joindsa.org

DSA is what we make it!
Join: act.dsausa.org/donate/membe...
Find your local chapter: www.dsausa.org/chapters/
No chapter near you? Start a chapter!: www.dsausa.org/chapters/sta...

Collective power is the ability of a group to affect change (POWER!) through cooperation and organization.
-Are you a member of a labor union?
-Are you a member of a tenant union?
-Are you a member of a mutual aid network?
As a DSA member, you get to help build our collective power!

Individualism: Maybe this fish is gonna vote democrat! Maybe this fish is buying Toms shoes.
Collective Power: There is power when swimming is coordinated, thus they avoid being eaten as individuals when they realize their interests lie with every other fish avoiding getting eaten. Fish solidarity!

Neoliberalism present to us the only option for political power being individual consumer power reflected through "ethical purchases", but also how we are invited to participate.
-Want to save the oceans? Buy a reusable straw!
-Don't like your job? Get a new one!
-Just vote to express yourself!

Individualism vs Collective power

Capitalism is inherently opposed to freedom. A society working the vast majority of our lives for someone else's profit isn't free.
True democratic control can only come from the working class being able to decide how our labor and resources are used.

Power is the ability to affect change.
An enhanced welfare state might make worker organizing easier, but still preserves the elite power structure and depends on good will of capitalist class.
Redefining who makes up the ruling class, even if it includes the oppressed, will recreate oppression.

Mass movement: We are trying to build a movement of the majority of people.
Capitalist class is a tiny minority of people globally, holding a vastly disproportionate amount of control over our lives. The only way to counter that power is by organizing a movement of the majority to disrupt it.

Every DSA member can participate in the democratic process to decide the direction of the org through votes, discussion, debate, and action.
Members pay dues, but to keep this democratic, we allow a range of dues options for low income folks, students, & exemptions for folks who can't afford dues.

DSA is commonly mistaken for a political party! We are a political organization, meaning we are an organization of people brought together around a shared perspective on issues of power, how it is distributed, and the negative effects this distribution has on our society.

What is the DSA?
It is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seek to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of society.

What is socialism?
A socialist society is a system where the workers control the means of production, not some owner class who never had to work a hard day in their life. A system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighbourhoods, and society.

The D in DSA
Capitalism is not democratic. Why do we say we value democracy, but forty hours a week (or more) we're supposed to forget that in favor of the boss?

Ah, the evil Capitalism Octopus...

If you can think of an issue today, you can trace it's source to capitalism.

Capitalism is driven by maximizing profit through exploitation. The people who own the factories, offices, materials, and land control the products of that work and receive the profits, while the works who do that work get paid a fraction of the labor's worth. The owner class uses money for power.