A short response for CounterPunch
Jon Hochschartner asked this very interesting question. Ronnie Lee, Mian Osuni (NY DSA), Lee Hall, myself and others responded. It’s a good piece and I encourage you to read the whole thing.
For me:
DSA-like organizations could be helpful if they were designed so as to, among other things, avoid toxic factionalism and remain ideologically committed to ending animal use. She didn’t think such groups would be a magic fix, but thought they could be a useful tool which could help organize a philosophically disjointed movement.
“A big tent with democratic internal elections can aggregate a lot of people who care about animals but disagree on tactics — welfarists, abolitionists, direct action folks, legal advocates, etc., all under one roof,” Leese said. “That gives the movement more resources, more volunteers, and more political weight. Internal elections also create legitimacy and buy-in: people feel ownership over leadership rather than having it imposed by donors or founders. And it creates a pipeline for new leaders who might otherwise be shut out.”
As long as the stated and ultimate goal is to end animal use, instead of support welfare or less-suffering measures, then I think it could work.
Thank you, Jon and read the full piece here.
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