Problems with an Electoral Road to Socialism in the United States
February 25, 2020

Kit Wainer and Mel Belfield’s article “Problems with an Electoral Road to Socialism in the United States” (New Politics, Winter 2020) prompted much discussion among Solidarity members. Donna Cartwright clarified the discussion by pointing out that the question of an electoral road could better be understood as two different questions:
1. Is there an electoral road to Social Democracy (meaning reforms of the kind proposed by Bernie Sanders) in the United States?
2. Is there an electoral road to Socialism (meaning the replacement of the capitalist system by a democratically controlled, egalitarian economic system) in the U.S. or elsewhere?
She argues that the answer to the first question is a cautious and qualified "yes," and to the second question is uncertain, but very dubious.
Kit Wainer and Peter Solenberger each responded to Donna’s contribution.
Kit addressed primarily Donna’s second question, arguing that an electoral road to the replacement of the capitalist system is nearly, if not completely, impossible. Peter addressed primarily her first question, arguing that yes, there could be an electoral road to a new New Deal, with a much higher level of class struggle.
We welcome readers’ comments on this important exchange of views.

Howie Hawkins’ Response to “An Open Letter to the Green Party About 2020 Election Strategy”
I was just completing a response to the first version of Michael Albert’s “ An Open Letter to the Green Party About 2020 Election Strategy ” (Michael Albert, “Dear Howie Hawkins: Green Sense and Nonsense,” January 5, 2020) when “ An Open Letter to the Green Party for 2020 ,” reached me. So I will respond to the group version.
I doubt that we are going to persuade each other at this point....

As the 2020 presidential election approaches the Green Party faces the challenge of settling on a platform, choosing a candidate for president, and deciding its campaign strategy. In that context, Howie Hawkins, a contender for Green Party presidential candidate, recently published a clear and cogent essay titled “The Green Party Is Not the Democrats’ Problem.” It represents a precedent Green Party stance which may guide Green campaign policy. We agree with much, but find some ideas very troubling....

I think the issue of an “electoral road to Socialism in the United States should be reformulated into two somewhat different questions:
1. Is there an electoral road to Social Democracy (meaning reforms of the kind proposed by Bernie Sanders) in the United States?
2. Is there an electoral road to Socialism (meaning the replacement of the capitalist system by a democratically controlled, egalitarian economic system) in the U.S. or elsewhere?
I believe that the answer to the first question is a cautious...

Thank you for your comments on the article Mel Bienenfeld and I wrote for New Politics. In our original article we critiqued what Eric Blanc has termed the “democratic road” to socialism. Mel and I argued that the constitutional framework of the US state poses particular obstacles to any attempt to implement a transition to socialism through electoral means. Specifically, we cite the separation of powers and the system of federalism as mechanisms by which capitalists and pro-capitalist...

I agree with the New Politics article Problems with an Electoral Road to Socialism in the United States by Kit Wainer and Mel Belfield and with Kit’s reply to the second question in Donna Cartwright’s post in this exchange: “Is there an electoral road to Socialism (meaning the replacement of the capitalist system by a democratically controlled, egalitarian economic system) in the U.S. or elsewhere?”
Having written about that in my Solidarity Webzine article Reform or revolution? A response...

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Bern After Reading: Sanders and Socialist Strategy (love the title) by Andrew Sernatinger reminds those of us active in DSA and movement work to think about how we can elevate movements behind the “Not me. Us!” of the Bernie campaign.
As a resident in a neighboring state that is the largest media outlet close to New Hampshire, living in (East) Boston, I understand the attention Bernie’s New Hampshire campaign drew and the attraction for DSA members to canvas up north. But I also have...

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Many appalling details of the apartheid-annexation Steal of the Century proclaimed as the Middle East “peace plan” by Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Jared Kushner – the troika of the impeached, the indicted and the idiotic — have been pretty well covered by the progressive media and Middle East commentators. (I’ll suggest a brief list of sources at the conclusion of this article.)
Predictably, the plan rollout was timed to boost Trump’s standing with his Christian-Zionist fundamentalist...

Community Knowledge and Water Justice in East Tennessee
A Land We Drink From
East Tennessee summers are full of storms. The humidity and damp gathers in the air and coalesces on every surface. Throughout the morning the air grows heavier and heavier, the clouds gather. Sometime in the afternoon, it breaks. The wind picks up and the birds go quiet. Forks of lightning slash through the sky and the storm blows the heaviness away. By the time the sun sets, the air feels light again; the earth smells like...






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