The socialist movement in the United States finds itself in a conundrum. On the one hand, Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020 sparked a rebirth of socialist organizing. The number of elected socialist politicians, mostly members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has risen across the country to numbers not seen since the Socialist Party of America’s heyday prior to World War II. On the other hand, the inherently antidemocratic nature of American politics has placed various roadblocks in front of socialist proposals at all levels of government, ranging from the filibuster in the US Senate (itself an antimajoritarian institution) to a governor’s veto pen at the state level. And socialists have not expanded their base of support much outside urban liberal strongholds.

It would be easy for those of us who recognize the need for radical change to become discouraged about the lack of progress toward economic, racial, and environmental justice, or the Left’s failure to protect trans rights, access to abortions, and Palestinian lives in Gaza. There is a lot to be discouraged about. But it is essential to not let discouragement lead us into nihilism. If nihilism takes root, the project of building a more just and truly democratic society might be scuttled for another generation or two.

Where can we look for inspiration? Like the US left today, socialists in the early twentieth century had to overcome political obstacles, too — the US political system has never embraced socialism with open arms. Nevertheless, Wisconsin socialists achieved inspiring successes through their efforts in the state legislature. From 1905 to 1945, the Wisconsin legislature passed over five hundred pieces of socialist-authored legislation. They accomplished this despite never holding more than 20 percent of the seats in the state assembly or senate. (Wisconsin socialists had their largest caucus during the 1919 legislature, when they had sixteen assemblymen and five senators.)