Elections, not electoralism: A tactic in a revolutionary movement — Red Star

Red Star is a Marxist-Leninist faction in Democratic Socialists of America. "We argue that developing DSA into a party beyond a ballot line goes hand in hand with running candidates with a Marxist strategy and to ensure elected socialists are embedded with their local chapter, developing members both politically and as leaders within itself. DSA chapters should be encouraged and supported by the NEC to develop electoral campaigns for candidates that intend to use their campaigns to build DSA at the local level, making sure candidates have sufficient political education and alignment, and develop a relationship with the candidate that isn’t transactional but mutual. In order to continue to build a party independent of the capitalist parties, DSA should develop relationships between former and current endorsed DSA members across the country towards the development of independent electoral organizing and fundraising programs like Socialist Cash. We should utilize DSA members that want to work on electoral campaigns to be connected with locally endorsed campaigns at other chapters running candidates for things like phonebanking and texting. Most critically, building the party we need in this moment requires learning the lessons of socialists in the past. Running candidates in liberal bourgeois elections must be done not solely to get elected, but to heighten class consciousness and bring people into DSA to develop them as leaders and organizers. DSA members who eventually do get elected need to operate independent of the capitalist parties and instead organize with DSA rather than outside of it. DSA at the local and national level must develop a mutual relationship with candidates it runs and elects, and utilize the whole of DSA electoral programs as a single party apparatus that is greater than the sum of its parts." submitted by /u/MarxistUnity [link] [comments]