people power” to act on the state. His essay blends an analysis of tactics and strategy for the socialist movement with a vision of the ultimate goal of a democratic socialism that will have both a transformed state and transformed civil society.

In this episode members of DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) discuss Ben Tarnoff’s essay.

José La Luz is a lifelong labor organizer and campaigner with roots in the New Left in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He was a founding member of DSA after joining DSOC prior to the merger with NAM in the mid 80’s. He is the most senior member of the NPC (in age) adding a multigenerational presence to the national leadership.

Sofia Cutler is a member of North New Jersey DSA, and has been a member of the DSA National Political Committee since 2021 as part of the Bread and Roses Slate. She is a rank-and-file member of Unite Here Local 33.

Justin Charles is a member of North Brooklyn DSA, and has been a member of the DSA National Political Committee since July 2020.

DSA NPEC Curriculum

https://dsa-education.pubpub.org/modules

DSA’s Leadership and Structure

https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/structure/

Ben Tarnoff’s “Building Socialism from Below: Popular Power and the State”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1731oHoNsQJLzoXU6yO_ZXjAT9MT4BQnr/view

Credits:
Producer: Elton LK
Logo by Michaela Brangan
Sound Engineer & Opening Music by Casey Stikker
Additional Assistance, including content by Palmer Conrad

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Meagan Day, a DSA member and staff writer for Jacobin, wrote an essay in Vox to explain the goals of democratic socialism and respond to common misconceptions about democratic socialists. Since 2016, the mass support for self-declared democratic socialist Bernie Sanders for president and the election of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress brought democratic socialism into the limelight of mainstream political commentary. However, there are many misconceptions about the goals of rapidly growing organizations like DSA.

Day distinguishes between socialists and those who just want to reform capitalism. She points out limits to reform within capitalism, noting that the capitalist class will try to take back any advances won through the struggle of workers. The article gives examples of contemporary institutions that embody socialist principles such as Britain’s National Health Service. She considers how the struggle for reforms can contribute to the ultimate goal of replacing capitalism with socialism. She calls for ending “society’s subservience to the market.”


Speakers:

Daphna Thier: is the Labor Education Coordinator at Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee, and was the former chair of the National Political Education Committee.

José La Luz is a lifelong labor organizer and campaigner with roots in the New Left in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He was a founding member of DSA after joining DSOC prior to the merger with NAM in the mid 80’s. He is the most senior member of the NPC (in age) adding a multigenerational presence to the national leadership.

Sofia Cutler is a member of North New Jersey DSA, and has been a member of the DSA National Political Committee since 2021 as part of the Bread and Roses Slate. She is a rank-and-file member of Unite Here Local 33.

Justin Charles is a member of North Brooklyn DSA, and has been a member of the DSA National Political Committee since July 2020.

Links:

Meagan Day’s “Democratic Socialism, Explained by a Democratic Socialist”

https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/8/1/17637028/bernie-sanders-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-cynthia-nixon-democratic-socialism-jacobin-dsa

DSA NPEC Curriculum

https://dsa-education.pubpub.org/modules

DSA’s Leadership and Structure

https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/structure/

Credits:
Producer: Elton LK
Logo by Michaela Brangan
Sound Engineer & Opening Music by Casey Sticker
Additional Assistance, including content by Palmer Conrad

Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America.

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Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, but the forces he represented and the ideas he furthered – the contemporary US right – have not gone away. These forces are continuing their efforts to push the US – both at in the electoral and the extra-parliamentary terrains – further towards their anti-democratic vision for the U.S.

We hear from and ask questions of Bill Fletcher, John Huntington, and Nancy McLean. These three presenters have engaged with the US far right as analysts, organizers, or both. The presentations and discussion help DSA members in our day-to-day organizing and provide important context for our political thinking and work through the 2023 convention and beyond.

Three sets of questions are addressed in this session:

(1) Who is the right, both electorally and in the larger cultural front? What groups are the most active? What are the historical roots of the U.S. right? How are these groups organized?

(2) The “right” has several ideological strand and beliefs. What are these differences? Is it possible to exploit potential divisions between libertarians, white evangelical Christian nationalists, para-militarists, white supremacists, etc. and other segments the right?

(3) What should the broad left do to counter today’s right? How should we organize and with what goals? Where does DSA fit into in the effort to create a progressive counter-offensive to the right?

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This is another bonus episode. This is the recording of a debate called “Path to an Accountable Party”, held on January 27, 2023. The debate covers Reform vs. Revolution, and how DSA should relate to the Democratic Party. This may be the biggest debate internally within DSA. This is why public discussions like this are important. They help our members hear arguments for different positions and different strategies. In order to stay united in a single political organization, we will need to address these disagreements directly. If we ignore them they will not magically go away.

This debate on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDMgV1B0sZM

“The Case for Realignment” by Alexander Hernández

https://socialistforum.dsausa.org/issues/fall-2022/the-case-for-realignment/

“Rashida Tlaib Shows that the Dirty Break is Viable” by Ian McClure

https://y.dsausa.org/the-activist/rashida-tlaib-shows-that-the-dirty-break-is-viable/

Soy un Chavista: For the Clean Break, Against the Dirty Break
https://midwestsocialist.com/2020/11/17/soy-un-chavista-for-the-clean-break-against-the-dirty-break/

“A Socialist Party in Our Time?” by Jared Abbott and Dustin Guastella

https://catalyst-journal.com/2019/10/a-socialist-party-in-our-time/

Register for EWOC Book Discussion: Labor Power & Strategy, April 27, 2023

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqdOmgpzotGtAPNb_X2htVTC6zg79dllbg

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Socialism 2022 Conference, Chicago

Recording was taken from the “How Do We Get a New Constitution” session, of which “part 1” was released in the previous episode of Class

Panelists: Amna Akbar, Aziz Rana

The Left’s path to power is blocked by one of the oldest and least democratic founding documents in the world. Will it take a revolution to rewrite our Constitution? The recent Constituent Assembly in Chile may show a way forward.

Amna Akbar is a professor of law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Her popular essays and op-eds have appeared in the venues like the New York Times, New York Review of Books, the Boston Review, The Nation, and Jacobin.  She serves on the editorial board of the Law and Political Economy Blog. 

Aziz Rana is a professor of law at Cornell University.  He is the author of The Two Faces of American Freedom and the forthcoming book, The Constitutional Bind: Why a Broken Document Rules America.

Aziz Rana, “Who Owns the Constitution”, Jacobin

https://jacobin.com/2020/10/us-constitution-law-supreme-court-socialism 

Aziz Rana, “Why Americans Worship the Constitution”, Public Seminar of The New School

https://publicseminar.org/essays/why-americans-worship-the-constitution/

Andre Gorz’s “Reform and Revolution”

https://socialistregister.com/index.php/srv/article/view/5272/2173

Paris, May of ’68

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_68

Join DSA. Become a Member.

https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/


Credits:
Producer: Elton LK
Logo by Michaela Brangan
Sound Engineer & Opening Music by Casey Sticker
Additional Assistance, including content by Palmer Conrad

Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America.

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Socialism 2022 Conference, Chicago

“How Do We Get a New Constitution”

Panelists: Aziz Rana

The Left’s path to power is blocked by one of the oldest and least democratic founding documents in the world. Will it take a revolution to rewrite our Constitution? The recent Constituent Assembly in Chile may show a way forward.

Aziz Rana is a professor of law at Cornell University.  He is the author of The Two Faces of American Freedom and the forthcoming book, The Constitutional Bind: Why a Broken Document Rules America.

Who Owns the Constitution, Jacobin

https://jacobin.com/2020/10/us-constitution-law-supreme-court-socialism 

Why Americans Worship the Constitution, Public Seminar of The New School

https://publicseminar.org/essays/why-americans-worship-the-constitution/

Join DSA. Become a Member.

https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/

Credits:
Producer: Elton LK
Logo by Michaela Brangan
Sound Engineer & Opening Music by Casey Sticker
Additional Assistance by Palmer Conrad

Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America.

Send us a text

This episode features a panel discussion from the Socialism 2022 Conference in Chicago, moderated by Daphna Thier and discussing the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. Panelists include Tristan Bock-Hughes, Olivia Prager, and Gabriel Winant.

Tristan is an organizer with the Illinois Nurses Association and formerly one of two staff with the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. Through EWOC, other staff positions, and volunteer efforts he has worked with dozens of union locals and worker organizations throughout the country. He wants to organize himself out of a job.

Olivia is a current Medical Case Manager working with adults living with HIV and AIDS at Howard Brown Health Center. She was one of the initial staff members brought into the organizing campaign for Howard Brown Health Workers United shortly after EWOC helped re-connect them with INA who currently represents their nurses union. HBHWU won their union in early August, successfully unionizing nearly 500 staff members across the organization.

Gabe is a labor historian at the University of Chicago. His book “The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America” came out last year. He’s a former member and organizer with UNITE HERE and currently a volunteer organizer with EWOC. I also recommend his essay on one of my personal favorites, but also one of DSA’s founding members, Barbara Ehrenreich in n+1. 

You’ll recognize Daphna, the moderator, from our “What is Capitalism?” series. Daphna is the Labor Education Coordinator for Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC). She's also a longtime bartender based in Brooklyn. And the current Labor Education Coordinator at EWOC. You can also find her written work at Jacobin.com, and a chapter she contributed in the book Palestine: A Socialist Introduction.

Gabriel Winant and Teagan Harris "Socialists are Trying to Revive the Labor Movement"

https://jacobin.com/2022/05/emergency-workplace-organizing-committee-ewoc-dsa-labor

If you need help organizing your workplace, here’s the link to Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) 

https://workerorganizing.org

Donate to Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC)

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/workerorganizing

Credits:
Producer: Elton LK
Logo by Michaela Brangan
Sound Engineer & Opening Music by Casey Sticker
Additional Assistance by Palmer Conrad

Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America.