Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) was founded in 1973 by Michael Harrington
, who led a minority caucus in the Socialist Party
. Harrington's caucus supported George McGovern
's his call for a cease-fire and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. In contrast to the traditional emphasis on strengthening the working class by organizing labor unions, Harrington reduced the great emphasis on labor of previous socialist organizations. Instead, while continuing to work with unionists, Harrington placed more emphasis on middle-class political activists, especially those drawn to activism through the McGovern campaign. Developing a "realignment" strategy common to Socialists since the 1960s, DSOC tried to help to build a social democratic movement from the political movements participating in the Democratic Party.
In 1982 the DSOC merged with the New American Movement
to form the Democratic Socialists of America
.
was clearly headed for a split as the decade of the 1970s opened. The organization, while sharing a common antipathy to the worldwide communist
movement, was divided over two primary issues
had two Co-Chairmen, Bayard Rustin
and Charles S. Zimmerman (of the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union, ILGWU) and a First National Vice Chairman, James S. Glaser, who were re-elected by acclamation
. In his opening speech to the Convention, Co-Chairman Bayard Rustin called for SDUSA to organize against the "reactionary policies of the Nixon Administration"; Rustin also criticized the "irresponsibility and élitism of the 'New Politics' liberals".
The Party changed its name to "Social Democrats, USA" by a vote of 73 to 34. Renaming the Party as SDUSA was meant to be "realistic". The New York Times
observed that the Socialist Party had last sponsored a candidate for President
in 1956, who received only 2,121 votes, which were cast in only 6 states. Because the Party no longer sponsored candidates in Presidential Elections, the name "Party" had been "misleading"; "Party" had hindered the recruiting of activists who participated in the Democratic Party, according the majority report. The name "Socialist" was replaced by "Social Democrats
" because many American associated the word "socialism
" with Soviet communism. Also, the Party wished to distinguish itself from two small Marxist parties, the Socialist Workers Party
and the Socialist Labor Party
.
During the convention, the majority ("unity Caucus") won every vote, by a ratio of two to one. The Convention elected a national committee of 33 members, with 22 seats for the majority caucus, 8 seats for the "coalition caucus" of Michael Harrington
, 2 for "a Debs caucus", and one for the "independent" Samuel H. Friedman. Friedman and the minority caucuses had opposed the name change.
The convention voted on and adopted proposals for its program by a two-one vote. On foreign policy, the program called for "firmness toward Communist aggression". However, on the Vietnam War, the program opposed "any efforts to bomb Hanoi into submission"; instead, it endorsed negotiating a peace agreement, which should protect Communist political cadres in South Vietnam from further military or police reprisals. Harrington's proposal for a ceasefire
and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces was defeated. Harrington complained that, after its convention, the Socialist Party had endorsed George McGovern
only with a statement loaded with "constructive criticism" and that it had not mobilized enough support for McGovern. The majority caucus's Arch Puddington replied that the California branch was especially active in supporting McGovern, while the New York branch were focusing on a congressional race.
(DSOC). (Many members of the Debs caucus resigned from SDUSA and formed the Socialist Party USA
.) Despite opposing the majority of the Socialist Party, Michael Harrington
, acknowledged the validity of its members' concerns:
Harrington's caucus in the Socialist Party endorsed the "New Politics" movement and sought to expand that tendency into a viable left-wing pressure-group within the Democratic Party, advancing an explicitly socialist agenda and attempting to win influence over elected officials for that program. Harrington led many members of this caucus and from his networks to establish the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) in 1973.
The writer Michael Harrington, a former editor of the Socialist Party's weekly newspaper, New America, was the most important figure in the establishment of DSOC. Harrington had resigned as National Co-Chairman of the Socialist Party, many of whose leaders criticized McGovern, when Harrington focused his efforts on electing McGovern in October 1972. Harrington had decided to concentrate his organizing efforts on the League for Industrial Democracy
, a long-existing intellectually-oriented social democratic organization associated with the names of Norman Thomas
and Harry Laidler.
In his first memoir, published in 1973, Harrington defended his choice of peace activists over trade unionists:
And so DSOC was founded.
At its start, DSOC had 840 members, of which 2 percent served on its national board; approximately 200 had previously had membership in Social Democrats, USA or its predecessors in 1973 when SDUSA stated its membership at 1,800, according to a 1973 profile of Harrington.
Democratic Left continues today as the publication of DSA, the organizational successor to DSOC. The organization also published a number of issues of an internal discussion bulletin, containing typewritten content submitted by its members about various issues of concern.
The Founding Convention was to be a three day long affair, beginning at 8 pm at the Eisner and Lubin Auditorium of New York University
. The convention was not composed of elected delegates, but was rather open to a general admission, and about 500 people were in attendance. The keynote speaker chosen by the organizers of DSOC to address this gathering was David Lewis
, one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party
, the social democratic parliamentary
opposition party of Canada
.
The following day, October 13, the convention moved to the McAlpin Hotel, located at the corner of Broadway and 34th Street in New York City and began in earnest. Harrington delivered an address to those attending the gathering, which was undelegated and open to all desiring to attend from the general public, and then the attendees broke up into various small workshops. Small group subjects included "the unions," "feminism
," "racial equality," "Democratic Party," "equality," and "detente
." Workshop chairs were appointed in advance and included Michael Walzer
, Bogdan Denitch, Christopher Lasch
, and others. A panel discussion on "Socialism and the Welfare State" was also held, featuring prominently Harrington's close political associate, the historian and magazine editor Irving Howe
, an individual who would become one of the organization's leading faces.
The final day saw the election of a governing National Board and ratification of a constitution for the new organization.
DSOC was thus from its inception highly committed to winning power through the tactic of "realignment" — uniting of forces within the Democratic Party around a constructive social democratic program.
While it did not actively run its members for political office, DSOC publicized and promoted the individual efforts of its dues payers and supporters. The group also sought to cultivate contacts with friendly figures already in elected positions of political power or union officialdom. DSOC ultimately had members in Congress
(Berkley, California Rep. Ron Dellums
) and the New York City Council
(Ruth Messinger
). The group also won the active support of such union leaders as Victor Reuther of the United Auto Workers
, William W. Winpisinger
of the International Association of Machinists, and various officials of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
.
(NAM) to form the Democratic Socialists of America
(DSA).
Discussions with representatives of NAM, a successor organization to Students for a Democratic Society
, began as early as 1977. The move was favored by DSOC's left wing, led by historian Jim Chapin, which sought to bring into DSOC many former participants in the New Left
of the 1960s who were in search of a new home. DSOC formally endorsed the idea of merger with NAM at its 1979 Houston convention.
The proposal for merger generated vocal opposition, however. Forces on the organization's right wing, led by Howe and calling themselves the Committee Against the NAM Merger (CATNAM), urged that instead of courting New Left survivors that DSOC should instead continue to place its emphasis on outreach to larger forces in the labor movement and the Democratic Party. In addition to noting NAM's deep distrust of the Democratic Party, many adherents of CATNAM had grave misgivings about NAM's position towards Israel
, with DSOC maintaining belief in a two state solution in the Middle East
, guaranteeing the existence of Israel
, while many in NAM saw the Palestine Liberation Organization
as engaged in an anti-colonial
liberation struggle. Ultimately a careful statement was worked out on the Middle East based upon a two-state solution and merger talks moved forward.
The 1981 DSOC national convention was marked by a very heated debate on the question of merger with NAM, which was ultimately resolved by a vote of approximately 80% of the delegates in favor, none against, with the 20% or so supporting the CATNAM position abstaining.Harrington, The Long-Distance Runner, pg. 66. "Our opponents wanted to indicate they were unhappy — and that they were staying," Harrington later noted.
The unity convention joining NAM and DSOC was held in Detroit in 1982, and the Democratic Socialists of America was thereby established. The gathering was addressed by George Crockett, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus
in the U.S. House of Representatives, with Harrington delivering the keynote address. The new organization claimed a membership of 6,000 at the time of its formation.
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael "Mike" Harrington was an American democratic socialist, writer, political activist, professor of political science, radio commentator and founder of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Personal life:...
, who led a minority caucus in the Socialist Party
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. Harrington's caucus supported George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
's his call for a cease-fire and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. In contrast to the traditional emphasis on strengthening the working class by organizing labor unions, Harrington reduced the great emphasis on labor of previous socialist organizations. Instead, while continuing to work with unionists, Harrington placed more emphasis on middle-class political activists, especially those drawn to activism through the McGovern campaign. Developing a "realignment" strategy common to Socialists since the 1960s, DSOC tried to help to build a social democratic movement from the political movements participating in the Democratic Party.
In 1982 the DSOC merged with the New American Movement
New American Movement
The New American Movement was founded in 1971 by a group of leaders of opposition to the Vietnam War to serve as a forum for discussing where and how to redirect their activities. The call to convene was issued by Michael Lerner...
to form the Democratic Socialists of America
Democratic Socialists of America
Democratic Socialists of America is a social-democratic organization in the United States and the U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International, an international federation of social-democratic,democratic socialist and labor political parties and organizations.DSA was formed in 1982 by a merger of...
.
Origins
After nearly a decade of internal acrimony, the Socialist Party of America-Social Democratic FederationSocialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
was clearly headed for a split as the decade of the 1970s opened. The organization, while sharing a common antipathy to the worldwide communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
movement, was divided over two primary issues
- Should democratic socialists call for either an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam or a negotiated peace settlement along with an immediate end to the bombing of North Vietnam?
- Should the democratic left continue its traditional focus of organizing the working classWorking classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
in labor unions or should it shift its focus to (predominantly middle class) peace activists?
1972 Convention of the Socialist Party
In its 1972 Convention, the Socialist PartySocialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
had two Co-Chairmen, Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights.In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation , Rustin practiced nonviolence...
and Charles S. Zimmerman (of the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union, ILGWU) and a First National Vice Chairman, James S. Glaser, who were re-elected by acclamation
Acclamation
An acclamation, in its most common sense, is a form of election that does not use a ballot. "Acclamation" or "acclamatio" can also signify a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval in certain social contexts in ancient Rome.-Voting:...
. In his opening speech to the Convention, Co-Chairman Bayard Rustin called for SDUSA to organize against the "reactionary policies of the Nixon Administration"; Rustin also criticized the "irresponsibility and élitism of the 'New Politics' liberals".
The Party changed its name to "Social Democrats, USA" by a vote of 73 to 34. Renaming the Party as SDUSA was meant to be "realistic". The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
observed that the Socialist Party had last sponsored a candidate for President
Darlington Hoopes
Darlington Hoopes was the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States in the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections.-Early years:...
in 1956, who received only 2,121 votes, which were cast in only 6 states. Because the Party no longer sponsored candidates in Presidential Elections, the name "Party" had been "misleading"; "Party" had hindered the recruiting of activists who participated in the Democratic Party, according the majority report. The name "Socialist" was replaced by "Social Democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
" because many American associated the word "socialism
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
" with Soviet communism. Also, the Party wished to distinguish itself from two small Marxist parties, the Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (United States)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
and the Socialist Labor Party
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
.
During the convention, the majority ("unity Caucus") won every vote, by a ratio of two to one. The Convention elected a national committee of 33 members, with 22 seats for the majority caucus, 8 seats for the "coalition caucus" of Michael Harrington
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael "Mike" Harrington was an American democratic socialist, writer, political activist, professor of political science, radio commentator and founder of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Personal life:...
, 2 for "a Debs caucus", and one for the "independent" Samuel H. Friedman. Friedman and the minority caucuses had opposed the name change.
The convention voted on and adopted proposals for its program by a two-one vote. On foreign policy, the program called for "firmness toward Communist aggression". However, on the Vietnam War, the program opposed "any efforts to bomb Hanoi into submission"; instead, it endorsed negotiating a peace agreement, which should protect Communist political cadres in South Vietnam from further military or police reprisals. Harrington's proposal for a ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces was defeated. Harrington complained that, after its convention, the Socialist Party had endorsed George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
only with a statement loaded with "constructive criticism" and that it had not mobilized enough support for McGovern. The majority caucus's Arch Puddington replied that the California branch was especially active in supporting McGovern, while the New York branch were focusing on a congressional race.
Harrington founds DSOC
Even before the convention, Michael Harrington had resigned as an Honorary Chairperson of the Socialist Party. Some months after the convention, he resigned his membership in SDUSA. Harrington and his supporters from the Coalition Caucus soon formed the Democratic Socialist Organizing CommitteeDemocratic Socialist Organizing Committee
The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee was founded in 1973 by Michael Harrington, who led a minority caucus in the Socialist Party. Harrington's caucus supported George McGovern's his call for a cease-fire and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam...
(DSOC). (Many members of the Debs caucus resigned from SDUSA and formed the Socialist Party USA
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...
.) Despite opposing the majority of the Socialist Party, Michael Harrington
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael "Mike" Harrington was an American democratic socialist, writer, political activist, professor of political science, radio commentator and founder of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Personal life:...
, acknowledged the validity of its members' concerns:
"The anti-war activists of the sixties were overwhelmingly white and middle class. Many of them were unconcerned about the domestic political consequences of their actions and were even contemptuous of that majority of Americans who supported the war. There was a profoundly elitist tendency in the movement that [the majority of the Socialist Party leadership] denounced as dilettantish and collegiate. Moreover, there was a vocal, and regularly televised, fringe of confrontationists, exhibitionists, and Vietcong flag wavers who could plausibly be dismissed as freakish, or sinister, or both."
Harrington's caucus in the Socialist Party endorsed the "New Politics" movement and sought to expand that tendency into a viable left-wing pressure-group within the Democratic Party, advancing an explicitly socialist agenda and attempting to win influence over elected officials for that program. Harrington led many members of this caucus and from his networks to establish the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) in 1973.
The writer Michael Harrington, a former editor of the Socialist Party's weekly newspaper, New America, was the most important figure in the establishment of DSOC. Harrington had resigned as National Co-Chairman of the Socialist Party, many of whose leaders criticized McGovern, when Harrington focused his efforts on electing McGovern in October 1972. Harrington had decided to concentrate his organizing efforts on the League for Industrial Democracy
League for Industrial Democracy
The League for Industrial Democracy , from 1960-1965 known as the Students for a Democratic Society , was founded in 1905 by a group of notable socialists including Harry W. Laidler, Jack London, Norman Thomas, Upton Sinclair, and J.G. Phelps Stokes...
, a long-existing intellectually-oriented social democratic organization associated with the names of Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
and Harry Laidler.
In his first memoir, published in 1973, Harrington defended his choice of peace activists over trade unionists:
"But in their derogatory comparison of this movement with the trade unionists, my comrades failed to notice two of its historic aspects. First, the anti-war young were right: Vietnam was not only an immoral conflict, it was counterproductive from all points of view, including that of progressive anti-communism. Secondly, the new strata of the issue-oriented and college-educated who provided the mass bass for this phenomenon were, and are, extremely important to the creation of a new majority for change in this country."
And so DSOC was founded.
At its start, DSOC had 840 members, of which 2 percent served on its national board; approximately 200 had previously had membership in Social Democrats, USA or its predecessors in 1973 when SDUSA stated its membership at 1,800, according to a 1973 profile of Harrington.
Publications
The publication that would eventually become the official organ of DSOC, initially an 8-page letter-sized monthly called Newsletter of the Democratic Left, predated the formal establishment of DSOC as a national organization in October 1973. The first issue of Newsletter of the Democratic Left (the name was later shortened to Democratic Left) appeared in March 1973, under the editorship of Mike Harrington, assisted by Jack Clark as Managing Editor. A front page essay by Harrington, entitled "The Shape of Our Politics," made nary a mention of the bitter faction fight within the Socialist Party:
"Liberalism is in transition. Important ideologists announce their 'deradicalization.' * * *
"On the other wing, many trade unionists and middle-class liberals have become aware of the need for structural change in our society. In the McGovern campaign, for instance, the frankly redistributionist principle that revenue should be raised by levies on unearned incomeUnearned incomeUnearned income is a term in economics that has different meanings and implications depending on the theoretical frame. To classical economists, with their emphasis on dynamic competition, income not subject to competition are “rents” or unearned income, such as incomes attributable to...
s was a major step forward.
"On the campus there is a decline of activism, a revival of private concerns. The New LeftNew LeftThe New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
is dead. But a large and serious constituency of the Left remains, even if unorganized and uncertain. If presented with a clear and reasoned perspective for basic change, it might be won to a lifetime commitment, even in the Nixon years; if not, it could vanish. * * *
"The Left, more than ever before, needs thought, self-criticism, candor, and communication. We hope this Newsletter will make a modest contribution to that end."
Democratic Left continues today as the publication of DSA, the organizational successor to DSOC. The organization also published a number of issues of an internal discussion bulletin, containing typewritten content submitted by its members about various issues of concern.
Formal establishment
The June 1973 issue of Newsletter of the Democratic Left, the fourth monthly magazine off the press, announced to its subscribers that the never-before-mentioned "National Board" of the "Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee" had issued a call for the launch of "a new, nationwide socialist organization." The founding convention of DSOC was initially slated to begin on October 12, 1973, in New York City. For the first time, membership dues were solicited, with rates of $3.50 for Students and $7.00 for Regular membership accepted until January 1, 1974.The Founding Convention was to be a three day long affair, beginning at 8 pm at the Eisner and Lubin Auditorium of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. The convention was not composed of elected delegates, but was rather open to a general admission, and about 500 people were in attendance. The keynote speaker chosen by the organizers of DSOC to address this gathering was David Lewis
David Lewis (politician)
David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961...
, one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, the social democratic parliamentary
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
opposition party of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The following day, October 13, the convention moved to the McAlpin Hotel, located at the corner of Broadway and 34th Street in New York City and began in earnest. Harrington delivered an address to those attending the gathering, which was undelegated and open to all desiring to attend from the general public, and then the attendees broke up into various small workshops. Small group subjects included "the unions," "feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
," "racial equality," "Democratic Party," "equality," and "detente
Détente
Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...
." Workshop chairs were appointed in advance and included Michael Walzer
Michael Walzer
Michael Walzer is a prominent American political philosopher and public intellectual. A professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, he is co-editor of Dissent, an intellectual magazine that he has been affiliated with since his years as an undergraduate at...
, Bogdan Denitch, Christopher Lasch
Christopher Lasch
Christopher Lasch was a well-known American historian, moralist, and social critic....
, and others. A panel discussion on "Socialism and the Welfare State" was also held, featuring prominently Harrington's close political associate, the historian and magazine editor Irving Howe
Irving Howe
Irving Howe was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Life and career:...
, an individual who would become one of the organization's leading faces.
The final day saw the election of a governing National Board and ratification of a constitution for the new organization.
Membership size and structure
According to the group's founder, Michael Harrington, DSOC began with a core of about 250 members. The group's first paid staffer was Jack Clark, a 23 year old from Boston who received $50 a month and use of a spare bed in the home of Debbie Meier, herself a second generation socialist and important figure in the DSOC inner circle. Meier's home served as the group's base of operations up to the October 1973 convention, at which time DSOC rented a tiny basement office.Ideology and strategy
DSOC styled itself as an explicitly socialist pressure group within the Democratic Party and it dedicated itself to building a base of support for social democratic ideas in the Democratic Party. In Michael Harrington's view, the task facing the American movement was "to build a new American majority for social change." The union movement, while important, could not win political power in its own right, Harrington believed. Harrington instead argued that it needed to unite with the "college-educated and issue-oriented" adherents of the so-called "New Politics" in the Democratic Party:
"In 1968, the Center-Right of Nixon and WallaceGeorge WallaceGeorge Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
received almost 58% of the votes; in 1972, in a two-way race, Nixon got over 61%. In 1968, the American unions were a major, and sometimes sole, force behind Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, proving that the organized workers are the most cohesive element that can be mobilized for social change. But the '68 election also proved that labor by itself cannot come close to winning.... In 1968 many McCarthyitesEugene McCarthyEugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...
did not understand that Humphrey was infinitely preferable to Nixon; in 1972, the MeanyitesGeorge MeanyWilliam George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....
did not understand that McGovern was infinitely preferable to Nixon.
"If this split continues, the Republicans will hold the Presidency for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the only way to build a new majority for social change is for labor and the new politics to come together."
DSOC was thus from its inception highly committed to winning power through the tactic of "realignment" — uniting of forces within the Democratic Party around a constructive social democratic program.
While it did not actively run its members for political office, DSOC publicized and promoted the individual efforts of its dues payers and supporters. The group also sought to cultivate contacts with friendly figures already in elected positions of political power or union officialdom. DSOC ultimately had members in Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
(Berkley, California Rep. Ron Dellums
Ron Dellums
Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums served as Oakland's forty-fifth mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S...
) and the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
(Ruth Messinger
Ruth Messinger
Ruth Wyler Messinger is a former political leader in New York City and a member of the Democratic Party as well as the Democratic Socialists of America. She was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1997, losing to incumbent mayor Rudy Giuliani. She is married to Andrew Lachman, her...
). The group also won the active support of such union leaders as Victor Reuther of the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
, William W. Winpisinger
William W. Winpisinger
William Wayne Winpisinger was the eleventh International President of the million-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers from 1977 until his retirement in 1989...
of the International Association of Machinists, and various officials of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations...
.
From DSOC to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
DSOC ceased to exist in 1982 when it merged with the New American MovementNew American Movement
The New American Movement was founded in 1971 by a group of leaders of opposition to the Vietnam War to serve as a forum for discussing where and how to redirect their activities. The call to convene was issued by Michael Lerner...
(NAM) to form the Democratic Socialists of America
Democratic Socialists of America
Democratic Socialists of America is a social-democratic organization in the United States and the U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International, an international federation of social-democratic,democratic socialist and labor political parties and organizations.DSA was formed in 1982 by a merger of...
(DSA).
Discussions with representatives of NAM, a successor organization to Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
, began as early as 1977. The move was favored by DSOC's left wing, led by historian Jim Chapin, which sought to bring into DSOC many former participants in the New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
of the 1960s who were in search of a new home. DSOC formally endorsed the idea of merger with NAM at its 1979 Houston convention.
The proposal for merger generated vocal opposition, however. Forces on the organization's right wing, led by Howe and calling themselves the Committee Against the NAM Merger (CATNAM), urged that instead of courting New Left survivors that DSOC should instead continue to place its emphasis on outreach to larger forces in the labor movement and the Democratic Party. In addition to noting NAM's deep distrust of the Democratic Party, many adherents of CATNAM had grave misgivings about NAM's position towards Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, with DSOC maintaining belief in a two state solution in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, guaranteeing the existence of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, while many in NAM saw the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
as engaged in an anti-colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
liberation struggle. Ultimately a careful statement was worked out on the Middle East based upon a two-state solution and merger talks moved forward.
The 1981 DSOC national convention was marked by a very heated debate on the question of merger with NAM, which was ultimately resolved by a vote of approximately 80% of the delegates in favor, none against, with the 20% or so supporting the CATNAM position abstaining.Harrington, The Long-Distance Runner, pg. 66. "Our opponents wanted to indicate they were unhappy — and that they were staying," Harrington later noted.
The unity convention joining NAM and DSOC was held in Detroit in 1982, and the Democratic Socialists of America was thereby established. The gathering was addressed by George Crockett, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the black members of the United States Congress. Membership is exclusive to blacks, and its chair in the 112th Congress is Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.-Aims:...
in the U.S. House of Representatives, with Harrington delivering the keynote address. The new organization claimed a membership of 6,000 at the time of its formation.
Further reading
- Newsletter of the Democratic Left, First ten issues New York: Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, 1973.
- We are Socialists of the Democratic Left. Fifth Anniversary edition. New York: Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, 1982.
- Social Democrats, USA For the Record: The Report by the Social Democrats, USA on the Resignation of Michael Harrington and his Attempt to Split the American Socialist Movement. New York: Social Democrats USA, n.d. [1973]. —Polemic against Michael Harrington from the time of the 1973 SP split.
External links
- Democratic Socialists of America official website. dsausa.org —successor organization to DSOC.