Socialist organizations really don’t like to be labeled as “socialists,” and they are taking that dislike one step further – by telling their own members to avoid using the word when they are recruiting others.
Young recruiters are officially advised to choose other terms when they attempt to convert others to their cause, since there is an increasing stigma attached to the movement and principles of socialism.
The College Fix reported this week that socialist organizers are encouraging their members to choose their words carefully. According to a recent report, leaders within the leftist Young Democratic Socialists of America are advising their recruiters to avoid the use of the word “socialism,” even though the word is in their organization’s name.
During a video conference training session, organizers for the Young Democratic Socialists of America encouraged members to instead talk about the “class struggle” while recruiting.
“You are not going to use the word ‘socialism,’ or ‘capitalism’ or ‘Marx’ or any of that, you are just going to talk about common issues you both care about, you’re going to find a way to make it about socialism and talk about class struggle with them and why they should be socialists, even if you are not using that word,” the organizer said during the instructional video.
In the recorded videos for new members, leaders from the group described conservative members of the media and journalists that did not support a socialist point of view as “enemies” of the movement. The young recruiters are encouraged to choose their words carefully; they should learn to talk about socialism with discretion, even while recruiting others to the cause.
“This exercise isn’t to tell you that you should never call yourself a socialist or use the word socialism,” the organizer continued. “But it’s important that we be able to engage with people on more than just labels, we need to be able to talk about issues. Because at the end of the day your lived struggle is what inspires you.”
All this care reveals some issues within the Young Socialists Movement that can’t be easily explained. Since they wish to hide their true purpose from recruited members, what happens when their true mission and their support of socialism is revealed? And if socialism is so unappealing that they can’t directly mention the term, why are members supporting this flawed theory in the first place?
Recent polls suggest that American Democrats have a preference for socialism and socialist policies, but that they do not like the label “socialist”. The most recent report confirms this, and campus recruiters are being increasingly secretive about their true methods and goals as they reach out to other students and drum up support for their cause.
