The Relevance of Participatory Democracy

Gil Schaeffer spoke with San Diego DSA about Students for a Democratic Society, Lenin, and the struggle for a democratic constitution

Last year, San Diego DSA member and blog contributor Gil Schaeffer spoke with his chapter about Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the anti-war movement, Marx and Engels, Lenin, and the ongoing struggle for a democratic constitution based on universal and equal rights. This month, Marxist Unity Group adopted a resolution prioritizing a version of its 2023 “Winning the Battle for Democracy” (WTBFD) resolution at the next national DSA convention, and Gil’s presentation was shared as an example of promoting the principles in that resolution. Gil’s presentation, a Zoom discussion with Daniel Lazare and Ben Grove, and a series of monthly discussions on democracy during the presidential campaign helped pave the way for a “yes” vote on San Diego DSA’s “For a Democratic Constitution” resolution. San Diego’s resolution also built off the success of Cleveland DSA’s “Winning the Battle for Democracy” resolution and YDSA’s “Winning the Battle for Democracy” resolution.

I spoke with Gil about SDS and his paper, "You Can’t Use Weatherman to Show Which Way the Wind Blew,” during an interview in 2023.