Welcome to the The Activist!

The slogan “Educate, Agitate, and Organize” is almost as old as the socialist movement itself. With The Activist, the Young Democratic Socialists strive to do all three. In it you will find that education is about conversation, not dictation. Our posts and articles are not presented as absolute truths, but rather, created to spark debate and inquiry among our members, friends, and even foes. Through this collective learning process we aim to agitate. While we are not a dogmatic organization, the Young Democratic Socialists is united by a core set of beliefs that we shall defend and promote. We hope to push the envelope and if that bothers some, that’s fine. To paraphrase Eugene V. Debs, our intelligent discontent will be the mainspring of civilization.

Envisioning a better world through democratic socialism requires both optimism and critical thought. Those who write for our blog seek to inspire and intellectually challenge our readers. But we named our journal The Activist for a reason. For the hope of the future rests not only our gifts of prose, but also on our ability to organize. It is not enough to write your beliefs; you must also act upon them. To implement a society based upon the socialist values of liberty, equality, and solidarity means organizing the social and political movements to do so. Building the Young Democratic Socialists is still one of the most important things an activist can do. Democratic socialists’ visionary gradualism still provides the best strategy for the short-term struggles and long-term goals of progressive change.

The fight to rid the world of capitalism requires us all to do our part. Though each of our contributions will be unique, we must all educate, agitate, and organize.

Without education, we are defenseless against the system.

Without agitation, we are nameless to our allies.

Without organization, we are powerless among ourselves.

Let The Activist and the Young Democratic Socialists be a force for good on the internet, on campuses, in the streets, and at the workplace.

In Solidarity,

David Duhalde

Young Democratic Socialists