2026-07-29T08:00:25.570Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
如今是美国的社会主义之夏，一些进步人士呼吁革命，而共和党则在推动现代版“红色恐慌”。
民主党正应对左翼阵营中民主社会主义者的崛起，而共和党正忙着不准确地将民主党妖魔化为共产主义者。
纽约市市长、民主党人、民主社会主义者佐赫兰·曼达尼正面带笑容开设几家市属杂货店，并对富人的第二套住房征税。但他在兑现公共巴士免费的承诺时遇到了更多麻烦。
此前曾表达过支持废除警察制度的民主社会主义者弗朗西斯卡·洪，是威斯康星州州长民主党候选人的热门人选。8月11日的初选将是一场关键考验，关乎民主社会主义能否在中西部腹地获得认可。
与洪不同，进步民主党人（但并非民主社会主义者）阿卜杜勒·埃尔赛义德正在密歇根州参加8月4日的民主党参议院初选。据CNN的“K文件”栏目报道，他曾试图删除并回避自己此前与不受欢迎的观点（比如废除警察经费）相关的过往表态。
民主党中更传统的建制派愈发恐慌，警告称“社会主义”标签会让整个民主党在11月的选举中陷入拖累。
“这是一场至关重要的选举，我们本可以将唐纳德·特朗普彻底击败，但我们不能因美国民主社会主义者（DSA）的转移注意力策略而冒险，”前芝加哥市长、白宫幕僚长、CNN政治评论员拉姆·伊曼纽尔周一告诉CNN的卡西·亨特。
DSA是近年来进步派阵营中试图将民主党推向左翼的主要团体之一。曼达尼是该组织成员，但佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯并非成员，尽管他启发了DSA。洪在周二威斯康星州的一场辩论中表示，她并不支持DSA的完整纲领。但她称民主社会主义“是一种将工人阶级放在首位的政府形式”。周二，她的竞选团队在X平台上发布了一段清晰表明她不支持DSA纲领的评论视频。
要了解该团体的政治立场，可以看看其全国委员会在2024年撤销了对众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科特兹的背书，原因是她对美国支持以色列的反对不够坚决。最近，该团体考虑背书奥卡西奥-科特兹参加2028年总统选举，尽管她目前并未参选。
共和党希望将公众注意力从总统唐纳德·特朗普糟糕的支持率上转移，他们明确表示，其战略是将整个民主党抹黑为共产主义者——这一说法再次是错误的。
特朗普在最近密歇根州的一场活动中，13次使用了“共产主义者”或“共产主义”一词。
“共产主义是我国历史上最大的威胁，甚至比第一次世界大战、第二次世界大战、珍珠港事件或9·11事件都要严重，”他说道。对于几十年前在CNN上观看柏林墙倒塌的众多美国人而言，这一论调可能会让他们感到意外。
其中许多美国人同样会对民主社会主义者设想的建立无阶级乌托邦的激进变革感到惊讶。
DSA有自己的纲领，或称“计划”。当DSA联合主席梅根·罗默本周亮相《福克斯新闻周日》节目时，她证实，没错，DSA确实支持一些可能令美国温和派中产感到震惊的主张。
废除参议院？
废除监狱和移民海关执法局（ICE）？
用新的政府形式取代总统制和最高法院？
没错，他们最终支持所有这些主张，她说道。
但曼达尼这位如今并未试图废除警察部门的纽约市市长，在被问及同样的问题时则远没有那么明确。今年6月，当美国广播公司新闻的乔纳森·卡尔追问他是否希望废除监狱时，曼达尼相当回避。以下是部分对话内容：
因此，当被问及监狱问题时，这位成功的政客曼达尼转而谈起了安全。当《纽约时报》记者问他究竟什么样的人算是工人阶级时，他给出了同样模糊的回答。当被问及在纽约年收入100万美元的人是否属于工人阶级时，他没有给出明确答案。
因此，尽管DSA显然并不代表大部分民主党候选人，甚至也不一定代表美国在职的少数民主社会主义政治家，但我们还是有必要了解一下DSA的愿景。民主党如果想要组建政府联盟，就需要利用一些进步派的热情。
DSA的纲领围绕16项明确主张展开，没有一项包含具体计划，也没有一项在当前政治环境下看起来能够立即实现。该组织承认，其中一些主张需要进行激进变革。以下是这16项要点，以及每项要点的相关背景：
繁荣自由
扩大公共资源，支持面向所有人的娱乐、学习和社交空间。为所有劳动者建立带薪家庭假，实行32小时工作制且保留全额薪酬和福利，并设定生活工资。提供从学前教育到大学的免费优质公共教育，并取消所有学生债务。
这听起来很棒！但这需要投入巨大，就像该纲领中的所有内容一样，实现起来将非常困难。首先，教育主要由各州监管。多年来，民主党一直试图扩大学前教育和大学教育的准入机会，并在一些地区进行了试点。但向全民学前教育的提议从拜登政府时期的《通胀削减法案》中被删除，因为无法在民主党内部获得50票支持。
美国联邦最低工资7.25美元自2009年以来从未上调，该标准是民主党在2006年选举后拿下参众两院多数席位后启动的三步加薪计划的最终结果。此后多年，许多州上调了本州的最低工资。有提议将联邦最低工资上调至25美元，但如果民主党不拿下国会多数席位，甚至同时掌控白宫，这些提议似乎不太可能有进展。上一次联邦最低工资上调是由共和党总统乔治·W·布什签署生效的，尽管他对此并不满意。
最近，民主党未能在国会通过学生债务减免法案，而总统乔·拜登通过白宫推动债务减免的努力也在法庭上遭遇阻碍。减免学生债务将耗资巨大；美国联邦学生债务总额超过1.7万亿美元，涉及4200多万借款人。
一些企业和国家正在试点四天工作制，但仍属少数。1938年通过的来之不易的《公平劳动标准法》要求部分劳动者支付加班费，但目前美国并未设定每周工作时长上限。没有其他国家采用32小时工作制。不过，临时万亿富翁埃隆·马斯克曾猜测，人工智能可能会让劳动者变得多余，并暗示这可能会催生全民基本收入。
全民医疗
保障全民无需个人付费即可获得医疗保健，包括完全获得生殖和性别确认护理服务。通过投资新建公立医院和诊所，扩大医疗保健的可及性并提升质量。将所有医学教育和培训转为公立且免费。
这一愿景比“全民医保”更进一步，而“全民医保”多年来一直是进步人士未能实现的目标。大多数医保参保者需支付每月202.90美元的保险保费，外加根据服务项目而定的自付费用或共付额。大多数美国人仍通过工作单位获得医疗保险，尽管通过《平价医疗法案》扩大了医保覆盖范围，但仍有近10%的美国人，即超过2500万人没有医保，据KFF（原凯泽家庭基金会）数据显示。随着特朗普政府时期共和党通过的削减 Medicaid（医疗补助计划）开支的法案在未来几年生效，这一数字还会增加。这些削减是为了给减税政策筹集资金，这也说明了为何资助医保项目如此困难，尤其是在美国，医疗成本比其他国家都高。
像英国和加拿大这样拥有完善公共医保体系且无需在就医时付费的国家，通过更高的税收负担来为这些体系筹资。加拿大许多人还会选择补充私人保险，这种做法在英国也越来越普遍。
特朗普在2024年竞选总统期间，曾部分以攻击民主党对性别确认护理的支持作为竞选议题，且在执政期间仿佛跨性别群体并不存在。美国多个州已限制为年轻人提供性别确认护理。
全民住房
住房是一项人权。新建公共所有的社会住房，严格监管投资性房产，建立全民租金管制，并保障所有租户获得法律咨询的权利。
这一主张代表了美国梦的转变，长期以来美国梦一直侧重于拥有自有住房而非租房。但经济适用房短缺是两党都认可的问题。国会最近通过了一项两党支持的法案，以鼓励新建住房并限制机构投资者购买房产。据CNN报道，该法案若能与地方 zoning（区划）法规的改革相结合，将取得最大成效。这种两党合作的方式与该纲领中完全脱离市场的公共所有社会住房理念相去甚远。
完成重建
终结奴隶制和殖民主义的遗留问题。强化反歧视法律。尊重所有条约和部落主权。通过赔偿，并对被忽视的少数族裔社区的优质工作岗位、优质住房和基础设施进行大规模投资。
“重建”指的是内战战后本应重建国家和南方各州的时期。这一话题最近引起了很多人的关注。前总统巴拉克·奥巴马今年出席了一档名为《重建：未竟的承诺》的播客系列节目。
但解决不平等和种族问题可能困难且收效短暂。特朗普政府的一大目标就是彻底取消所有联邦多元化举措。在首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨领导下的最高法院，实际上已经削弱了民权时代的《选举权法案》。要阻止当前纠正历史错误的努力出现倒退，需要一场政治运动。
结束大规模监禁和警察豁免权
非军事化警察部门，削弱警察工会的权力，并将资金转向公共服务，作为彻底废除保护富人、监禁穷人的警察和监狱系统的步骤。将吸毒成瘾和精神疾病视为健康问题而非犯罪。终止合格豁免权，并赋予平民监督机构对警察的真正监管权力。
警务工作主要由州和地方层面监管。值得注意的是，曼达尼在担任市长的最初几个月里，并未立即试图废除纽约警察局或关闭雷克岛监狱。事实上，他此前曾支持增加纽约警察局的警员数量。放弃这一DSA的主张遭到了该组织纽约分会的公开谴责，曼达尼最终也放弃了增员计划。
全民女权主义
社会主义女权主义为酷儿解放和所有工人阶级女性的自由而斗争。制止基于性别的暴力，终结压制人身自主权和私人生活的政策，包括对堕胎、分娩和育儿、性别表达和变性、婚姻和离婚的父权制限制。禁止性别歧视，并确保所有劳动形式（包括护理工作）获得公平薪酬和支持。
基于性别的歧视在联邦法律中是非法的。进一步的举措需要通过相关法案，而这需要政治动力。另一条途径是选举出更支持这些理念的总统。下一届总统选举定于2028年举行。
绿色新政
劳动者必须引领我们向绿色未来的民主转型。通过联邦就业保障计划。大规模投资可持续的、公共所有的能源和交通基础设施。逐步淘汰化石燃料的使用。为所有人回收和修复地球资源。
拜登政府期间的民主党通过了被视为美国向绿色经济转型的最广泛举措。特朗普政府时期的共和党取消了该法案中的大部分内容。
终结美国战争机器
削减国防部预算。结束所有对外战争并关闭海外军事基地。支持并充分安置退伍军人。终止美国战争罪犯的豁免权，并支持国际刑事法院（ICC）起诉战争罪的授权。
具有讽刺意味的是，特朗普在2024年总统竞选期间曾承诺结束永久战争。美国并非ICC成员国，事实上，国务卿马尔科·卢比奥正积极试图解散该法院。
解放巴勒斯坦
承认巴勒斯坦人民的权利，包括返回权、抵抗军事占领的权利以及在以耶路撒冷为首都的自由巴勒斯坦实现自决的权利。终止对以色列的所有军事和经济援助。起诉应对加沙种族灭绝负责的美国和以色列领导人。
近年来，围绕以色列及其对待加沙和约旦河西岸巴勒斯坦人的政策的分歧，一直是美国政治中的重大议题，不仅在左翼，在右翼也日益凸显。但这种分歧在左翼最为明显。今年早些时候，100多名民主党议员投票反对向以色列提供援助，支持一名共和党议员提出的修正案。如果民主党掌控众议院，这一问题将持续发酵。该纲领中的其他内容，如起诉美国领导人或实现巴勒斯坦建国，看起来则更加遥不可及。
结束封锁、禁运和制裁
世界各地的人民都应在不受美国干涉的情况下生活。结束对那些政府独立于美国的国家的经济战，例如古巴、委内瑞拉和伊朗。
特朗普政府以新颖的方式实施了封锁。对伊朗油轮运输的封锁并未结束伊朗对霍尔木兹海峡的控制。美国对古巴的石油封锁实际上让该国陷入了黑暗。这是一种有争议的权力运用方式。两党政客经常使用制裁来影响其他国家的外交政策。
废除ICE
终止移民海关执法局的拘留和驱逐行动，并惩罚联邦探员的暴行。实现移民合法化，为所有身份的移民提供大赦，为所有永久居民提供入籍途径，并取消签证限额和配额。
今年的民调显示，约有一半的美国人反对废除ICE。这一想法在民主党人中更受欢迎。大赦和开放边境则更不受欢迎。为永久居民提供入籍途径是乔治·W·布什和巴拉克·奥巴马执政期间全面移民改革的主要目标，但这些提案未能在国会通过。
全民民主
为所有美国永久居民扩大完整的投票权，并恢复被监禁者和有刑事定罪记录者的投票权。确立华盛顿哥伦比亚特区的州地位，并承认所有美国领土和殖民地的自决权。扩大和保护投票权，终结选民压制。
美国任何时候都有超过100万人处于联邦或州立监狱中。其中约15万人在联邦监狱服刑。根据美国全国州议会会议的数据，大多数州会在刑满释放后恢复重刑犯的投票权。其他州则在刑期结束后恢复投票权。缅因州、佛蒙特州和哥伦比亚特区从未剥夺重刑犯的投票权。
真正的民主
要让工人阶级执政，我们需要一个新的政治体系。终结政治腐败和合法贿赂：摆脱说客、暗箱资金和“联合公民案”判决，为所有选举提供公共资金。废除选举人团制度。用由国会选举产生并从属国会的行政和司法机构取代总统制和最高法院。
要实现其中大部分目标，你可能需要召开新的制宪会议。这看起来极不可能。但这一愿景听起来与英国的议会制政府颇为相似，英国近年来一直无法稳定首相职位，10年来已经换了7位领导人。
民主国会
用多党民主取代两党制。扩大众议院规模，在所有选举中实行比例代表制和排名选择投票制，并废除参议院。
众议院规模较小以及小州在参议院的影响力，长期以来一直令许多美国人感到不满。但要废除参议院，你必须修改宪法。几十年来都没有通过过宪法修正案，上一次有意义的修正案更是在50多年前通过的。自1913年第17条修正案批准以来，参议员已由全国直选产生。比废除参议院更有可能的是废除参议院的阻挠议事规则，特朗普和参议院民主党人曾在不同时期支持过这一做法。
经济民主**
对最大型企业和关键行业实行公共所有权，以确保民主管控和对人民的问责。对最富有的个人和企业征收激进的财富税，将收入用于公共产品和基础设施建设。
这是一种非常反资本主义的世界观。桑德斯曾提议，美国对人工智能公司的存量资产征收50%的一次性税，以夺取其一半价值，并确保这些资金通过主权财富基金返还给公民。他的论点是，人工智能模型的开发是在未经创作者同意的情况下使用了互联网上的内容。
特朗普也以前所未有的方式，寻求美国在私人公司中持有股份。民主党近年来一直在频繁讨论财富税，但并非所有人都支持。对于那些将斯堪的纳维亚国家作为社会主义样板的社会主义者而言，一个严峻的现实是，这些国家拥有更广泛的税基，通过增值税和对较不富裕人群征收更多税款来为福利项目筹资。
工作场所的民主
赋予劳动者团结起来对抗雇主的权力。保护、扩大并执行所有劳动者组建、加入工会并罢工的权利，无论所在行业为何。支持组织改革核心小组、使工会民主化并开展政治行动的工会成员。
这将需要美国人在行为和工作方式上做出另一次转变。根据皮尤研究中心的数据，2024年美国工会会员比例不到10%，低于1983年的20%以上。超过一半的州通过了使组织工会更加困难的法律，许多企业也对工会持敌对态度。
https://www.cnn.com/
Trump wants a new Red Scare. Here’s what democratic socialists want
2026-07-29T08:00:25.570Z / CNN
It’s the summer of socialism in the US, with some progressives calling for revolution and Republicans pushing a modern-day Red Scare.
Democrats are contending with the ascendance of democratic socialists in their left flank and Republicans are busy demonizing Democrats, inaccurately, as communists.
New York City’s mayor, the Democrat and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, is opening a few city-run grocery stores and taxing the second homes of the wealthy with a beaming smile on his face. He’s had more trouble delivering on a promise to make public buses free.
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong, who has previously expressed support for the concept of abolishing police, is a leading contender to be the Democratic candidate for governor in Wisconsin. The August 11 primary will be a key test of whether democratic socialism can be sold in the heartland.
Unlike Hong, the progressive Democrat (but not democratic socialist) Abdul El-Sayed, who is running in the August 4 Democratic Senate primary in Michigan, has tried to delete and move on from his previous involvement with unpopular ideas such as defunding the police, as CNN’s KFile reported.
The more establishment wing of the Democratic Party is getting increasingly frantic in warning that the socialism badge will be a drag for the whole party in November.
“This is a consequential election where we could put a checkmate on Donald Trump and we cannot risk it with diversions from the Democratic Socialists of America,” the CNN political commentator Rahm Emanuel, a former Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff, told CNN’s Kasie Hunt on Monday.
DSA is one of the leading groups in the progressive ecosystem that has tried to pull Democrats to the left in recent years. Mamdani is a member, but Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is not, although he has inspired DSA. Hong said at a debate in Wisconsin on Tuesday that she does not support the full DSA platform. But she said democratic socialism “is a form of government that puts working-class people first.” A clip of those comments making clear she does not support DSA’s platform was posted to her campaign’s X account Tuesday.
For an indication of that group’s politics, consider that its national committee withdrew its endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2024 because she was not sufficiently opposed to US support for Israel. More recently, the group has considered endorsing Ocasio-Cortez for president in 2028, though she is not currently running.
Republicans, hoping to divert attention from President Donald Trump’s dismal approval ratings, have been clear that their strategy will be to paint the entire Democratic Party as communist, which, again, is incorrect.
Trump used the term “communist” or “communism” 13 times during one recent appearance in Michigan.
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“Communism is the greatest threat to our country in history, including even World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or 9/11,” he said, making an argument that might have come as a surprise to the many Americans who watched the fall of the Berlin Wall decades ago on CNN.
Many of those same Americans would also be surprised by the radical change democratic socialists envision to create a classless utopia.
DSA has its own platform, or “program.” When DSA’s co-chair Megan Romer appeared this week on “Fox News Sunday,” she confirmed that, yes, DSA does support some things that might alarm the moderate middle in the country.
Abolishing the Senate?
Getting rid of prisons and ICE?
Replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with a new form of government?
Yep, they’re ultimately behind all of that, she said.
But Mamdani, now mayor of a city whose police force he is not trying to abolish, is much less definitive when asked about the same issues. When he was pushed in June by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on whether he would like to abolish prisons, Mamdani was rather evasive. Here’s part of that exchange:
So, when asked about prisons, Mamdani, a successful politician, turned to safety. He gave a similarly non-specific answer when a New York Times reporter asked him what exactly counts as working class. When asked about whether someone making $1 million in New York is part of the working class, he didn’t give an outright answer.
So while the DSA clearly does not speak for a large portion of Democratic candidates or even necessarily the few democratic socialist politicians in office in the US, it’s worth taking a look at DSA’s vision. Democrats will need to harness some of the progressive passion if they want to build a government coalition.
DSA’s platform is built around 16 distinct ideas, none of which includes a specific plan, and none of which seem immediately achievable in the current political environment. The group acknowledges that some of these ideas would require radical change. Here are the 16 points, along with some context for each:
FREEDOM TO FLOURISH
Expand public resources to support recreation, learning, and social spaces accessible to all. Establish paid family leave for all workers, a 32 hour work week with full pay and benefits, and a living minimum wage. Provide free, quality public education from pre-K to college and cancel all student debt.
This sounds great! But it’s a lot, and like everything in the agenda, it will be very difficult to achieve. To start with, education is largely overseen by states. Democrats have been trying for years to expand access to pre-K and college, and they have experimented with doing so in some places. But proposals to offer universal pre-K were dropped from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act because they could not secure the 50 votes needed among Democrats.
The federal $7.25 minimum wage has not been raised in the US since 2009, concluding a three-step increase initiated by Democrats after they took majorities in the House and Senate following 2006 election. Many states have raised their own minimum wages in the years since. There are proposals to raise the federal minimum wage to $25, but they seem unlikely to go anywhere without a Democratic majority in Congress and maybe also a Democratic president. The last increase was signed into law by Republican President George W. Bush, though he wasn’t happy about it.
More recently, Democrats failed to get student debt relief through Congress, and President Joe Biden’s effort to do it through the White House ran into trouble in courts. Forgiving debt would be expensive; there’s more than $1.7 trillion in federal student debt spread across more than 42 million borrowers.
Some companies and countries are experimenting with the four-day work week, but they are the exception. The hard-won Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, required overtime for some workers, but there is not currently a limit set on the number of hours Americans can work in a week. No other country has adopted a 32-hour work week. But Elon Musk, the temporary trillionaire, has mused that AI could make workers unnecessary and suggested that could lead to a universal basic income.
HEALTHCARE FOR ALL
Guarantee universal healthcare at no cost to individuals, including complete access to reproductive and gender-affirming care. Expand healthcare access and quality by investing in new public hospitals and clinics. Make all medical education and training public and free.
This vision goes a step further than “Medicare for All,” which has been the unrealized goal of progressives for years. Most Medicare recipients pay premiums of $202.90 for insurance, plus deductibles or co-pays, depending on the service. Most Americans still get their health insurance through their jobs, and despite efforts to expand coverage through the Affordable Care Act, many Americans — close to 10% of the population, or more than 25 million people — do not have coverage, according to KFF. That number will grow as cuts to Medicaid spending enacted by Republicans under Trump take hold in the years to come. Those cuts were enacted by Republicans to find money for tax cuts, which is an illustration of how difficult it is to pay for health insurance programs, especially in the US, where care costs more than in other countries.
Countries with robust public health insurance systems that do not charge at the time of service, such as the UK and Canada, pay for these systems through higher tax burdens. Many people in Canada also opt for supplementary private insurance, a practice that’s growing in the UK.
Trump ran for the White House in 2024 in part by attacking Democrats over their support for gender-affirming care and has governed as if the trans community is a fiction. Multiple states have restricted gender-affirming care for young people.
HOUSING FOR ALL
Housing is a human right. Build new, publicly-owned social housing, strictly regulate investment properties, establish universal rent control, and guarantee right to counsel for all tenants.
This plank represents a shift in the American Dream, which has long focused on home ownership rather than renting. But the lack of affordable housing is something both parties agree on. Congress recently passed a bill with bipartisan support to encourage the construction of new housing and to limit the purchase of housing by institutional investors. The law will be most successful if it is paired with changes to local zoning regulations, according to CNN’s report. The bipartisan approach is a far cry from this plank’s idea of publicly owned social housing, which is completely separated from the market.
FINISH RECONSTRUCTION
End the legacies of slavery and colonialism. Reinforce anti-discrimination laws. Honor all treaties and tribal sovereignty. Enact reparations and massively invest in good jobs, quality housing and infrastructure in neglected minority communities.
Reconstruction is the term for the post-Civil War era that was supposed to rebuild the country and the South. It has been top of mind for a lot of people recently. Former President Barack Obama appeared on a podcast series called “Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise” this year.
But addressing inequality and racism can be difficult and temporary. A major goal of Trump’s administration has been to completely unwind all federal diversity efforts. The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Roberts, has effectively gutted the Civil Rights era Voting Rights Act. Halting the current momentum away from efforts to right historical wrongs would require a political movement.
END MASS INCARCERATION AND POLICE IMMUNITY
Demilitarize police departments, disempower police unions, and redirect funding to public services as steps towards fully abolishing the police and prison system which protects the rich and jails the poor. Treat drug addiction and mental illness as health issues, not crimes. End qualified immunity and empower civilian oversight bodies with real authority over the police.
Policing is mostly overseen at the state and local level. It’s notable that Mamdani has not immediately sought to abolish the NYPD or close Riker’s Island during his initial months as mayor. In fact, he previously supported an increase in the number of NYPD officers. Backing away from this tenet of the DSA drew a public rebuke from the group’s New York chapter, and Mamdani eventually abandoned the increase.
FEMINISM FOR ALL
Socialist feminism fights for queer liberation and the freedoms of all working class women. Stop gender violence and end policies that oppress bodily autonomy and intimate life, including patriarchal restrictions on abortion, childbirth and childraising, gender expression and transition, marriage, and divorce. Ban sex discrimination and ensure fair compensation and support for all forms of labor, including care work.
Discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal under federal law. Further efforts would require the passage of laws, which would require political momentum. Another avenue would be to elect a president more open to these ideas. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2028.
GREEN NEW DEAL
Workers must lead our democratic transition to a green future. Pass a federal jobs guarantee. Implement massive investment in sustainable, publicly owned energy and transit infrastructure. Phase out the use of fossil fuels. Reclaim and repair our earth’s resources for all.
Democrats during the Biden administration passed what was viewed as the most expansive effort to transition the US to a green economy. Republicans under Trump unwound much of that law.
END THE U.S. WAR MACHINE
Defund the Department of War. End all foreign wars and close overseas military bases. Support and fully employ veterans. End immunity for U.S. war criminals and support the International Criminal Court’s mandate to prosecute war crimes.
Ironically, Trump promised to end forever wars during the 2024 presidential election. The US is not a member of the ICC, and in fact Secretary of State Marco Rubio is actively trying to dismantle the court.
FREE PALESTINE
Recognize the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return, the right to resist military occupation, and the right to self determination in a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. End all military and economic aid to Israel. Prosecute U.S. and Israeli leaders responsible for the genocide in Gaza.
Disagreement over Israel and its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank has been a major story in US politics in recent years, both on the left and, increasingly, on the right. But the schism is most pronounced on the left. More than 100 Democratic lawmakers voted to block aid to Israel earlier this year, supporting an amendment offered by a Republican. If Democrats take the House, this issue will continue to grow. Other elements of this plank, like prosecuting US leaders or achieving a Palestinian state, feel much further off.
END BLOCKADES, EMBARGOES, AND SANCTIONS
People around the world deserve to live their lives without U.S. interference. End economic warfare against countries whose governments act independently of the United States, such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran.
The Trump administration has imposed blockades in novel ways. A blockage of tanker traffic from Iran has not yet ended Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz. Cuba has effectively been cast into darkness by a US blockade of oil into the country. That’s a controversial use of economic power. Politicians from both parties have frequently employed sanctions to influence the foreign policy of other countries.
ABOLISH ICE
End ICE detention and deportations and punish federal agents’ brutality. Legalize migration, grant amnesty for all immigrants regardless of status, provide a path to citizenship for all permanent residents, and end visa caps and quotas.
About half the country opposes abolishing ICE, according to polling this year. It’s a more popular idea among Democrats. Amnesty and open borders will be even less popular. Providing a pathway to citizenship was a main goal of comprehensive reform efforts during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but those proposals were unable to get through Congress.
DEMOCRACY FOR ALL
Extend full voting rights to all permanent U.S. residents and restore the right to vote for incarcerated people and people with criminal convictions. Establish statehood for Washington D.C. and recognize the right to self-determination for all U.S. territories and colonies. Expand and protect voting rights and end voter suppression.
There are more than a million people in federal or state prison in the US at any given time. Around 150,000 of those are in federal prison. Most states restore voting rights after a person is released from prison. Others restore voting rights after a sentence is complete. Maine, Vermont and the District of Columbia never remove voting rights for felons, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A REAL DEMOCRACY
For the working class to govern, we need a new political system. End political corruption and legalized bribery: get rid of lobbyists, dark money, and Citizens United, and publicly finance all elections. Abolish the Electoral College. Replace the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.
You’d likely need a new constitutional convention to accomplish much of this. That seems extremely unlikely. But the vision sounds not unlike the parliamentary system of government in the UK, which has been unable to keep a prime minister in place in recent years. It is on its seventh leader in 10 years.
A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
Replace the two-party system with a multi-party democracy. Expand the House of Representatives, implement proportional representation and ranked choice voting in all elections, and abolish the Senate.
The small size of the House and the sway of small states in the Senate have long been a frustration to many Americans. But in order to abolish the Senate, you’d have to rewrite the Constitution. There hasn’t been an amendment passed in decades, and the last meaningful amendment was passed more than 50 years ago. Senators nationwide have been popularly elected since the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913. More likely than abolishing the Senate is abolishing the Senate’s filibuster requirement, which both Trump and Senate Democrats have, at times, endorsed.
ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY
Establish public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries to ensure democratic control and accountability to the people. Enact aggressive wealth taxes on the richest individuals and corporations to spend on public goods and infrastructure.
This is a very anti-capitalist view of the world. Sanders has proposed that the US place a one-time 50% tax on the stock of AI companies to seize control of half their value and make sure it goes back to citizens through a sovereign wealth fund. The argument he makes is that AI models were developed by taking content from the Internet without human creators’ consent.
Trump has also, in an unprecedented way, sought stakes for the US in private companies. Democrats have routinely talked about wealth taxes in recent years, but they do not universally support them. One grim reality for socialists who point to Scandinavian countries as a model for their socialism is that those countries have a much wider tax base, using value-added taxes and more taxes on less-wealthy people to fund benefits.
DEMOCRACY AT WORK
Empower workers to come together and fight the boss. Protect, expand, and enforce the rights of all workers to form, join, and strike with their unions, regardless of industry. Support union members who organize reform caucuses, democratize their unions, and take political action.
This would require another shift in how Americans act and work. Less than 10% of Americans were in a union in 2024, down from more than 20% in 1983, according to Pew. More than half of the states have passed laws that make it more difficult to organize and many corporations are hostile to unions.