this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
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Whenever I come across one of these lemmy.ml posts where this general topic of leftists shitting on western libs comes up, it always makes me curious.
I understand what y'all hate. I regularly hear what doesn't work (voting). But I never hear a concise, specific, tactical thing that I as an individual could do.
Sometimes I'll see very generic notes about how "nothing's ever going to change until a unified, violent, upheaval happens", but that's about the closest I've ever seen.
So please. Indulge me. I'm a US lefty lib. What should I be doing if I want to help leftist causes (pro-labor / break up corporations / etc).
Because I swear to gods. According to folks here:
What then? I hate the current trajectory of my country and feel helpless to change anything with the tools I have at hand. Give me one practical thing I can do to help unfuck this mess.
(And to the FBI listening in. I'd never do anything illegal based on advice of Internet strangers. I just wanna hear them say, out loud, what I think they really want to say)
Join an org like PSL. Organizing is step number 1, reading theory is arguably step number 2. The working class's greatest strength is in unified action, so joining a good socialist party, one that is revolutionary but still connected to the people, is the primary task. Revolution isn't something you just do, though, the working class party has to be seen by the working class as their party, which is accomplished by genuinely working to improve their lives. When revolution happens, it's the party's job to lead, forming the tip of the spear.
Iβm a member of DSA, and they have a far better strategy than trying to rally around a third-party. Itβs all about the Democratic primaries.
No, the DSA doesn't have a better strategy. PSL gets more done per member, and actually has the cohesion to get things done. PSL is at the forefront of the ongoing protests against Trump, Israel, etc right now.
Maybe if Red Star Caucus became the only caucus in the DSA, they'd finally develop the cohesion necessary to wield its size properly. It's certainly better to join an org than not, but if there's both a PSL chapter and DSA in your area, you'd be far better off with PSL.
PSL's primary advantage is that it's a revolutionary party that doesn't shy away from participating in elections. It isn't focused on electoralism as the only strategy. The Democrats are a party of capital, they cannot be truly taken over.