Dear Comrades,
We invite you to join us as members of the North Star caucus of DSA.
You can find our complete Statement of Principles here.
We are committed to democracy as both a means and an end. We believe that socialism cannot be achieved except through democratic struggle.
Our current political priorities include:
This is both an exciting and challenging time to belong to DSA. After a significant decline during the Biden administration, National membership has blossomed to more than a 100,000. DSA has continued to rack up electoral victories large and small. The most significant of these being the election of Zohran Mamdani as the Mayor of the nation’s largest urban metropolis; New York City. Increasingly, people are coming to the view that democratic socialism offers the best alternative to liberalism’s failure to effectively oppose the slide toward capitalist oligarchy.
Yet these positive developments are taking place amidst a political and social crisis more profound than any since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Possibly since the Civil War era. The political reality of the present moment is radically different from what it was at the time of North Star’s founding. With the Democratic Party’s electoral collapse in 2024 ceding the Presidency to Donald Trump, the door was opened wide to the most extreme, lawless, violent Fascist elements in US political and social life. We are now living with and struggling against the predictable consequences.
With the drive towards autocratic oligarchy, the epidemic violation of constitutional rights by murderous, militarized gangs of anonymous thugs terrorizing the population and now the resort to open imperial aggression, we face what is by any measure an existential threat to government of the people, by the people and for the people. That is, the democratic principle itself, the extension of which to economic decision-making lies at the heart of socialism.
Here is where we find the answer to the question: “Why organize a caucus for promoting democratic praxis, values and culture within DSA at this time?” Put in simple and direct form, there can be no socialism without democracy and ultimately no democracy without socialism. An existential threat to one is automatically an existential threat to the other.The good news is that the drive to kill democracy has given birth to the largest mass mobilization in its defense in US history outside of declared wars. The growth of mass resistance over the past 14 months has demonstrated conclusively that the majority of working people in the US recognize the importance of democracy and are willing to fight for it now as in the past.
This is a fight in which DSA ought to play a leadership role. This it cannot do unless it is seen as embodying democratic values in both its internal life and external actions. Consequently we believe that North Star and its mission are more necessary now than ever.It follows from this that DSA cannot afford to isolate itself from the larger mass movements. It must engage with them in a principled democratic fashion, seeking and finding common ground wherever possible. This means casting aside sectarian purism and embracing an ethic of good faith collaboration. Rather than seizing on disagreements as precluding joint work, we should concentrate on areas of agreement that support it, understanding that this is an essential aspect of democratic praxis.
Most of all this means rejecting the toxic methods of anonymous online smears, demagoguery, character assassination, etc.
North Star exists in part to challenge these tendencies and make DSA a better organization.
We also dismiss the notion that DSA should exist without caucuses.
DSA needs organized factions – caucuses – that put DSAers who think alike and do similar work in touch with each other, allowing members to develop and present their political views and strategies to the organization as a whole. Interaction among such caucuses is the essence of democracy in any large organization. Without public caucuses, cliques will still form underground to deliberate, organize and push their politics. However, the vast majority of the membership will be left with no access to this decision-making. Insiders ‘in the know’ should not be allowed to make all the important decisions without real accountability in the form of organized dissent.
What does need to be addressed is how caucuses conduct themselves: do they operate in a sectarian way, putting the interest of the caucus above the interest of DSA as a whole? Even more importantly, above the interest of the movement as a whole? We have organized to pursue the vision of democratic socialism and we welcome other caucuses that have formed in a democratic manner.
We’d appreciate your response to this invitation, to our Statement of Principles and to content on our blog. If you support our Statement of Principles, please sign on as a member of our caucus. If you disagree, we welcome participation and dialogue.
In solidarity,
DSA North Star: The Caucus for Socialism and Democracy
We invite you to join us as members of the North Star caucus of DSA.
You can find our complete Statement of Principles here.
We are committed to democracy as both a means and an end. We believe that socialism cannot be achieved except through democratic struggle.
Our current political priorities include:
- Defeating Trumpism and Electing Democratic Socialists and Progressives
- Addressing Climate Change and Promoting the Green New Deal
- Addressing the Immigration Crisis and Defending Immigrants and Refugees
This is both an exciting and challenging time to belong to DSA. After a significant decline during the Biden administration, National membership has blossomed to more than a 100,000. DSA has continued to rack up electoral victories large and small. The most significant of these being the election of Zohran Mamdani as the Mayor of the nation’s largest urban metropolis; New York City. Increasingly, people are coming to the view that democratic socialism offers the best alternative to liberalism’s failure to effectively oppose the slide toward capitalist oligarchy.
Yet these positive developments are taking place amidst a political and social crisis more profound than any since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Possibly since the Civil War era. The political reality of the present moment is radically different from what it was at the time of North Star’s founding. With the Democratic Party’s electoral collapse in 2024 ceding the Presidency to Donald Trump, the door was opened wide to the most extreme, lawless, violent Fascist elements in US political and social life. We are now living with and struggling against the predictable consequences.
With the drive towards autocratic oligarchy, the epidemic violation of constitutional rights by murderous, militarized gangs of anonymous thugs terrorizing the population and now the resort to open imperial aggression, we face what is by any measure an existential threat to government of the people, by the people and for the people. That is, the democratic principle itself, the extension of which to economic decision-making lies at the heart of socialism.
Here is where we find the answer to the question: “Why organize a caucus for promoting democratic praxis, values and culture within DSA at this time?” Put in simple and direct form, there can be no socialism without democracy and ultimately no democracy without socialism. An existential threat to one is automatically an existential threat to the other.The good news is that the drive to kill democracy has given birth to the largest mass mobilization in its defense in US history outside of declared wars. The growth of mass resistance over the past 14 months has demonstrated conclusively that the majority of working people in the US recognize the importance of democracy and are willing to fight for it now as in the past.
This is a fight in which DSA ought to play a leadership role. This it cannot do unless it is seen as embodying democratic values in both its internal life and external actions. Consequently we believe that North Star and its mission are more necessary now than ever.It follows from this that DSA cannot afford to isolate itself from the larger mass movements. It must engage with them in a principled democratic fashion, seeking and finding common ground wherever possible. This means casting aside sectarian purism and embracing an ethic of good faith collaboration. Rather than seizing on disagreements as precluding joint work, we should concentrate on areas of agreement that support it, understanding that this is an essential aspect of democratic praxis.
Most of all this means rejecting the toxic methods of anonymous online smears, demagoguery, character assassination, etc.
North Star exists in part to challenge these tendencies and make DSA a better organization.
We also dismiss the notion that DSA should exist without caucuses.
DSA needs organized factions – caucuses – that put DSAers who think alike and do similar work in touch with each other, allowing members to develop and present their political views and strategies to the organization as a whole. Interaction among such caucuses is the essence of democracy in any large organization. Without public caucuses, cliques will still form underground to deliberate, organize and push their politics. However, the vast majority of the membership will be left with no access to this decision-making. Insiders ‘in the know’ should not be allowed to make all the important decisions without real accountability in the form of organized dissent.
What does need to be addressed is how caucuses conduct themselves: do they operate in a sectarian way, putting the interest of the caucus above the interest of DSA as a whole? Even more importantly, above the interest of the movement as a whole? We have organized to pursue the vision of democratic socialism and we welcome other caucuses that have formed in a democratic manner.
We’d appreciate your response to this invitation, to our Statement of Principles and to content on our blog. If you support our Statement of Principles, please sign on as a member of our caucus. If you disagree, we welcome participation and dialogue.
In solidarity,
DSA North Star: The Caucus for Socialism and Democracy