FIRST 2020 GENERAL MEETING: Friday, October 9th at 2:00pm via Zoom

WHAT IS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM?

This video is a great six-minute explainer that interviews YDSA members across the country.

We believe in democracy as a means to an end, not just a value

What that means, more simply, is that democracy is a tool for achieving a better future, not just a vague ideal that we reference. We actively practice democracy as we build our socialist future, centering the voices of oppressed groups while we democratically decide how to pick and fight our battles. The link to the right is a Teen Vogue interview with YDSA members from across the country about their personal definition of socialism (and how YDSA is fighting to achieve it). If you'd like to read more about Democratic Soclialism specifically, check out an essay from Jacobin Magazine here.

We are activists committed to democracy as not simply one of our political values but our means of restructuring society. Our vision is of a society in which people have a real voice in the choices and relationships that affect the entirety of our lives. We call this vision Democratic Socialism — a vision of a more free, democratic, and humane society, and we believe that when we fight, we win.

9 YDSA Members Explain What Socialism Means to Them“Socialism is really about believing in people and human worth.”

Socialism or barbarism?

The history of capitalism has proven that profits will always be prioritized over people. We happen to think that choice is wrong, and it amounts to either having socialism or barbarism; we've made our choice.

We can either choose to democratically restructure society to be more equitable and to account for the human needs of people, or we can continue the practice of exploiting workers for the profits of a rich elite.

We can either choose to make colleges and universities tuition-free by enacting College for All, or we can continue the current system of forcing students into debt for the rest of their lives while we defund schools.

We can either choose to implement a universal single-payer Medicare for All system where the government meets the healthcare needs of its citizens by taxing the rich, or we can continue the barbaric practice of for-profit healthcare where insurance companies literally profit off of people dying.

We can either choose to end the extraction and use of fossil fuels to save the planet (and billions of lives in the process), or we can continue to unsustainably exploit the Earth's natural resources and sacrifice the lives of working-class people and people of color, the frontline communities most impacted by climate inaction.

We can either make housing a human right, passing universal rent control and substantially expanding funding for public housing, or we can continue to let hundreds of thousands of people sleep on the streets every night, with thousands more on the way following foreclosure and rent hikes.

We can either end wars of all forms, or we can continue to pillage less developed countries for their natural resources, leaving behind a wake of bodies and trillions of dollars which could better be spent on the needs of working people.

We can have socialism or we can have barbarism.

We have to make a choice; make the right one, join DSA today.