social democracy

For 2022, the Democrats Don't Have an Alternative to Embracing Left Populist Energy

by Wallace Hettle

The political field is tilted against the Democrats for the midterms and 2024; will the party embrace the energy of progressives and mobilize its voters the way that conservatives are successfully doing on the other side? 

"No There There": Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on the Future of the Left

"I’m sitting in the car, barreling down the highway, asking myself, 'What happened in my life that has put me in this position where I have to like listen to this &%$*@ nonsense?' I needed to leave. But like most people, I needed the health insurance."

The U.S. Government Should Promote the General Welfare

by Lawrence Wittner

The preamble of the Constitution states that the federal government was established "to promote the general welfare." The Democratic Party, for its own good and that of the nation, must aggressively seize that mantle now. 

I Danced in the Streets after Allende’s Victory in Chile 50 Years Ago. Now I See its Lessons for Today

by Ariel Dorfman

The Chilean author Ariel Dorfman warns that while his country elected a democratic socialist in a landmark election, it was unprepared to deal with violent and ruthless efforts to maintain the status quo. Joe Biden is no socialist, but if he wins, his administration and Americans at large must be similarly prepared. 

Socialism Is as American as Apple Pie

by Bruce Bartlett

The ideology that Republicans love to hate is woven through the fabric of the country.

When Henry Wallace Warned of ‘American Fascism’

John Nichols's new book argues that Franklin Roosevelt's decision to cut loose Vice President Henry Wallace crippled egalitarian politics in the Democratic Party with lasting consequences.   

How Do We Change America?

by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

The quest to transform this country cannot be limited to challenging its brutal police if the roots of oppression and inequality that constitute what many activists refer to as “racial capitalism” are left in place.

The Neoliberal Era is Ending. What Comes Next?

by Rutger Bregman

From higher taxes for the wealthy to more robust government, the time has come for ideas that seemed impossible just months ago.

The Unfulfilled Potential of Progressive Democracy after World War II

by Isser Woloch

After the military defeat of Nazism, the governments of Britain, France and the United States made uneven and incomplete progress to remake their societies along more egalitarian lines, but their efforts should be seen as part of an international trend.

These Young Socialists Think They Have Courage. They Don’t.

by Mitchell Abidor

If Mr. Trump is re-elected, many DSA members could spend the next four years suffering little more than the pangs of political outrage. But millions of less fortunate people would suffer real consequences.

Democrats’ Covid-19 Relief Plan Shows Charges of Socialism have Lost their Bite

by Merlin Chowkwanyun

McCarthyism's residual effects are on display any time an ambitious domestic policy proposal is denounced as “socialist.”

Bernie Offered Us the Future. Why did He Fail—and What did We Forfeit?

by Moshik Temkin

Because his support is so concentrated among the young, and because the problems he vowed to fight will only get worse whether Trump or Biden wins, this movement is only likely to grow, and its next leaders might eventually succeed where he failed.

Did America Misjudge Bernie Sanders? Or Did He Misjudge America?

by Robert Draper

Throughout his insurgent campaign, he remained steadfast in his radical vision—and forced a reckoning for the Democratic Party.

Democratic Socialism All Around: What Bernie Sanders’s New York Can Teach Us about America’s Future

by Joshua Freeman

Mid-20th-century New York had serious flaws, including poverty, economic inequality (though not as bad as today), and racial and gender discrimination. But it stands as an example of what can be done when the power of government is combined with a capacious vision of human rights, equality, and democracy.