First off, FDR’s New Deal was notorious for excluding non-white folks, and even gave rise to the racist practice of redlining. As such, this name would be a total non-starter in DSA circles.
But yes, I have also wondered whether a different name would be better at attracting new adherents to the cause. My thought was perhaps ‘Social Democrats’, since 1) most DSA electeds platform on soc dem policies, and 2) it would avoid the scary ‘s’ word altogether.
However, I raised this in an online discussion with a DSA member the other day and he said that social democracy is basically the foundation that the future transition to socialism builds off from. So it wouldn’t make sense to call themselves something else because a socialist replacement of capitalism through democratic means remains their ultimate goal.
First off, FDR’s New Deal was notorious for excluding non-white folks, and even gave rise to the racist practice of redlining. As such, this name would be a total non-starter in DSA circles.
But yes, I have also wondered whether a different name would be better at attracting new adherents to the cause. My thought was perhaps ‘Social Democrats’, since 1) most DSA electeds platform on soc dem policies, and 2) it would avoid the scary ‘s’ word altogether.
However, I raised this in an online discussion with a DSA member the other day and he said that social democracy is basically the foundation that the future transition to socialism builds off from. So it wouldn’t make sense to call themselves something else because a socialist replacement of capitalism through democratic means remains their ultimate goal.