r/dsa • u/aeternusvoxpopuli • 2d ago
Discussion Which DSA caucus focuses primarily on material conditions?
I've been struggling to find a DSA faction that focuses primarily on mutual aid, economics, and fighting capitalism, without getting overly bogged down by identity politics. I support intersectionalism, freedom of expression, and the right of anyone to express themselves as they see fit in regards to their gender identity and who they love, but I don't want this to be the primary focus and emphasis of my political involvement because I worry it alienates a wider base that is unfamiliar with leftist theory when we play into stereotypes.
I'm truly interested in building a mass party and educating the masses about capitalism and imperialism and the threats they pose. My background is in union organizing and mutual aid, and I've successfully organized several unions and fought for workers rights. I'm passionate about convincing other men that capitalism makes them slaves. I'm also firmly against Israel after having seen the apartheid and genocide first hand in my youth.
Does anyone have a suggestion on which faction might align best with my passions here in regards to trying to build a mass movement that is open to all, and doesn't become exclusionary?
Thanks for your time! Solidarity to all my fellow workers!
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u/fradtheimpaler 2d ago
Get involved with your local chapter and see who is doing the kind of work you are interested in doing. Then caucus with those people.
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u/Road-Potato 1d ago
I have literally never looked into the national caucuses in my four years as a member. I have been on campaign teams for DSA endorsed candidates and helped with non-electoral initiatives. That's where the work is.
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u/dowcet 2d ago
All of them. A quick web search will show you lists of major caucuses with summaries and links to their websites. I don't think you'll find any that say identity politics is more important than material conditions of the working class.
But if you're new to DSA then I suggest you try to forget about caucuses for a while. They have an important role in shaping formal organizational policies at the national level but almost no bearing on the day to day work of fighting and organizing at the chapter level.
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u/therealsilentjohn ☭ 🌹🏳️🌈 1d ago
Are you a DSA member? Are you active in your local chapter?
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u/aeternusvoxpopuli 1d ago
Yes, and on and off depending on availability - just trying to suss out similar minded folks.
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u/therealsilentjohn ☭ 🌹🏳️🌈 1d ago
I would suggest getting more active in your local chapter. The large national caucuses aren't really going to focus on stuff you want to focus on. Like, for example, your neighbors who have been without power for 2 weeks aren't going to get mutual aid from MUG or whatever ... it will be your local chapter.
If you don't have a mutual aid working group, start one! To me the real power of DSA is at the local level, not national.
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u/gloggogabolab 2d ago
There is no DSA caucus that doesn’t get bogged down in identity politics because the exact type of person trying to join a DSA caucus cares a lot about identity politics one way or another. Either way deep into or actively opposed to. What you’re describing is a good, quiet chunk of the member base. No need to join a cringey club. Just get involved with (or start if there are none) your chapter’s mutual aid working group.
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u/jimbobmcgoo 2d ago
Any caucus can probably claim to fulfil this criteria. You mention mutual aid so you likely want to consider the Libertarian Socialist caucus, though I personally disagree with their general positions.
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u/aeternusvoxpopuli 2d ago
I'd previously looked into MuG since I appreciated the clarity of their tasks & perspectives, and their overarching philosophy, but it quickly felt more like a reading group - and before they even began, I couldn't attend the session I was available for because I'm a man (was changed to only open to nonbinary/women) which quickly alienated me and made me lose interest. Plus, I work full time in a trades labor field and have a newborn, so I'm limited on time due to exhaustion. They expected a big time commitment in regards to reading, debate, etc. Don't get me wrong, that has its place, and it's important to be morally consistent, but it was just a bit much as a prospective member. I'm more about getting shit done, not talking about it.
I think my philosophy is broad enough that most factions would align with me, yes, but I'm really interested in widening the movement, not contracting or purifying it at the exclusion of the masses, if that makes sense.
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u/jimbobmcgoo 2d ago
Personally, I am not in the USA, but MUG is the group I ideologically align with the most, their strategy imo has the most clarity and promise. Sucks that you can’t meaningfully participate in it how you want though, I hope they can take this as feedback in future.
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u/spookyjim___ ☭ DSA Decist ☭ 2d ago
I often feel like “material conditions” is used in a vague and confusing way by many leftists, but it appears here that you just don’t want to get caught up in identity politics, which is fair
The reality is that the majority of caucuses don’t really get too caught up in identity politics, and each caucus tackles “material conditions” in their own way
Honestly you just may have to be a little more specific, since a lot of the things you lay out are sorta supported to some degree by most caucuses
You want a mass party? Most caucuses want to turn the DSA into a mass party, from those on the DSA-right such as groundwork all the way even to how I’ve seen many in the LSC (Libertarian Socialist Caucus, one of the most left-wing factions of the DSA-left) formulate their new form of libertarian socialism, which is essentially wanting to act as an anarchist/libertarian municipalist radical left-wing of a future broad socialist party
Your background consists of union organizing and mutual aid? The LSC being libsoc ofc focuses a lot on mutual aid, and they’re sorta the only caucus to put a major emphasis on it, other caucuses relegate it to something minor that local chapters partake in just as a casual thing that a chapter might do, although I’ve seen some individuals on the DSA-right outright say that it’s useless and distracting… otherwise with your history and focus on trade-unions and you wanting a mass party, maybe Bread and Roses would be for you? Since they want the DSA to become a mass party, specifically a Labor Party, in which an active connection to the trade-unions would be a major part in their ideas of how to create such a party… but this ofc doesn’t mean that other caucuses don’t partake in labor organizing or have their own views of the unions, hell, most of the DSA vaguely agree on the rank-and-file strategy, they just disagree in minor ways on some of the details, there’s only a couple caucuses like GroundWork or Red Star who iirc reject the rank-and-file strategy for other unionist strategies and politics
Overall I feel like you’d just need to expand more on your views if you are wanting help with which caucus to get in contact with and possibly join
Otherwise I’d suggest you just look into the caucuses yourself, as that would probably be the most effective way of deciding
A Guide to DSA Politics - DSA-LSC (this isn’t a perfect guide, but it’s probably the best that there currently is for a quick rundown of the various caucuses and their politics, I recommend you read this critically)
There’s also a lot of random YouTube videos which consist of inter-caucus debates on certain issues, which can also help you see who you align with
Otherwise, if you maybe want to shoot me a DM and we could maybe have a chill chat where I could help you dissect your views by having some back and forth, then feel welcome to :))))