Institute of Politics

IOP Pritzker Fellow Bhaskar Sunkara on "Why Are Socialists in the Democratic Party?" THIS SEMINAR IS OPEN TO CURRENT UCHICAGO STUDENTS ONLY Monday, February 9 3:30-4:45pm This seminar examines why socialists and radicals in the United States have repeatedly operated within the Democratic Party, rather than building an independent party of their own. The session begins from Bhaskar Sunkara’s own experience - joining the Democratic Socialists of America as a teenager and registering as a Democrat as a practical necessity - to explore how the structure of U.S. politics constrains left-wing political strategy. Discussion focuses on the two-party system, electoral rules, labor law and racial division, as well as the long New Deal period, when the Democratic Party functioned as an American partial substitute for social democracy without becoming a workers’ party. The seminar asks whether the lack of organizational independence has been a strength, a liability or an unavoidable condition for socialist politics in the United States and what this history suggests about the prospects for building durable working-class power today. Pritzker Fellows seminars are off the record and open to current UChicago students only. Seating in the IOP Living Room is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact Ella Kumano-Maloney (ikmaloney@uchicago.edu).