Kate Witiak, Philadelphia, PA
As communists, we are always happy to engage in common work with other left organizations on points of agreement, and to discuss the best way forward for the movement. In this spirit, I met up with two YDSA members: one was a national staffer with a paid internship position, and the other the co-chair of a university chapter.
They told me they were disillusioned with their organization. Our conversation kept coming back to the need for ideological clarity. They explained that, like DSA, its youth wing does not have consistent political education, instead relegating it to a subcommittee with very few active participants. As a result, many YDSA members don’t take ownership of the work, because they do not know what they are fighting for, and many chapters lack a sense of direction.
I said that, in my opinion, these organizational problems arise from lack of political clarity and homogeneity. Rather than addressing them by forming this or that committee, political discussion and agreement on a clear, unified vision are needed to motivate the new generation of class fighters.
At the end of our meeting, the co-chair confessed that he had only joined YDSA because it was the only organization on campus. He said that he would have rather joined a disciplined communist organization like the RCA!