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American socialists have achieved their most significant electoral success since 1912, with six socialists elected to Congress and three securing mayoral offices in major cities during the midterm elections. Harvard professor and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore discussed this political resurgence on NPR’s Fresh Air, examining both the history of the movement and its modern platform.
The Debate Over the National DSA Platform
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) gained renewed national attention following a television interview with national co-chair Megan Romer, who affirmed support for a radical platform including abolishing the Senate, replacing the presidency and the Supreme Court, abolishing ICE and borders over time, defunding the Pentagon, dismantling prisons, and enacting public ownership of major corporations. As noted by Lepore in her New Yorker article titled “Can American Socialism Survive Its Success?”, many of these positions echo the 1912 platform of the Socialist Party of America, reflecting long-standing socialist ideas regarding direct democracy and opposition to aristocratic institutions like the Supreme Court.
However, these national platform items drew sharp criticism from leading Democrats while being embraced by Republicans during the midterms. Despite these efforts to label opponents as socialists, Lepore pointed out that such campaign tactics failed to impact election outcomes. Meanwhile, local socialist leaders like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have distanced themselves from several of the national organization’s more extreme positions, focusing instead on practical policies such as universal pre-K, affordable housing production, and local governance improvements.
Historical Roots and Evolution of American Socialism
The modern democratic socialist movement connects back to early 20th-century figures like Eugene V. Debs and Victor Berger, who co-founded the Socialist Party of America in 1901. Berger became the first socialist elected to Congress in 1910. While the early socialist platform called for collective ownership of infrastructure and various labor reforms—such as a minimum wage, shorter workweeks, and the abolition of child labor—many of these proposals were eventually adopted and implemented by the Democratic Party during the New Deal era.
The DSA itself was founded in 1982 by activist Michael Harrington, who argued that socialists should work within the Democratic Party rather than run a separate political party. According to Lepore, socialism tends to gain traction during periods when economic growth does not translate into shared prosperity, noting that stagnant real wages and rising income inequality have driven renewed interest among younger generations.
Contasting Visions of Socialism and Technology
The 2026 DSA platform envisions a post-capitalist society where individuals have ample time for leisure, family, and community activities. Lepore noted a striking convergence between this socialist utopianism and techno-utopian visions promoted by artificial intelligence leaders like Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who similarly propose a future without traditional work enabled by universal basic income or automated production systems.
At the same time, Lepore cautioned that the AI-driven vision of leisure carries dystopian concerns regarding human purpose and the replacement of human labor. Concluding the discussion, Lepore addressed the broader political landscape, noting that censorship and efforts to rewrite American history have directly affected educational materials, including textbook revisions and school speaking engagements across the country.
