From the National Director Organizing with Class and Identity By Maria Svart ne of my favorite DSA T-shirts reads, “We or- is in fact stronger when we better understand the ganize with class.” It sums up what makes complexities of what we’re fi ghting, so we need ev- Ous different from other eryone’s insights. We know that black women ex- progressive activists. We under- perience sexism differently than white women be- stand that the capitalist class cause of racism, and black women experience rac- has an inherent interest in ex- ism differently than black men because of sexism. ploiting the working class and Similarly, all men benefi t from male privilege, but has structured society and all of black men benefi t less than white men because of our institutions accordingly. Yet, racism. It’s a similar dynamic with class: working- we also recognize that the ruling class people have a common interest against capi- class shapes institutions and so- talism, but precisely because racism and sexism ex- cial relations not just to regulate and control people ist alongside with and intersect with capitalism, we based on their position in the economy but also on are vulnerable to the divide-and-conquer tactics of their gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and other the economic ruling class. categories. In other words, based on other aspects of Which brings us to the presidential election. Our their identity. fi rst black president may be followed by our fi rst fe- For example, we women are taught from birth to male president, both of them good on some issues be caretakers—of children, of men, of elderly rela- but horrible on others. Just as the far right whipped tives. In our capitalist system, we receive no eco- up a racist frenzy against Barack Obama, it will nomic support for carrying out these tasks. This has make misogynist attacks on Hillary Clinton. We implications beyond the family, in that traditional must stand against these attacks for what they are, women’s work, even when women are paid for it, is but also fi ght the idea that any one individual can more devalued than that of men. Thus, child care, inherently represent the interests of all who share elder care, home health care, and food workers are some aspect of that person’s identity. some of the lowest compensated workers in our Some feminists celebrate Clinton simply for be- economy. It is to black feminists Kimberlé Cren- ing a woman, rather than taking a holistic look shaw and those from the Combahee River Collec- at her policy choices related to women, and more tive that we owe the insights of intersectionality, important, her policy choices related to all wom- the idea that dominant groups use various aspects en, whether poor women, migrant women, women of our identities to exclude the subordinate groups workers, women of color, LGBT women, and so on. from power and decision making and that these in- We don’t want individualistic, “Lean-in” versions tersections of identity must be taken into account of feminism. We want socialist feminism. We un- along with class when organizing for political power. derstand women’s shared interests as well as our In other words, we don’t ask people to leave parts differences and want to make sure no one is left be- of themselves outside the door when we’re creating hind just because one woman can break through the our political movement. We know that our unity glass ceiling. Cooperatively and democratically building the so- cialist movement to value the perspectives we each bring is the only way we can combat the seductive Contents ideology of the ruling class: that individual merit Socialists and the U.S. Political System ...............................3 continued on page 15 Running with Bernie ............................................................. 6 “Privileging” Movements or Clubhouses? ......................... 7 Regulating the Police .......................................................... 8 Talking about DL Calling In and Showing Up .................................................. 9 If you would like to participate in a Pigs Fly in Alberta................................................................ 10 telephone discussion group about this Worker Co-ops Gain Traction .......................................... 11 Paying a Price for Sexual Orientation .............................. 12 issue of Democratic Left, please r.s.v.p. at Not Waiting for Lefties to Engage the Arts ...................... 13 dsausa.org/calendar. Call in to 605-475- Making Sense of Occupy Wall Street .............................. 14 6333, access code 796617#, Monday, June 29, 5 p.m. Pacifi c/ 8 p.m. Eastern. Cover art by Frank Reynoso page 2 • Democratic Left • Summer 2015 Socialists and the U.S. Political System By Joseph M. Schwartz ichael Harrington often quipped that the representation to each state regardless of popula- problem with American socialism is that tion. This shored up the power fi rst of the slave Mit would be American socialism. By this he states and later the mining and railroad interests meant that socialists in the United States cannot in the mountain West. In addition, the courts in the simplistically import lessons learned from Europe, United States have more power to overturn legisla- Latin America, or Africa. We live in a continental tion than in any other democracy. And with the ex- nation of 50 different states, and, thus, 50 distinct ception of the Warren Supreme Court (1954-1970), political systems. We also operate within a repub- courts have usually been on the side of corporate lican constitutional property and privi- structure that our leged minorities. “founders” con- The Constitution sciously devised to is extremely hard to make radical demo- amend; a success- cratic change diffi - ful amendment must cult. If we are to be gain the support of effective, we have two-thirds of each to understand and chamber of Congress grapple with the and three-quarters of structural biases the state legislatures. built into our sys- Constitutional “po- tem. These involve litical process” issues our famous system (for example, Citizens of checks and bal- United) mostly en- ances and separa- gage the imagination tion of powers, plus of educated and eco- states’ rights and nomically secure pro- electoral procedures Frank Reynoso gressives. Look at the that are biased in white, college-educat- favor of a two-party ed base of Common system. Cause and People for the American Way. A Conservative Constitution Federalism Conservatives are correct about one thing: the The United States is as politically, culturally, U.S. constitutional structure is that of a republic and economically diverse as all of Europe. State more than a democracy. The founders explicitly and local governments are primarily responsible for feared that a majority of indebted small farmers fi nancing education, transportation, public hous- would use their political power to infl ate away their ing, and social welfare. The federal government is debts and threaten the power of slaveholders and largely a military machine, plus an old-age public bankers. So they wrote a constitution that enhanced insurer. Expenditures on “defense” and on Medicare the power of educated elites and made rapid demo- and Social Security account for close to 75% of the cratic change diffi cult to achieve. To pass legislation annual federal budget. Most federal social welfare in the United States, one must gain a super-majori- programs require states to contribute half the fund- ty in both legislative chambers to avoid the possibil- ing and allow the states to control program eligibil- ity of an executive veto. In a unitary parliamentary ity. This is because the Southern Democratic planto- system, by contrast, if a party gains a majority in cracy during the New Deal wanted to deny income- the legislature it can implement its program rapid- support programs to African Americans. ly, as the legislature appoints the executive, and the In our single-district legislative electoral system, courts do not have strong powers of judicial review. left constituencies are disadvantaged by being more The U.S. Senate, indirectly elected by state leg- concentrated geographically than are conservative islatures until 1913, undemocratically grants equal voters. People of color, immigrants, unionized work- ers, and liberal white-collar workers live dispropor- Democratic Left • Summer 2015 • page 3 tionately in large cities, state capitals, college towns, gress of Industrial Organizations forced the federal and inner suburbs. Here, progressive Democrats and government to implement Social Security, unemploy- even open socialists can run competitive electoral ment insurance, the minimum wage, and a national races, particularly in nonpartisan local campaigns. right to organize unions. The power of white Southern But small cities, outer suburbs, exurbia, and rural planters within the Democratic coalition also meant areas are Republican-dominated and elect the ma- that the New Deal excluded from its major programs jority of state legislators. The bias in favor of Repub- domestic workers and farmworkers (that is, blacks lican state legislative rule accentuates the negative and Latinos living in the South and Southwest). effects of the geographic maldistribution of left con- Militant civil rights protests in the South forced stituencies and too often grants Republicans control Democrats in the 89th Congress of 1964–66 to pass of congressional reapportionment. Today, Republi- the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts and Medi-