Here we are again! A young, outsider “democratic socialist” defeated another establishment favorite in a come-from-behind victory, making headlines around the world. Prior to Zohran Mamdani’s victory in NYC’s Democratic mayoral primary, the last time this happened was AOC’s 2018 victory against Joe Crowley, an establishment stalwart who led in the polls and thought he had it in the bag.
In 2018, we put forward the same message of class independence. We warned rank-and-file DSA members that winning an election is not a victory in itself—even less so when the election is won on the ballot line of one of the class enemy’s parties. We warned this was a dangerous path. It wouldn’t be AOC using the Democrats to advance the cause of socialism, but instead, AOC would be co-opted by the Democratic Party machine and forced to take responsibility for their reactionary policies.
This is precisely what happened. A short list of AOC’s political “victories” includes her votes in congress to ban railworkers from striking in 2022 and fund Israel’s Iron Dome. More recently, she fawned over Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—the Butchers of Gaza—praising them for their “leadership,” and “vision” at the 2024 DNC.
This is where the unholy alliance with the Democrats leads. These “socialist Democrats” have failed to solve a single one of the problems facing the working class. In the absence of an alternative, Trump and MAGA have been able to capitalize on the building frustration and distorted class anger.
The lesson of AOC should serve as a stark reminder for genuine socialists that only through militant class independence can real victories be achieved.
Running on the Democrat line—who is capturing whom?
Any “socialist Democrats” will be beholden to [the Democratic Party]. When the public is eventually dissatisfied with the government . . . the masses will see the “socialist members of Congress” as part of the Democratic Party and will look to the right or be demoralized altogether. The “socialist Democrats”—including DSA and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—will not escape blame. This is a well-worn pattern and a clear and present danger for any socialist.
Most of the thousands of DSA’s rank-and-file members don’t want to be swallowed up by the Democratic machine and are opposed to the “establishment” wing of the party, but are not opposed to “strategically using the Democratic Party ballot line” in order to get candidates elected. While Ocasio-Cortez’s win appears to have reinforced this idea, it is evident that she herself has much more faith in the Democratic Party than the average DSA member
“Socialist Democrats” have failed to solve a single one of the problems facing the working class. In the absence of an alternative, Trump capitalized on the building frustration and distorted class anger. / Image: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, X (formerly Twitter)
Socialists cannot support illusions in capitalism, we have to tell the truth. Ocasio-Cortez might also have illusions in the system and she might truly believe it is reformable. But this means when and if her policies are put to the test, both she and the workers supporting her will be very disappointed.
As a Democrat, Ocasio-Cortez will ultimately be tied to the Democratic Party committees, caucuses, chairpersons, think tanks, and on and on, even if she started her political journey as “anti-establishment.”
Another way forward: Fight for socialism!
Whether we like it or not, “capitalism with wonderful reforms” is not in our future. DSA has shown it can mobilize grassroots support and armies of door-knocking, phone-banking activists—but how long can it sustain momentum if the campaigns and elected candidates are, in the end, indistinguishable from the liberal Democrats? The political landscape is shifting fast in the US, and Democratic strategists are hoping to use this momentum to their advantage. But we shouldn’t forget it was the failure of the liberals that led to Trump in the first place. DSA has the potential to play a role in a much more dramatic political upset—by fighting for a mass socialist party. This is not a far-off goal for “some day” but something that can begin right now, by running other candidates for Congress—as independent socialists and on a genuine socialist program that challenges the rule of capital.
These candidates may not be elected on the first attempt or as easily, but this would lay the basis for a mass working-class socialist party in the not-too-distant future. Yes, there are easier ways to win elections, if winning an election is the end of the strategy. But for those who can see beyond the current limits of the two-party system and the rule of a handful of billionaires, a mass socialist movement and an independent working-class party with a far more radical outlook is not at all farfetched.