By admin 
It’s the summer of socialism in the US, with some progressives calling for revolution and Republicans pushing a modern-day Red Scare.
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Democrats are contending with the ascendance of democratic socialists in their left flank and Republicans are busy demonizing Democrats, inaccurately, as communists.
New York City’s mayor, the Democrat and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, is opening a few city-run grocery stores and taxing the second homes of the wealthy with a beaming smile on his face. He’s had more trouble delivering on a promise to make public buses free.
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong, who has previously expressed support for the concept of abolishing police, is a leading contender to be the Democratic candidate for governor in Wisconsin. The August 11 primary will be a key test of whether democratic socialism can be sold in the heartland.
Unlike Hong, the progressive Democrat (but not democratic socialist) Abdul El-Sayed, who is running in the August 4 Democratic Senate primary in Michigan, has tried to delete and move on from his previous involvement with unpopular ideas such as defunding the police, as CNN’s KFile reported.
Seeding a revolution or giving Trump talking points?
The more establishment wing of the Democratic Party is getting increasingly frantic in warning that the socialism badge will be a drag for the whole party in November.
“This is a consequential election where we could put a checkmate on Donald Trump and we cannot risk it with diversions from the Democratic Socialists of America,” the CNN political commentator Rahm Emanuel, a former Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff, told CNN’s Kasie Hunt on Monday.
DSA is one of the leading groups in the progressive ecosystem that has tried to pull Democrats to the left in recent years. Mamdani is a member, but Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is not, although he has inspired DSA. Hong said at a debate in Wisconsin on Tuesday that she does not support the full DSA platform. But she said democratic socialism “is a form of government that puts working-class people first.” A clip of those comments making clear she does not support DSA’s platform was posted to her campaign’s X account Tuesday.
For an indication of that group’s politics, consider that its national committee withdrew its endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2024 because she was not sufficiently opposed to US support for Israel. More recently, the group has considered endorsing Ocasio-Cortez for president in 2028, though she is not currently running.
Communism, communism, communism
Republicans, hoping to divert attention from President Donald Trump’s dismal approval ratings, have been clear that their strategy will be to paint the entire Democratic Party as communist, which, again, is incorrect.
Trump used the term “communist” or “communism” 13 times during one recent appearance in Michigan.
“Communism is the greatest threat to our country in history, including even World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or 9/11,” he said, making an argument that might have come as a surprise to the many Americans who watched the fall of the Berlin Wall decades ago on CNN.
Many of those same Americans would also be surprised by the radical change democratic socialists envision to create a classless utopia.
What would DSA actually like to do?
DSA has its own platform, or “program.” When DSA’s co-chair Megan Romer appeared this week on “Fox News Sunday,” she confirmed that, yes, DSA does support some things that might alarm the moderate middle in the country.
Abolishing the Senate?
Getting rid of prisons and ICE?
Replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with a new form of government?
Yep, they’re ultimately behind all of that, she said.
Prisons are not going anywhere
But Mamdani, now mayor of a city whose police force he is not trying to abolish, is much less definitive when asked about the same issues. When he was pushed in June by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on whether he would like to abolish prisons, Mamdani was rather evasive. Here’s part of that exchange:
So, when asked about prisons, Mamdani, a successful politician, turned to safety. He gave a similarly non-specific answer when a New York Times reporter asked him what exactly counts as working class. When asked about whether someone making $1 million in New York is part of the working class, he didn’t give an outright answer.
So while the DSA clearly does not speak for a large portion of Democratic candidates or even necessarily the few democratic socialist politicians in office in the US, it’s worth taking a look at DSA’s vision. Democrats will need to harness some of the progressive passion if they want to build a government coalition.
A 16-point plan
DSA’s platform is built around 16 distinct ideas, none of which includes a specific plan, and none of which seem immediately achievable in the current political environment. The group acknowledges that some of these ideas would require radical change. Here are the 16 points, along with some context for each:
FREEDOM TO FLOURISH
Expand public resources to support recreation, learning, and social spaces accessible to all. Establish paid family leave for all workers, a 32 hour work week with full pay and benefits, and a living minimum wage. Provide free, quality public education from pre-K to college and cancel all student debt.
This sounds great! But it’s a lot, and like everything in the agenda, it will be very difficult to achieve. To start with, education is largely overseen by states. Democrats have been trying for years to expand access to pre-K and college, and they have experimented with doing so in some places. But proposals to offer universal pre-K were dropped from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act because they could not secure the 50 votes needed among Democrats.
The federal $7.25 minimum wage has not been raised in the US since 2009, concluding a three-step increase initiated by Democrats after they took majorities in the House and Senate following 2006 election. Many states have raised their own minimum wages in the years since. There are proposals to raise the federal minimum wage to $25, but they seem unlikely to go anywhere without a Democratic majority in Congress and maybe also a Democratic president. The last increase was signed into law by Republican President George W. Bush, though he wasn’t happy about it.
More recently, Democrats failed to get student debt relief through Congress, and President Joe Biden’s effort to do it through the White House ran into trouble in courts. Forgiving debt would be expensive; there’s more than $1.7 trillion in federal student debt spread across more than 42 million borrowers.
Some companies and countries are experimenting with the four-day work week, but they are the exception. The hard-won Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, required overtime for some workers, but there is not currently a limit set on the number of hours Americans can work in a week. No other country has adopted a 32-hour work week. But Elon Musk, the temporary trillionaire, has mused that AI could make workers unnecessary and suggested that could lead to a universal basic income.
HEALTHCARE FOR ALL
Guarantee universal healthcare at no cost to individuals, including complete access to reproductive and gender-affirming care. Expand healthcare access and quality by investing in new public hospitals and clinics. Make all medical education and training public and free.
This vision goes a step further than “Medicare for All,” which has been the unrealized goal of progressives for years. Most Medicare recipients pay premiums of $202.90 for insurance, plus deductibles or co-pays, depending on the service. Most Americans still get their health insurance through their jobs, and despite efforts to expand coverage through the Affordable Care Act, many Americans — close to 10% of the population, or more than 25 million people — do not have coverage, according to KFF. That number will grow as cuts to Medicaid spending enacted by Republicans under Trump take hold in the years to come. Those cuts were enacted by Republicans to find money for tax cuts, which is an illustration of how difficult it is to pay for health insurance programs, especially in the US, where care costs more than in other countries.
Countries with robust public health insurance systems that do not charge at the time of service, such as the UK and Canada, pay for these systems through higher tax burdens. Many people in Canada also opt for supplementary private insurance, a practice that’s growing in the UK.
Trump ran for the White House in 2024 in part by attacking Democrats over their support for gender-affirming care and has governed as if the trans community is a fiction. Multiple states have restricted gender-affirming care for young people.
HOUSING FOR ALL
Housing is a human right. Build new, publicly-owned social housing, strictly regulate investment properties, establish universal rent control, and guarantee right to counsel for all tenants.
This plank represents a shift in the American Dream, which has long focused on home ownership rather than renting. But the lack of affordable housing is something both parties agree on. Congress recently passed a bill with bipartisan support to encourage the construction of new housing and to limit the purchase of housing by institutional investors. The law will be most successful if it is paired with changes to local zoning regulations, according to CNN’s report. The bipartisan approach is a far cry from this plank’s idea of publicly owned social housing, which is completely separated from the market.
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FINISH RECONSTRUCTION
End the legacies of slavery and colonialism. Reinforce anti-discrimination laws. Honor all treaties and tribal sovereignty. Enact reparations and massively invest in good jobs, quality housing and infrastructure in neglected minority communities.
Reconstruction is the term for the post-Civil War era that was supposed to rebuild the country and the South. It has been top of mind for a lot of people recently. Former President Barack Obama appeared on a podcast series called “Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise” this year.
But addressing inequality and racism can be difficult and temporary. A major goal of Trump’s administration has been to completely unwind all federal diversity efforts. The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Roberts, has effectively gutted the Civil Rights era Voting Rights Act. Halting the current momentum away from efforts to right historical wrongs would require a political movement.
END MASS INCARCERATION AND POLICE IMMUNITY
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. Treat drug addiction and mental illness as health issues, not crimes. End qualified immunity and empower civilian oversight bodies with real authority over the police.
Policing is mostly overseen at the state and local level. It’s notable that Mamdani has not immediately sought to abolish the NYPD or close Riker’s Island during his initial months as mayor. In fact, he previously supported an increase in the number of NYPD officers. Backing away from this tenet of the DSA drew a public rebuke from the group’s New York chapter, and Mamdani eventually abandoned the increase.
FEMINISM FOR ALL
Socialist feminism fights for queer liberation and the freedoms of all working class women. Stop gender violence and end policies that oppress bodily autonomy and intimate life, including patriarchal restrictions on abortion, childbirth and childraising, gender expression and transition, marriage, and divorce. Ban sex discrimination and ensure fair compensation and support for all forms of labor, including care work.
Discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal under federal law. Further efforts would require the passage of laws, which would require political momentum. Another avenue would be to elect a president more open to these ideas. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2028.
GREEN NEW DEAL
Workers must lead our democratic transition to a green future. Pass a federal jobs guarantee. Implement massive investment in sustainable, publicly owned energy and transit infrastructure. Phase out the use of fossil fuels. Reclaim and repair our earth’s resources for all.
Democrats during the Biden administration passed what was viewed as the most expansive effort to transition the US to a green economy. Republicans under Trump unwound much of that law.
END THE U.S. WAR MACHINE
Defund the Department of War. End all foreign wars and close overseas military bases. Support and fully employ veterans. End immunity for U.S. war criminals and support the International Criminal Court’s mandate to prosecute war crimes.
Ironically, Trump promised to end forever wars during the 2024 presidential election. The US is not a member of the ICC, and in fact Secretary of State Marco Rubio is actively trying to dismantle the court.
FREE PALESTINE
Recognize the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return, the right to resist military occupation, and the right to self determination in a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. End all military and economic aid to Israel. Prosecute U.S. and Israeli leaders responsible for the genocide in Gaza.
Disagreement over Israel and its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank has been a major story in US politics in recent years, both on the left and, increasingly, on the right. But the schism is most pronounced on the left. More than 100 Democratic lawmakers voted to block aid to Israel earlier this year, supporting an amendment offered by a Republican. If Democrats take the House, this issue will continue to grow. Other elements of this plank, like prosecuting US leaders or achieving a Palestinian state, feel much further off.
END BLOCKADES, EMBARGOES, AND SANCTIONS
People around the world deserve to live their lives without U.S. interference. End economic warfare against countries whose governments act independently of the United States, such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran.
The Trump administration has imposed blockades in novel ways. A blockage of tanker traffic from Iran has not yet ended Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz. Cuba has effectively been cast into darkness by a US blockade of oil into the country. That’s a controversial use of economic power. Politicians from both parties have frequently employed sanctions to influence the foreign policy of other countries.
ABOLISH ICE
End ICE detention and deportations and punish federal agents’ brutality. Legalize migration, grant amnesty for all immigrants regardless of status, provide a path to citizenship for all permanent residents, and end visa caps and quotas.
About half the country opposes abolishing ICE, according to . It’s a more popular idea among Democrats. Amnesty and open borders will be even less popular. Providing a pathway to citizenship was a main goal of comprehensive reform efforts during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but those proposals were unable to get through Congress.
DEMOCRACY FOR ALL
Extend full voting rights to all permanent U.S. residents and restore the right to vote for incarcerated people and people with criminal convictions. Establish statehood for Washington D.C. and recognize the right to self-determination for all U.S. territories and colonies. Expand and protect voting rights and end voter suppression.
There are more than a million people in federal or state prison in the US at any given time. Around 150,000 of those are in federal prison. Most states restore voting rights after a person is released from prison. Others restore voting rights after a sentence is complete. Maine, Vermont and the District of Columbia never remove voting rights for felons, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A REAL DEMOCRACY
For the working class to govern, we need a new political system. End political corruption and legalized bribery: get rid of lobbyists, dark money, and Citizens United, and publicly finance all elections. Abolish the Electoral College. Replace the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.
You’d likely need a new constitutional convention to accomplish much of this. That seems extremely unlikely. But the vision sounds not unlike the parliamentary system of government in the UK, which has been unable to keep a prime minister in place in recent years. It is on its seventh leader in 10 years.
A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
Replace the two-party system with a multi-party democracy. Expand the House of Representatives, implement proportional representation and ranked choice voting in all elections, and abolish the Senate.
The small size of the House and the sway of small states in the Senate have long been a frustration to many Americans. But in order to abolish the Senate, you’d have to rewrite the Constitution. There hasn’t been an amendment passed in decades, and the last meaningful amendment was passed more than 50 years ago. Senators nationwide have been popularly elected since the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913. More likely than abolishing the Senate is abolishing the Senate’s filibuster requirement, which both Trump and Senate Democrats have, at times, endorsed.
ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY
Establish public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries to ensure democratic control and accountability to the people. Enact aggressive wealth taxes on the richest individuals and corporations to spend on public goods and infrastructure.
This is a very anti-capitalist view of the world. Sanders has proposed that the US place a one-time 50% tax on the stock of AI companies to seize control of half their value and make sure it goes back to citizens through a sovereign wealth fund. The argument he makes is that AI models were developed by taking content from the Internet without human creators’ consent.
Trump has also, in an unprecedented way, sought stakes for the US in private companies. Democrats have routinely talked about wealth taxes in recent years, but they do not universally support them. One grim reality for socialists who point to Scandinavian countries as a model for their socialism is that those countries have a much wider tax base, using value-added taxes and more taxes on less-wealthy people to fund benefits.
DEMOCRACY AT WORK
Empower workers to come together and fight the boss. Protect, expand, and enforce the rights of all workers to form, join, and strike with their unions, regardless of industry. Support union members who organize reform caucuses, democratize their unions, and take political action.
This would require another shift in how Americans act and work. Less than 10% of Americans were in a union in 2024, down from more than 20% in 1983, according to Pew. More than half of the states have passed laws that make it more difficult to organize and many corporations are hostile to unions.
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