The history of leftist efforts to realign the Democratic Party demonstrates that strategies like the “dirty break” and the “party surrogate” are not ways forward for the left, but traps instead. Beyond sabotaging left Democrats like Zohran Mamdani and their proposed reforms, a greater danger is the party’s ability to absorb them. Instead, we need an independent socialist workers’ movement.
Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City has caused excitement on the left due to his democratic-socialist politics and his support for Palestine. Such excitement has historically led to disorientation and disillusionment when reformist Democrats — such as AOC and Brandon Johnson — inevitably betray the left. Revolutionaries must retain our opposition to all Democrats and executives of the capitalist state.
Most on the broad left view electoral activity as all-important to progressive reform and even the advance of socialism. They focus almost exclusively on elections, inevitably to the benefit of parties of the liberal bourgeoisie, like the Democrats. By contrast, revolutionary socialists recognize the electoral system as a weapon in the hands of the ruling class that can never be used to transform the system in any lasting way.
We have enacted a policy prohibiting our members from holding dual membership in our organization and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). This policy is based on our commitment to working-class independence and revolutionary socialism, because we understand...