A Time to Be Bold
Socialism is having a moment in the sun. It's a chance to push a bold, transformative vision of what a society for the many rather than the few can look like.
A pedestrian traffic light with Karl Marx pictured on the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth in Trier, Germany. Thomas Lohnes / Getty Images
A spate of recent candidates running against establishment politicians, from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Cynthia Nixon, has breathed new life into an old idea, democratic socialism. But when someone proclaims themselves to be a democratic socialist, what do they mean? What should they mean? And once armed with an alternative vision to capitalism, what should they do?
As socialists run for office or consider endorsing progressives, they face potential pitfalls — most importantly that as electoral work deepens, the vision of socialism risks being watered down or even falling from view. Electoral work is important, but our political independence as socialists depends on our fidelity to this vision.
Capitalism Against Socialism
To talk about why, we need to first talk about what’s wrong with capitalism — and what a socialist alternative would look like.
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