cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/50315633
Imagine taking a day off from work in a future without capitalism.
Fox News, The Washington Times, Manhattan Institute, and Sinclair broadcasting have all covered DSA’s new program: Workers Deserve More. But have you read it?
DSA’s new political program for 2026 includes a forward looking statement, A Day Without Capitalism, a current asessment of the political terrain in 2026, and the organizations new political planks:
- Thriving Working Class Communities featuring the Freedom to Flourish; Feminism, Healthcare, Housing for All; Finishing Reconstruction; Ending Mass Incarceration; and a Green New Deal
- Working Class Foreign Policy by ending the US War Machine; fighting for a Free Palestine; and abolishing & prosecuting ICE
- Working Class Democracy featuring Proportional representation; expanding voting rights; ranked choice voting; abolishing the electoral college and replacing the President and SCOTUS; along with fighting democratic unions for all
What’s notable for me in this is the organization will now require elected DSA members to embrace and uphold the party’s new program while in office. Kentucky State House Rep. Robert LeVertis Bell outlined how he plans to use Workers Deserve More as his guide while in office for policies to fight for on DSA’s Workers Deserve More launch call
Check out the program at https://program.dsausa.org/ And watch the full Workers Deserve More launch call here
It’s been said that it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism. But just because it isn’t easy to imagine now doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make it happen.
Workers deserve more.
A much more radical program than I would have expected, especially with that slogan sounding like a parody of big tent compromise
Yeah I would have gone with “Workers deserve everything!”
Hell yeah! That looks like some Teanage Stepdad art.
I’m pretty sure it is. He has done art (and a pretty cool show) for Means
we only want the earth
I think this was partially for continuity with the much more lukewarm program that preceded it, but I personally like the idea of “Workers Deserve the World!”
“Such statements give me mirth, for our demands most moderate are, we only want the Earth.”
That’s way better!
Every worker…
especially with that slogan sounding like a parody of big tent compromise
Oh this program was hardcore big tent compromise.
I was really confused by the economic demands being so weak though since generally there is at least rhetorical agreement of worker ownership of the means of production by most of the factions but it just… isn’t here?
Maybe the next program
Edit: just remembered that the largest rightist faction fought against abolitionism since they feared it would be alienating to the working class who aren’t ready for it (love paternalistic tailism) so the economic demands likely ended up like this for similar reasons but I frankly can’t be damned to look for the meeting notes.
Edit: just remembered that the largest rightist faction fought against abolitionism since they feared it would be alienating to the working class who aren’t ready for it
This isn’t true, abolition was included in a draft copy of the program (both the word and the theory) and a faction of DSA leadership added text to make it more explicit in one section.
I mean, the final version of the program doesn’t have the word abolition, closest is abolish ICE.
In regards to the dismantling of the U.S police state:
From my understanding, RS wanted to add the line, “as a step towards abolishing the carceral forces of the capitalist state,” and the combined factions of SMC and GW voted against that which is what I think is an important distinction between the “abolition” presented merely being defund the police. (Similar to how the current economic program falls short of a truly socialist economic demands imo).
This led to the vote being 16-8 with some abstentions for adding the line.
I did forget how much of a minority the right factions are at a national level so I will say right tendency tailism as I suggested doesn’t make sense as a theory, so the economic demands being weak makes less sense to me.
Red Star themselves present this as having successfully argued the need for abolition in the program and I’m inclined to agree with that assessment
Demilitarize police departments, disempower police unions, and redirect funding to public services as steps towards fully abolishing the police and prison system which protects the rich and jails the poor.
This is in the final program, this isn’t the word “abolition”? Are police and prisons not “the carceral state”?
Who needs to read, when I can dunk on DSA? No I’m not in any kind of org, why do you ask? /s
I’m self-dunking
DSA for life baybeeee
100% right I was really sleeps eprived and somehow missed it in the text I was writing lol
But that was the wording that was only added by the RS NPC member and it wasn’t there prior. I still think the version without it doesn’t properly constitute abolition.
I still think the version without it doesn’t properly constitute abolition.
This version is the working draft that wasn’t published?
Yeah? It was accessible since the NPC meeting deliberating it was public. Half my active chapter members read that version well over a month ago.
I’m saying it was a matter that needed to debated on, as mentioned in the RS article I listed. I had originally thought maybe similar arguments about economic demands had occurred as when the draft was amended to include abolition (As I’ve said, I do consider this version to do so even if I had missed the word itself) was why the economic policy was so weak but considering even DSA right factions somewhat agree with those and even if they didn’t with how much they’re outnumbered in the NPC, it still doesn’t make sense to me.
I could look for the meeting minutes or dig through caucus/national discords to try to see why the economic demands are relatively weak, but ultimately I’m not that dissatisfied with program so I can’t be bothered to. Stronger economic demands could always be added at a later point.
Even something as lukewarm as “workers deserve more” is too extreme for DNC loyalists trying to wrangle the moderate vote
every time I’ve joined the dsa, I’ve run into an older man who constantly reminds us that the dsa was formed to work within the Democratic Party
At this point though, it’s hard for me to understand why we even bother. It’s basically a parent/child relationship where the child gets an allowance as long as they behave (doesn’t go full socialist).
I thought almost all of North Star self purged 2023,
Interesting to see some still show up to meetings!
What do you mean by “North Star?” Like an allusion to the Underground Railroad and those seeking freedom?
I fucking wish. They were the predominant tendency (iirc) in pre 2016 DSA and mostly self expelled, becoming like a group of 10 old people in the org, since they didn’t like the fact DSA was moving away from Zionism and put out a Palestine solidarity statement right after Oct 7
Did they all join Indivisible or something like that?
No fuckin clue tbh. I’m just aware of the rump formation in DSA that gets (rightfully) bullied and are constantly the butt of jokes
These were usually old asl white dudes (let 1000 sanders bloom or sum shit) so they probably just bullshit in mailing lists or something.
every time I’ve joined the dsa, I’ve run into an older man who constantly reminds us that the dsa was formed to work within the Democratic Party
The strategy here is called Realignment and was advocated for by Michael Harrington in the post-Socialist Party DSOC years into DSA. It was successful in that it allowed DSOC members to have minority say and input into the 1976 Democratic Party platform which was then disregarded entirely by Carter, so it really has nothing more to show despite decades of attempts with it into the Reagan and Clinton years. Since the org’s rebirth post-2016, DSA’s long since moved on, our current trajectory is that of a proto-party and we’re aiming to act more and more like an independent party despite using their ballot line and primary process, to prepare ourselves for an eventual break from the Democratic Party.
There’s few people left in the org that argue for realignment, it’s a dead end.
every time I’ve joined the dsa, I’ve run into an older man who constantly reminds us that the dsa was formed to work within the Democratic Party
This is interesting, because there aren’t a lot of reformists in my local chapter, and the older folks are all hardline 60s New Left types
How did this originate? Did DSA have one of their summer org delegate convention things?
DSA passed a resolution at the 2025 Convention to create a program committee to retire old strategy and program documents and work on writing a new program for 2026 and beyond, this is the result! The members on the mass call I linked mention this in the middle of the video, but it was a big-tent approach to writing a program with DSA members from across the political and organizing spectrum contributing to this document.
Ah interesting and thank you for explaining. I was partly trying to understand how much this is a synthesis of the major factions vs. something put together by just a few heavily aligned ones.
Fox News is going to run WILD with this one.
Nice, more free advertising for the winning left.
They’ve been featuring this on their show for over a week, including asking Karl Rove to comment on it!
It’s hilarious. They’ve been commenting on it, sometimes reading out the program verbatim and it just sounds like banger after banger if you ignore the silly or scary tone they use when talking about it.
but not too much!
Tbh, this was way more radical of a program than what I was expecting. I thought the original Workers Deserve More program left a lot to be desired, and was disappointed that it was renewed at convention, in lieu of the more radical proposal.
So, seeing the new program be so much more fleshed out and radical than the original WDM has been a nice surprise
I’m very proud of it, it’s a great example of the strengths of a big tent org like DSA where factions and ideologies actually work together on synthesizing something together, rather than have it be an arena of struggle to win. Can’t wait to table with physical copies of it.
Not a fan of this slogan. Deserve more from who, is the question.
Socdems like Sanders and AOC answer that US workers should get a bigger cut of the imperial pie, out of US capitalists share, and that US imperialism and super-exploitation of the global south should continue and be extended to fund more social services.
Ending that super-exploitation is only possible by nationalizing most of the US’s private industries currently carrying that out, and who hold power over its political system. I don’t see that at all in this program.
To achieve this future, our class must organize. The Democratic Socialists of America is building a party whose goal is a democratic society of the working class. Our enemies are not just individual bosses, but the entire global system of capital; not just this or that cop, judge, or president, but the entire anti-democratic structure of our society. We are workers fighting to transform society: to win the battle for democracy, draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.
…
Establish public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries to ensure democratic control and accountability to the people.
Curious, this isn’t enough to meet that critique? I don’t see them advocating continued imperialism in this quotation, nor them not mentioning nationalization of industry.
Yes that would be, thanks.
I found YouTube links in your post. Here are links to the same videos on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Link 1:
Link 2:
