Democratic socialists’ decisive congressional victories on Tuesday night in New York’s primary elections solidified the far-left movement as an ascendant power center in blue states.
Now, as the progressive coalition prepares to expand its footprint in Washington, many Americans are turning their attention to the movement for the first time — and wondering, perhaps, what it actually stands for.
The definition often depends on whom you talk to. But the movement’s standard-bearers are united by their belief that direct government action — not the free market — is a better tool to solve problems for everyday Americans, such as the rising cost of health care and housing.
“Economic stress is something I lived with as a kid, and I feel it in my guts,” Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont and an architect of the movement’s modern resurgence, said in an interview with The New York Times. “That’s what makes me a democratic socialist.”
In the United States, democratic socialists’ policies tend to support working within the capitalist system rather than abolishing it outright. Critics typically decry the likely high costs to taxpayers of some of these policies.
Ashik Siddique, a co-chairman of the organization, said the group surpassed 100,000 members earlier this year. About 1,000 more joined after the sweep of victories in New York on Tuesday night, he said.
Here is a closer look at the pillars of democratic socialism.
End Military Aid to Israel
The defining feature of primary races in New York on Tuesday was a litmus test on American support for Israel. Democratic socialists won that ideological battle handily, since staunch opposition to continued military aid is a key part of their campaigns.
The Democratic Socialists of America, a political organization in which members pay dues and are organized around a wide-reaching policy platform, says it “stands for the full freedoms and self determination of the Palestinian people, including the end of Israel’s colonization and occupation of all Arab lands, equality, and the right of all refugees to return to their homes and properties.”
Mr. Sanders said every time he has talked about Gaza at rallies across the country, he has received a standing ovation.
Expand the Social Safety Net
Democratic socialists want the government to lower the cost of living for Americans. Under their platform, child care, pre-K and public higher education amount to a collective good and should be completely free and funded by the government. They also support universal rent control, and want every worker to receive paid family leave.
In New York City, it was the political machine of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, that helped carry three progressive House candidates to victory on Tuesday.
Mr. Mamdani plans to open a free preschool center on the Upper East Side. Although directed at working families, the move has ignited a fierce debate over whether a city facing a major budget deficit should use taxpayer money to fund a free service in affluent neighborhoods.
Guarantee Free Health Care
The D.S.A. wants to create a single, government-run national program providing essential health care for everyone.
Right now, individuals and employers pay insurance premiums. People pay cash co-payments for drugs. And state governments pay a share of Medicaid costs. The system is expensive, but it allows individuals some choice in their care.
In a democratic socialist system, like one long trumpeted by Mr. Sanders, nearly all of that would be replaced by federal spending.
Many democratic socialists want to see private insurance entirely eliminated. Others are open to giving people the option to keep their private insurance plans.
Tax the Rich
There is no consensus about how much such a system would cost the federal government, nor exactly how it would be funded.
Proponents of democratic socialism say that higher income taxes on wealthy Americans and decreases in military spending would cover the costs.
Defund or Abolish Prisons and the Police
The D.S.A. is widely skeptical of police power and the American penal system. The organization wants to “defund the police by rejecting any expansion to police budgets” and calls for “freedom for all incarcerated people.”
In a rare break with Mr. Mamdani earlier this month, the group criticized his plan to add 580 officers to the Police Department.
Members believe that improving quality of life and investing in public services would address the root causes of violence. Most Americans — including many who live in high-crime urban centers — oppose defunding of police, according to numerous national surveys.
Raise the Minimum Wage, Shorten the Workweek
Democratic socialists believe in raising the minimum wage and instituting a 32-hour workweek with no reduction in pay or benefits.
Proponents of the movement also fundamentally oppose an electoral system that allows outsize influence from corporations and billionaires. They have called for the current system to be replaced with publicly funded elections.
Mr. Sanders said he watched the results of the New York races come in from Washington and felt that finally, the conversation around the role of government in America was actually changing.
He described “a feeling of delight and joy.”
The post Here’s What It Means to Be a Democratic Socialist appeared first on New York Times.
