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On a recent September evening, 76 comrades of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America joined together to discuss society’s travails, like the disproportionate harm natural disasters cause poor communities, public-education funding shortages, and access to health care. One answer prevailed throughout the evening as the cause for these problems: capitalism. And, if you ask DSA members, all of these problems have one solution: a new American form of socialism.
“I joined because capitalism has basically ruined my life since I was born,” says DSA member and Shadyside resident Marlene Noble, who was born in Haiti, but moved to the U.S. at age 3.
After Hurricane Gordon struck in 1994, 89,000 Haitians were displaced, and Noble’s family was too poor to fully recover. Noble was placed with Catholic Charities and eventually adopted by American parents in Pittsburgh. She has had chronic back problems that have required multiple surgeries, and worries her health care will be stripped. She says, as an immigrant and a black woman, she has little faith in capitalism to help her.
She joined Pittsburgh’s DSA in August and is part of a growing cohort flocking to the political group that was formed in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election.
The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the U.S. They advocate for “democratic socialism,” which emphasizes that all people have a voice in important aspects of their lives, such as government, workplace and economy. It also seeks to weaken the power of corporations and increase the power of working people.
Nationally, the DSA saw its numbers triple to about 25,000 from 2016 to 2017, likely helped along by former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who champions many socialist policies, like universal health care and free college. Pittsburgh’s DSA co-chair Adam Shuck says the group started with seven people in November 2016 and currently has about 350 dues-paying members.
Pittsburgh’s DSA, while growing, is still young and small compared to other left-leaning Pittsburgh political groups. For example, Pittsburgh DSA has a steering committee of 11 elected members, while DJ Ryan, of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, says the Democrats have about 2,600 elected committee members.
Regardless, the DSA already has endorsed candidates and members running for elected positions and is campaigning for policies like universal health care. But the group might run into obstacles, since the region’s perception of socialism isn’t stellar and the structure of Pittsburgh’s economy isn’t quite ready for a big socialist push. But the DSA believes a push toward democratic socialism can help Pittsburghers and to help spread the wealth evenly across the region.
The “red scare” of post-WWII America led to the labeling of many pro-working-rights Americans as communists. Over the decades, some socialism-like programs, including Social Security, public transportation and public housing, have received support, but both the Democratic and Republican parties have shied away from the word. The recent presidential campaign of Sanders, who calls himself a “democratic socialist,” and his subsequent popularity have changed things.
Pittsburgh DSA co-chairs Shuck and Arielle Cohen say their group isn’t advocating for the type of totalitarian socialism often associated with the Soviet Union. Cohen says, “The goal is to have more democratic and just practices in every aspect of our lives, our workplaces, our schools, our communities. We believe the more participation, the more radical democracy. Not just to redistribute wealth, but to redistribute power.”
Cohen says the DSA is fighting for things like fair wages, equal access to health care and the possibility of free higher education.
Politically in Southwestern Pennsylvania, support for democratic socialism is scattered, but Cohen believes socialism, and the programs it champions, are growing in popularity. According to a June Pew Research poll, 33 percent of Americans favor a “single payer” approach to health insurance, compared to only 21 percent of the public in 2014.
“I think the demands of democratic socialism are popular,” says Cohen. “Democratic socialists are not scared of these words, and I think people increasingly are not afraid of these words.”
A January 2016 Harper poll shows that 38 percent of Pennsylvanians favor socialism, compared to 35 percent who oppose it. This same poll shows 57 percent of Pennsylvanians favor capitalism, compared to 29 percent who oppose it.
Pennsylvania political pollster G. Terry Madonna believes Southwestern Pennsylvanians are not totally opposed to socialistic, government-intervention programs, citing their support, ironically, for Trump.
“The blue-collar areas that surround Allegheny County, these blue-collar workers essentially elected Trump,” says Madonna. “They voted for a guy who articulated government intervening in bringing back coal jobs. Having government intervene to help is something they favor.”
But Madonna notes many areas in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Allegheny County, are “socially conservative” and this might be a deterrent in getting voters to back the DSA and its endorsed candidates. DSA strongly supports reproductive rights, prison abolition, disability rights and the Black Lives Matter movement. It also has been a strong presence in supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and other immigrant-rights protections.
But Shuck still sees some openings for a rise in socialism’s popularity in Pittsburgh. He notes the Community Land Trust in Lawrenceville — an affordable-housing program where a nonprofit ensures low-income purchasers can buy homes — is a form of socialism. The DSA also supports Pittsburgh City Council’s push to raise the realty-transfer tax. Shuck says the tax will fall mostly on wealthy developers, not middle-income home buyers. He believes things like housing, food and health care, should be human rights, not commodities to purchase.
“And we have the capacity to provide this for everyone, but the reason we are not doing it right now is because of political will,” says Shuck.
The U.S. has the highest Gross Domestic Product of any nation in the world, at about $18 trillion, but according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the U.S. has the fourth most unequal economy of developed nations.
The widening gap of inequality appears to be playing out in Pittsburgh, too. According to the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C. think tank, Pittsburgh saw a 13 percent increase in Gross Metropolitan Product from 2010-2015, which was above the national average. But the region only had a 3 percent increase in jobs, well below the national average. According to a 2016 report from news organization Bloomberg, of cities with populations over 250,000, Pittsburgh was the ninth most unequal city in the country.
But converting Pittsburgh to a more socialistic system may not be all that easy. Bruce Katz, an economist with Brookings, recently co-wrote a report on Pittsburgh’s new economic emergence as a tech and health-care hub, where he acknowledged the need for more broad-based growth. The report recommended training programs be established at community colleges, nonprofits and businesses to prepare blue-collar workers for the jobs emerging in advanced manufacturing fields.
“What is realistic right now?” says Katz, in an interview with City Paper. “With Donald Trump as president and a divided government in Harrisburg, big government interventions seem difficult.”
But Katz’s recommendations aren’t that different from what DSA is initially proposing. Katz says local governments like Pittsburgh should model themselves after governments in northern Europe, which have excelled at capturing the wealth of public goods, like selling of public land, and using those profits to invest in public services. This model also relies heavily on strong labor unions, which Pittsburgh DSA are already supporting, and working to help unions grow.
The biggest differences between what Katz is proposing and DSA’s goals are long term. Northern Europeans support utilizing capitalism to benefit workers and create welfare. Cohen and Shuck want this too, initially, but eventually they want to do away with capitalism entirely.
Shuck says this is possible. By getting endorsed candidates running at the local level, he says DSA can build a grassroots movement to push the politics of the region to the left. This year, DSA member Anita Prizio is running for Allegheny County Council as a Democrat and independent candidate Mik Pappas is running for magisterial judge. Both have been endorsed by the Pittsburgh DSA for their “progressive” and “radical” policies.
Cohen says Pittsburgh’s DSA is a “big tent” organization, and there are many different roles for potential members, including electoral politics, education advocacy, socialist feminism and even just helping to make memes. She rejects the notion that Pittsburgh is too moderate or conservative to embrace socialism, and notes the robust history of labor organizing in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“If people look into their family trees,” says Cohen, “they might realize they have been a socialist all along.”
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2017.
I’m from Pittsburgh, been away for a while, but these people are so embarrassing. Does the Libertarian Party even exist there? If so, where are they and why aren’t they active and vocal ? Where is the countermovement?
Uh? note to Ms. Noble. Shadyside is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. You were adopted by affluent old types suffering from white guilt because they inherited their money and hate themselves because they never had to work for anything in their life. Instead they live in the alternative world of academia and pontificate what about everything wrong with the US. You are just a token black kid adopted to show off their esteemed elegance to their arts and croissant friends there in Shady Side.
Another note to Ms. Noble. You are here because Haiti IS a socialist country, not a capitalist one like we in the US, you moron
These two fell out of their family trees onto their heads.
Eh, yinz should go to Venezuela, didn’t Bernie Sanders use it as his Nirvana?
Capitalism in the United States has allowed us to feed the World and remove despots like Hitler, Gaddaffi, and Saddam Hussein. Capitalism hasn’t ruined one person’s life except of course for those lazy souls who want OTHERS to pay for their life without lifting a fingah or contributing.
Socialism has failed everywhere it’s been tried because of course eventually you run out of other people’s money.
Capitalism saved her life, IMO.
I don’t begrudge people who are US citizens and are trying to repackage socialism as if we have no record of its success or failure in human history.
I would listen to a person who repatriated to an existing socialist country and paid their dues for at least 3 to 5 years and then came back telling me that capitalism has no merit.
We don’t have that now. We just have people who want to “give it a try”. Every generation has dropouts. It’s OK, but first you must have a deep understanding of why the USA has the highest standard of living worldwide and has it because of our system.
It is far from perfect but it leads the world and no other country is close. Travel around and see for yourself. For example, we need to work healthcare into the price of everything we buy and consume. Americans will not stop buying and consuming but it may slow down if prices rise. It may take a generation, but good people will still choose healthcare service as a vocation no matter the compensation. It bears itself out in countries like Taiwan and Singapore.
The USA economy is the engine that drives the world. Right now good Americans are sending money to Mexico City for earthquake relief. They probably have already given a few dollars for hurricane relief right here in America. We always have and we always will. In all my reading and research I cannot find the “Give to save Venezuelan socialism website.”
I also agree that college cost must be addressed. Let’s try “capitalism light” before we try any kind of socialism. We can debate that in a civil way for sure. Otherwise the “engine” will stop running.
NO NO NO and HEll NO!
A “new American form of socialism”? Or how about a “new” American form of capitalism? Might be easier to get by the knuckle draggers, and if it gets the job done…
Democratic socialism, is a form of capitalism, a very successful form. It essentially let you pick the best programs from socialism and capitalism into one system.
But by repeatedly referring to it as simply socialism, which is a different structure and ideal, the article becomes confusing and gains a a Sinister undertone. After all most people think socialists are Marxist communist .
I’m kind of glad to see the article because Democratic socialism’s ideals of citizens rights over businesses interest is something that we need these days. But please don’t try to spin it into something strange and controversial by leaving out one word.
here is a good example: child sat and watched the kids play. The child molester sat and watched the kids play.
That one word changes the meaning so much.
So Democratic socialism isn’t going to take over the companies and make everybody’s lives miserable like it hasn’t every country is tried socialism. Think of it more as the system of social safety nets in every European country
Article is confusing. Democratic socialism is capitalism. Our system currently has several Democratic Socialist ideals. all the safety net programs like Medicare and chip and unemployment are Democratic Socialist ideas.
You can’t refer to this as socialism. The United States is one of the purest capitalist Nations on the planet. Most other countries are firmly in the Democratic Socialist sect.
In truth most of the ideals of democratic socialism improve capitalism. A healthy happy and educated Workforce produces more wealth.
This article seems to want to taint simple ideas like people having Health Care into something more sinister.
We really need to change the name of democratic socialism to something else.
Our country is strong and successful because of Capitalism, not because of democracy.
Said like someone who’s never actually lived in Shadyside, @Thomas Jesse. Some parts are nice but there are still cheap digs there. All you have to do is look up rentals on Craigslist. The cheapest 1br apartments in Shadyside go for around $700/month. If we’re to assume that’s 1/3rd of monthly income that means you’d have to make $13/hour to afford it. That’s pretty doable when the largest employer in the city pays $15/hour as a min wage. The place your thinking of where the rent floor is through the roof is Lawrenceville. You’re lucky if you get a garden shed there for that kind of money. Also, where are you getting all this information from about her parents and such, do you know her?
Finally, Haiti isn’t socialist, that’s absurd. They’ve never had a serious socialist government in their entire history. They came very close with Aristide but that was totally ruined by the Bush Administration when they led a coup against him, Haiti’s first democratic leader and a social democrat.