Assessment of DSA
I want to acknowledge and respect the hundreds of DSA members who are genuinely working to radicalize more Democrats toward leftist politics whether that means socialism, anarchism, or communism. These members are not abstract figures; they are organizers, canvassers, mutual‑aid workers, and everyday people who pour their time, labor, and emotional energy into trying to shift the political landscape. They are the ones knocking on doors in the cold, running reading groups, building tenant unions, and showing up for community members in crisis.
Many of these organizers are doing real, tangible work on the ground, and I believe they deserve far better than what they are currently given. Their ideas, strategies, and long‑term visions should be heard, taken seriously, and engaged with not brushing aside, patronized, or treated as naïve. Too often, the people with the clearest understanding of material struggle are the ones whose voices are minimized in favor of those who speak the “right” academic language or who fit neatly into the organization’s preferred social norms.
These members deserve an environment where their contributions are valued, where their critiques are welcomed, and where their political imagination is not treated as a threat. They deserve a movement that nurtures their growth instead of disciplining their passion. They deserve leadership that listens rather than lectures, collaborates rather than controls, and recognize that radical change has always come from those willing to challenge comfort, not maintaining it.
I also understand especially within local chapters that DSA can be dismissive, cold, or outright hostile toward minority comrades who are navigating extreme turbulence in their lives. This is particularly true in states that are actively hostile to transgender people, BIPOC communities, and neurodivergent individuals. These comrades are often fighting on multiple fronts at once: against state violence, economic precarity, medical discrimination, and social isolation.
Yet instead of receiving solidarity, many are met with suspicion, discomfort, or condescension. Because they do not fit a certain middle‑class ethic, standard, or etiquette because their trauma sometimes shows, because stress may cause them to lash out or speak bluntly, because they do not package their pain in a way that feels “polite” they are treated as liabilities rather than as members of the working class the organization claims to represent.
Rather than taking these conditions into account, some chapters respond by labeling these individuals as “too difficult,” “too emotional,” or “too uncomfortable to be around.” In some cases, they are pushed out entirely, not for harming others, but for failing to conform to a narrow, sanitized vision of what a leftist organizer is supposed to look like.
These dynamic replicates the very systems of exclusion that leftist movements claim to fight. It punishes the people who are most impacted by oppression while rewarding those who can afford to perform calmness, stability, and middle‑class respectability. It creates a culture where marginalized comrades must mask their struggles to be accepted, rather than being supported through them. And it ultimately weakens the movement by driving away the very people whose lived experiences should be shaping its priorities.
Whether unintentionally or intentionally, the organization is hampering progress as a whole. We can see this reflected in the behavior of national politicians who align with or are supported by DSA circles. The amount of compromise required to remain within the Democratic Party line especially when it comes to maintaining relationships with corporate donors and pro‑Israel funding networks has created a situation where meaningful leftist positions are softened, delayed, or abandoned entirely.
This dynamic has deeply affected the organization. DSA has become internally divided, with a significant portion of its membership unwilling or unable to take a firm stance on issues involving Israel and Palestine. The result is an organization that is nearly split in half, with some members supporting Zionist positions and others demanding a clear anti‑occupation, pro‑human‑rights stance. This lack of clarity and conviction has weakened DSA’s ability to act decisively, build trust, or present a unified moral position.
Even at the local level, we can see this dynamic play out in chapters such as QCDSA. Their continued support of figures like Dylan Parker despite his voting record and public positions reflects a broader shift in priorities that has become impossible to ignore. Over the past few years, their stance on issues like preserving the Milan Bottoms or fighting for justice for the unhoused has changed so dramatically that it no longer resembles the values they once claimed to uphold.
What was once an organization aligned with environmental protection, community defense, and solidarity with the most vulnerable has increasingly positioned itself on the side of developers, city officials, and property‑class interests. Instead of standing with the diverse, largely Black American population of Rock Island the very communities most impacted by displacement, environmental degradation, and housing insecurity the chapter has aligned itself with political actors whose decisions directly harm those residents.
This shift is not subtle. It is visible in their silence during key moments, in their refusal to challenge harmful development projects, and in their willingness to defend elected officials whose actions contradict the needs and demands of working‑class people. The result is an organization that speaks the language of socialism while materially reinforcing the priorities of developers and wealthy landowners. In doing so, they have distanced themselves from the communities they claim to represent and abandoned the grassroots struggles that should define their mission.
Politico – DSA internal conflict over Israel
Cadelago, C., & Schneider, E. (2023, October 11). DSA faces internal reckoning after Israel-Hamas attack. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/11/dsa-rally-aoc-israel-00121060
Socialist Forum – “Is DSA Really in Crisis?”
Socialist Forum Editorial Board. (2023). Is DSA really in crisis? Socialist Forum. https://socialistforum.dsausa.org/issues/spring-summer-2023/is-dsa-really-in-crisis/
Hampton Institute – Critique of DSA strategy
Hampton Institute. (2023). Dirty break or destruction: The peculiar politics of the DSA. https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/dirty-break-or-destruction-the-peculiar-politics-of-the-dsa
Left Voice – DSA anti‑Zionism resolution
Left Voice. (2025). The DSA voted against Zionism — but will it break from the Democrats? https://www.leftvoice.org/the-dsa-voted-against-zionism-but-will-it-break-from-the-democrats/
American Jewish Committee – DSA’s evolving stance on Israel
American Jewish Committee. (2024). Democratic Socialists of America: Who they are and their stance on Israel. https://www.ajc.org/news/democratic-socialists-of-america-who-they-are-and-their-stance-on-israel
Radio Free – Chapter-level conflict over Zionism
Radio Free. (2025, September 16). A DSA chapter struggles with Zionism. https://www.radiofree.org/2025/09/16/a-dsa-chapter-struggles-with-zionism/?printer_app=1
Las Vegas DSA – Anti‑Zionist resolution
Las Vegas DSA. (2024, September 6). Las Vegas DSA passes resolution for an anti-Zionist LVDSA in both principle and practice. https://lvdsa.org/2024/09/06/las-vegas-dsa-passes-resolution-for-an-anti-zionist-lvdsa-in-both-principle-and-practice/
Peer‑reviewed psychology study on exclusion in leftist groups
Klar, S., et al. (2025). Understanding committed leftists in the United States: Identity, conflict, and political behavior. Journal of Social and Political Psychology. https://jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/jspp/article/download/14347/14347.pdf
Frontiers in Political Science – Structural exclusion in left organizations
Frontiers Editorial Board. (2022). The left behind: Crisis and challenges of the left. Frontiers in Political Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/political-science/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.977647/full
