With the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the word communism is gaining currency in political discourse. Politicians are warning the nation about the dangers of communism, while some DSA militants insist they are not communists.
They insist that they are just socialists—democratic socialists. The democratic adjective softens the tenor of the s-word, making it acceptable and even trendy. This approach allows the democratic socialists to resist the toxic label of being communists.
Thus, the debate now rages. Is the DSA really communist? Can its activists accurately be called communists, or is this hyperbole that is best avoided?
Socialists and Communists Share the Same Goals
The answer lies in what unites communists and socialists.
Both socialism and communism share the belief that the state should own the means of production of major industries. Both philosophies frame their views of history as a class struggle between the oppressive owner class and the oppressed working class. They both are hostile to property. Both idealize equality and favor the “freedom” of the unbridled passions as they aim toward a classless society. Both dream of a utopia where money, property and the state will no longer be necessary.
Socialists and Communists Disagree on the Means
The two political philosophies differ in the means toward their shared goals. Thus, socialism usually seeks to take power through democratic means. It prefers a more gradual approach to the suppression of property. It favors taking over the major industries that hold the means of production. Some softer varieties of socialism will seek equality through uneven taxation, overregulation and limited confiscation. It will favor a big government that provides major services to the population.
Communism will seek power through violent means and revolutions. It insists upon nationalizing everything and suppressing private property at once. In its ideal form, property is owned by the state or community, and all citizens share in the common wealth, according to their needs. In practice, communism refers to totalitarian governments that control all aspects of citizens’ lives in the name of the workers.
Genus and Species
Socialism is the genus of the Marxist ideal. All other forms are the species. Thus, every communist is a socialist but not every socialist is a communist.
While Marx and Engels used the terms socialism and communism interchangeably, socialism, in current usage, is the term used to encompass all Marxist manifestations, flavors and varieties. Thus, there is Marxism, socialism, democratic socialism, self-managing socialism, communism, utopian communism and so many other labels. They are all based on the writings of Marx and thus share the same fundamental principles, especially their hostility to property.
Thus, socialism is a brand that covers a multitude of economic sins. All communist countries, for example, call themselves socialist. It was the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. China’s Mao Zedong stated that he aimed to create a socialist society. The Nazi Party in Germany was the National Socialist Party. Many leftist laws, taxes and regulations here in the United States are based on socialist ideas and goals.
Are They Communists?
The question remains as to whether one can legitimately refer to DSA members as communists. It depends.
The DSA claims its big-tent membership harbors a multitude of Marxist attitudes.
Thus, some DSA members proudly accept the communist label and radical program. These DSA members can be called communists.
Other DSA members proclaim that communist goals are something they support as a long-term ideal, but not right now. These DSA members can be called communist sympathizers since they will not renounce these goals.
Finally, many DSA members limit themselves to supporting issues like housing, healthcare and wages—the so-called Scandinavian-style socialism heavy on government welfare programs and extremely high taxes. These might be referred to as communist friends, fellow travelers or the useful idiots that communists use to advance their agenda and later discard.
What About the Organization?
What can be said about the DSA that denies the allegation?
It can be said that the DSA operates like many communist parties that formed broad coalitions to advance their programs and come to power. The moderates were later weeded out. Thus, it can be said that DSA proudly works together with avowed communists and has them inside its ranks.
The DSA admires communist figures like Fidel Castro, as seen when it called upon members to celebrate the recent centenary of his birth.
The DSA platform contains communist-inspired planks that openly desire the destruction of capitalism.
In a sense, its socialism is more dangerous than communism since it contains in itself so many open and hidden manifestations of socialism. It requires more vigilance to oppose it.
If something looks, walks, and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck. Like the rhetoric duck, the DSA acts, talks and operates like a communist party. It is communist in all but name. When taken to its extreme, the DSA will lead to communism.
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