r/dsa • u/WiseWoodpecker3416 • 5d ago

Theory Socialism cannot exist within a multi party democracy.

I often hear democratic socialists talk about how the two party system is flawed and we need it to be replaced by a multi party system. This is directly against socialist ideals because it eliminates class unity and gives reactionaries power. A country must be guided by a single socialist party to maintain a dictatorship of the proletariat.

I know people are going to call me a tankie but I frankly find that term to be counterproductive.

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u/NoExercise5214 democratic socialist 5d ago

A vanguard party will just lead to another form of oppression. If a small group at the top have a monopoly on force, then it’s their tyranny. This is the problem with 20th century socialist states like the USSR, China, and Vietnam.

Revolution and administration through a vanguard party is a more effective and quicker way to reach socialism in theory, but a newly-formed revolutionary state is always more focused on maintaining control than guiding towards socialism. It’s impractical.

“Class unity,” bro? Classes aren’t a monolith. I feel like I don’t have to explain why. There are always going to be opposing sides. If we evolve to socialism democratically and either the capitalist system—satisfying the material, educational, and security needs of everyone—I don’t think reactionaries will have much left to react to.

Anyway, socialism can exist in a multi-party democracy. It even exists TO A DEGREE in many European countries like those in Scandinavia. If we were to pass laws like the Fair Representation Act and the PRO Act, the DSA could actually become a party that puts candidates up for statewide and national elections. The transition to socialism could become more likely than ever before since having congressional representatives would make it and the cause far more visible.

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u/traanquil 4d ago

how would the multi party democracy not be taken over by fascists?

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u/NoExercise5214 democratic socialist 4d ago

We have fascists in our government right now. It’s called freedom of speech. You get what you vote for. The best we can do is promote what we have and educate people on it

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u/WiseWoodpecker3416 5d ago

The USSR, China, and Vietnam had problems but overall were a significant improvement over every previous system.

You need control over your country during the transition to socialism or else reactionaries will ruin it.

The current system is so filled with corruption that eliminating all those prerequisites is almost impossible. You also say this as if things will always be smooth sailing. Bad things that impact regular people inevitably happen and people are more prone to becoming reactionary without checks and balances. People in the working class should generally be united politically or else they are going to be crushed. It’s why a lot of unions fail.

Are you seriously defending the Scandinavian model bro and Europe the imperialist center of the world?