Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee was a political organization founded by Michael Harrington that advocated democratic socialism in the United States. DSOC was formed in 1973 when Harrington led a minority caucus away from the Social Democrats, USA, which had recently gone through two name changes from Socialist Party of America to Socialist Party Democratic Socialist Federation.
Harrington's disagreements with SDUSA leadership came to a head during the 1972 [United States presidential election|1972 presidential campaign] of Democratic Party candidate George McGovern. Harrington was stunned that his socialist colleagues chose either to not endorse McGovern, or to only give him lukewarm support when, in Harrington's view, the South Dakota senator was clearly a better candidate than the incumbent Richard Nixon.
The emerging post-1960s democratic left coalition, as Harrington envisioned it in his DSOC founding essay in March 1973, went beyond the traditional socialist emphasis on organizing labor unions to build political power. He also wanted to mobilize left-liberal Democrats; civil rights, feminist, and anti-war activists; and a robust youth section from college campuses.
DSOC's ranks grew during the 1970s, eventually claiming a national membership of nearly 5,000. In 1978, DSOC was admitted as a full member of the Socialist International. In 1982, DSOC ceased to exist when it merged with the New American Movement to form the Democratic Socialists of America.
History
Background
After years of internal acrimony, the Socialist Party of America was headed for a split as the decade of the 1970s opened. In March 1972, SPA had merged with the Democratic Socialist Federation to form the SPDSF, but its members were divided over two key questions:- Should democratic socialists call for an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Vietnam, or should they push for a negotiated peace settlement and a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam?
- Should the democratic left continue its bedrock principle of organizing the working class via labor unions, or should it concentrate more on recruiting political activists?
Despite his doctrinal differences with the YPSL, Harrington had a loyal following in the group, which was also holding its biennial convention in December. As an omen of the coming split in the SPDSF, Harrington resigned his post as Honorary Chairperson in October 1972.
SPDSF convention in 1972
The SPDSF national convention began in late December 1972 in New York City. The two co-chairmen, Bayard Rustin of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and Charles Zimmerman of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, were re-elected by acclamation along with SPDSF's first national vice chairman, James Glaser. In his opening speech, Rustin called for an organized effort against the "reactionary policies of the Nixon Administration", while at the same time he criticized the "irresponsibility and élitism of the 'New Politics' liberals".At the convention, elements within the YPSL denounced what they termed the "McGovern takeover" of the Democratic Party, citing the "supercilious antilabor elitism" of the "New Politics Liberals". The dilemma facing socialists in 1972 was that in order to maintain their customary pro-labor stance, they had to ally themselves with the major U.S. trade unions, such as the AFL-CIO under President George Meany. But some of those unions had drifted to the right, for example, Meany enjoyed close ties with Nixon and often agreed with his Vietnam policies. By endorsing McGovern's call for an immediate end to the Vietnam War, Harrington set himself in opposition to sections of the U.S. labor establishment, and to many of his socialist colleagues.
The SPDSF voted 72 to 34 to rename itself Social Democrats, USA. The rename was meant to be "politically realistic". The New York Times observed that the Socialist Party of America had last sponsored a U.S. presidential candidate, Darlington Hoopes, back in 1956, and he received only 2,121 votes cast in just six states. Because SPA had ceased sponsoring candidates, the name "Party" was misleading, according to the convention's majority report, because it hindered the recruiting of Democratic Party activists. The name "Socialist" was replaced by "Social Democrats" since many Americans associated socialism with Soviet Communism. SDUSA also wished to differentiate itself from two small Marxist parties, the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist [Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor Party]. Harrington said he was "very saddened" by the name change:
During the convention, the majority won every vote by a ratio of roughly two to one. The convention elected a national committee of 33 members, with 22 seats for the Unity Caucus, eight seats for Harrington's Coalition Caucus, two for a Debs Caucus, and one for the independent Samuel H. Friedman. All of the minority caucuses as well as Friedman opposed the name change.
The convention adopted program proposals in various areas. On foreign policy, it demanded "firmness toward Communist aggression". It opposed closer relations with the Castro government in Cuba. On the Vietnam War, the convention opposed "any efforts to bomb Hanoi into submission" and instead advocated a negotiated peace agreement, which should protect Communist political cadres in South Vietnam from further military or police reprisals. Harrington's proposal for a ceasefire and a withdrawal from Vietnam by a specified date was defeated.
Formation of DSOC
Several months after the convention, Harrington ended his membership in SDUSA. He and his supporters from the Coalition Caucus soon formed DSOC. Many Debs Caucus members also resigned from SDUSA and formed the Socialist Party USA.Despite opposing the SPDSF majority, Harrington acknowledged the validity of its members' concerns:
Harrington's Coalition Caucus sought to expand the earlier New Politics movement in the Democratic Party into a viable left-wing pressure-group, advancing an avowed socialist agenda and attempting to win support for the agenda among Democratic officeholders. Harrington led members from his caucus as well as from his other political and social networks to establish DSOC in 1973. He later referred to his small initial DSOC cadre as "the defeated remnant of an already defeated remnant".
When recounting the history of the democratic left movement in the U.S., DSA President Joseph M. Schwartz wrote:
Harrington defended his decision to build a democratic left movement by recruiting "peaceniks" over trade unionists:
DSOC founding convention
The June 1973 issue of Newsletter of the Democratic Left announced that a "new, nationwide socialist organization" will be launched at DSOC's founding convention on October 12, 1973 in New York City. Membership dues were solicited, with rates of $3.50 for students and $7.00 for regular membership accepted until January 1, 1974.The convention was to be a three-day affair at the Eisner and Lubin Auditorium of New York University. The convention was not composed of elected delegates, but instead was open to the public, with about 500 people in attendance. The keynote speaker chosen for the occasion was David Lewis, one of the architects of the New Democratic Party, the social-democratic parliamentary opposition party of Canada.
On the convention's second day on October 13, the proceedings moved to the McAlpin Hotel, located at the corner of Broadway and 34th Street in New York City, and began in earnest. Harrington delivered an address to the gathering. Among the statements he made at the convention were, "It is time for the democratic Left to close the books on the differences of the 1960s", and "We must go where the people are, which is the liberal wing of the Democratic Party".
The attendees next broke up into small workshops, focusing on subjects such as "unions", "feminism", "racial equality", "Democratic Party", and "equality" and "detente". The workshop chairs were appointed in advance and included Michael Walzer, Bogdan Denitch, Christopher Lasch and others. A panel discussion on "Socialism and the Welfare State" was also held, featuring Harrington's close political associate, the historian and magazine editor Irving Howe, who would become one of DSOC's prominent members.
The final day of the convention saw the election of a governing National Board and ratification of a DSOC constitution.
Membership size and structure
When Harrington broke away and formed DSOC, he took an estimated 200 SDUSA members with him. Counting the additional people recruited from other places, DSOC started with 840 members. The Committee's first paid staffer was Jack Clark, a 23-year-old from Boston who received $50 a month and use of a spare bed in the home of Debbie Meier, herself a second generation socialist and important figure in DSOC's inner circle. Her home served as the group's base of operations up until the October 1973 convention, at which time DSOC rented a tiny basement office.Joining the Socialist International
In autumn of 1976, Harrington and Clark were the sole DSOC representatives to attend the Geneva Congress of the Socialist International. As Harrington describes it, he lobbied privately for several days to have DSOC admitted to the SI. Near the end of the Congress, he gave a five-minute speech to the governing board on DSOC's efforts to build "a mainstream American Left". Afterwards, Being a consultative member meant that DSOC representatives would have a voice but no vote at future SI Congresses. Then, two years later, DSOC was admitted as a full member.Publications
The publication that would become the official organ of DSOC was initially an eight-page letter-sized monthly called Newsletter of the Democratic Left. The first issue appeared in March 1973 under the editorship of Michael Harrington. He had prior experience working on SPA's weekly newspaper, New America, with Jack Clark as his Managing Editor. A front-page essay by Harrington in the debut issue, entitled "The New Shape of Our Politics", made nary a mention of the bitter factional fight that preceded DSOC's formation:Democratic Left continues today as the publication of the Democratic Socialists of America. DSOC also published a number of discussion bulletins and pamphlets, containing typewritten content submitted by its members about various issues of concern.
Ideology and strategy
DSOC presented itself as an explicitly socialist organization. In electoral politics, it worked within the Democratic Party, where it aimed to broaden the base of support for "democratic-left" ideas. In Harrington's view, the task facing his organization was "to build a new American majority for social change". He often used the phrases "the left wing of the possible" and "the left wing of realism". While acknowledging the importance of trade unions, Harrington said unions alone were not sufficient to win political power. Instead he argued that a democratic socialist coalition must unite with "college-educated and issue-oriented" activists in the Democratic Party:DSOC proposed winning power through the tactic of "realignment", i.e., uniting forces within the Democratic Party on a democratic socialist platform. DSOC members ran for political office, but almost always within the Democratic Party. In addition, DSOC promoted the individual efforts of its dues payers and supporters, many of whom were active in labor unions or other political organizations. A few Committee members, e.g., California Rep. Ron Dellums and New York City Council member Ruth Messinger, won elected office. DSOC had public support from union leaders such as Victor Reuther of the United Auto Workers, William W. Winpisinger of the International Association of Machinists, and various officials of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.
Democratic Socialists of America
DSOC ceased to exist in 1982 when it merged with the New American Movement to form the Democratic Socialists of America.Discussions with representatives of NAM, a successor to Students for a Democratic Society, had begun as early as 1977. The merger was favored by DSOC's left-wing, led by historian Jim Chapin, which sought to bring into the Committee many former participants in the 1960s New Left who were in search of a new political home. DSOC formally endorsed the idea of merging with NAM at its 1979 Houston convention.
However, the merger proposal did generate vocal opposition. Forces on DSOC's right wing, led by Irving Howe and calling themselves the Committee Against the NAM Merger, urged that instead of courting New Left survivors, DSOC should emphasize outreach to larger forces in the labor movement. Besides sharing NAM's distrust of the Democratic Party, many CATNAM adherents had misgivings about NAM's position toward Israel. DSOC maintained a belief in a two-state solution that guaranteed Israel's continued existence, while NAM members tended to view the Palestine Liberation Organization as engaged in an anti-colonial liberation struggle. Ultimately, a careful statement was worked out on the Middle East based on a two-state solution, and merger talks moved forward.
The 1981 DSOC National Convention was marked by more heated debate on the question of uniting with NAM. It was resolved by a vote of approximately 80% of the delegates in favor and none against; the other 20%, who supported the CATNAM position, abstained from voting. Harrington later noted: "Our opponents wanted to indicate they were unhappy — and that they were staying".
The Unity Convention, held in Detroit in 1982, joined NAM and DSOC, thereby establishing the DSA. The gathering was addressed by George Crockett, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus in the United States [House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]. Harrington delivered the keynote address. The DSA organization claimed a membership of 6,000 at the time of its formation, with nearly 5,000 coming from DSOC.