There is a social movement happening and it’s beginning in New York, the iconic city both population-wise 16 times larger than Kansas City, MO despite the latter being larger in land-are by municipal boundary. The political representation is coming to represent real, working-class people fighting for tangible change in a political arena that currently represents big money interests.
It’s socialism of the democratic brand and it’s gaining traction. June 23, 2026, saw victories for both state legislature and Congressional office. The party, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), are true forces to be reckoned with. Traditional Democratic establishment party candidates have not served the interests of the majority, or 68% of the nation categorized as working class.
The DSA’s platform is captured in the slogan “Workers Deserve More!” There is real power in that. The party stands on social ownership and democratic control of the economy, taking the reformist approach to altering the political landscape through connecting with constituencies on a practically feasible implemented agenda. I have come to see the organizing power in adopting their political agenda. Although I have more revolutionary hopes given the current political potential of the moment, this social movement is a win and a bridge to connection so many socialist like myself need.
When the establishment faces a reckoning in my city, I will canvass the heck out it. That’s how we mobilize voters to get to the polls. That’s how socialists have connected with voters. And that’s how they won just a few days ago, by getting out the message face-to-face, primarily, and through phone calls and digital media.
For my readers, potentially somewhat unaware, the DSA stands for economic approaches including Medicare for all or single payer healthcare; tuition-free higher education; strong pro-labor protections; climate action to address the environmental crisis outright denied or dismissed by many establishment figures across the aisle; tenant rights; and public services expansion. In terms of civil liberties, migration rights are human rights; ICE abolition is on the agenda; voting rights are key; and Transgender liberation are goals to move towards. International agendas consist of anti-Zionism, Palestine solidarity, foreign policy critique of U.S. military interventions and halting foreign military funding, and cease fire calls for global movements essentially advocating for anti-imperialist agendas.
This is a stark divergence from the establishment. No reason the Democrats have become so far removed from the people’s interests. Real change is on the way and it’s important to be on the right side of history.
Any DSA candidate should possess policy approaches that represent the constituency’s interests, thus making agendas varyingly progressive. Otherwise, outside of identity politics how else would they beget office? We get to identity politics below.
In solidarity, I believe that public goods should be available at quality levels for all to access, which requires investment and trust in government just as Zohran Mamdani campaigned on. Government should and can play a positive role in people’s lives. I am by absolutely no means a party loyalist. Represent my interests and I will back you. If not, and even if so, critique is just. There is a fundamental difference between public morality and personal morality, a key consideration in your political research.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that identity politics must be kept in check and avoided. By identity politics I mean constructing a political identity around the charisma and identity of the candidate in question, rather than backing the policy approaches they stand for. Not only are identity political dominant in today’s global and domestic realms with figures like Donald Trump, but I’ve also seen it happen, too, with Mamdani’s success. Now I’m not saying that all DSA voters engage in this, by no means, but as an example from what I have seen, canvassers have experienced voter feedback stating they voted simply on party lines because they felt captured by the persona of NYC’s now elected mayor without truly understanding all of the policies he is fighting for. And while on the topic of him, he has disappointed some party members by governing concessions he has yield to the establishment including his approach in addressing the affordability crisis of housing and his praise of NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. This aside, true representation centers around critical engagement and decisive thinking. Identity politics distract you from reality and lead to inevitable personal crisis. Nonetheless, NYC’s primaries show real potential for our movement. Take part, advocate, discuss politics openly. People may disagree but that is a conclusion each must come to their own conclusion about. Use rhetoric and engage in persuasive communication tactics. If you haven’t, one helpful tool would be to read Aristotle’s Rhetoric; tactics include Ethos-ethics and credibility, Pathos-emotive elements, and Logos-logic or reason.
The hope is that you may come to see policy that serves you, not the bourgeois. But that is your own prerogative and I must accept that even as a revolutionary. I hope the above helps.
The recent events in support of Palestine are deeply concerning. But not for reasons you might suggest if you follow mainstream news. Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on, demonstrations and protests have erupted in support of the Palestinian people. The recent political advocacy that has occurred in Michigan, both in homes and around the University of Michigan, has sparked outrage among activists. Those being indicted for the recent political activism must be released from custody free of prosecution.
In Michigan on June 10, 2026, eight pro-Palestine activists had their homes raided, resulting in arrests and indictments on federal charges, according to the U.S. Justice Department, “for their alleged roles in conspiracies to threaten University of Michigan leaders, law enforcement, and businesses, including Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, announced U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. Special Agent in charge Jennifer Runyan of the FBI Detroit Field Office joined Gorgon in the announcement.” This marks another wave of activism in support of the freedom, autonomy, and sovereignty of the Palestinian people.
The following members of college-aged adults were indicted:
• Ahmet Kerem Korkaya, 28, of Milwaukee • Alexander Matthew Sepulveda, 23, of Chicago • Amatullah Aliasgar Hakim, 21, of Ann Arbor • Colin Hunter Weger, 24, of Ann Arbor • Jonathan Hongru Zou, 22, of Ann Arbor • Mariam Muhammed Odeh, 24, of Dearborn • Paige Elizabeth Feyock, 26, of Ann Arbor • Zainab Aliasgar Hakim, 23, of Canton
The roles each played were diverse, however, it is morally compelling to recognize the courage each took in the belief and expression of freedom in the global capitalist order.
Political violence is a growing issue in the United States, something that I myself have had to work through in recent years, but the growing necessity of something to address the genocide occurring in Palestine at the hands of the Israeli government is a moral imperative if you believe in human rights. The United States is fully complicit in the actions of the Israeli government and has, and continues, to support the humanitarian suffering occurring in Gaza. Grotesque, corrupt, and deplorable are the actions taken by the establishment, Democrats highly complicit in the actions of Republican hawks who, as we already understand, will intervene at will to protect U.S. hegemony.
What is really at stake is the freedom of expression and speech that exists domestically in the U.S. With the recent administration’s crackdown dissent, the very principles that the country was established upon are at risk of jeopardization. Rather, they have already been violated in the contemporary era, much to the disregard and ignorance of the American people. Here, it is important, if not already undertaking, to continually and expressively grow your political awareness. The moment demands it. No change will occur with complicity; silence is complicity.
And so, the recent activism by the above U of M students is recognized here as a response to the austere measure the U.S. State has taken to repress dissent. What other measures have they left us to peacefully protest the genocidal occupation by Israel of Gaza and the West Bank? None. After much thought, political violence is necessary, but not at the expense of human life. Property is a social construct developed from the introduction of agriculture centuries ago, and the combativeness in returning the means of production in a socialistic manner to the working class must be undertaken.
I leave you with this. Just as the Hams attack in 2023 on October 3 was merely a humanitarian response to the violation of autonomy to that was denied Palestinian people, how else would you respond to a government nullifying your very existence. Use every means to spread the word, any means of platform you have to combat the oppressive measure of the State, to address the violations of dignity and rights of the Palestinian people. This is a movement, not a moment; take part.
Hi, readers, I took a break recently from the holiday, but we’re back this week. We have a slate of compelling issues to address, so, let’s first look at the impact of recent federal decisions on working people, tied intimately to global developments. A transition into a brief socio-political analysis of the state of domestic and international affairs is to follow. Let’s hop in.
The United States imperialist decline is producing global instability that is causing grassroots collective action efforts to gain headstream. Privileged groups are coming to be affected and are seeing the struggles of working-class members for themselves. U.S. consumers are feeling the effects in diverse yet similar ways. This is key for uniting conditions to develop.
But first, let’s analyze the Trump administration’s calculated move to wage war with Iran in the Middle East. This conflict conveys the nature of capitalism’s inevitable trajectory toward periods of crisis and instability. Geopolitical positioning is always at stake in our globalized world, and wars arise from conflict over limited resources; biological/environmental (biological level of reality), political/economic (social, institutional-structural, habitus/field levels of reality). They are a struggle over power and influence. With inflation rising domestically, up to 3.8% year over year, prices for just about everything are increasing as a result. And the effects are not being felt equally across class lines. Working families’ pockets are being stretched further. The administration’s utter disregard for the financial stress its military interventionist approach is causing domestically has displayed its aim of establishing an authoritarian regime. All of this relates to consumers, and we’ll look at U.S. today.
Domestically, shifts in global power are being felt by consumers in oppressive ways. In our fraught political climate, recall that the State possesses the power to influence social life. This occurs through institutional, legal, and systemic ways, but also through discreet and insidious measures of control. Its existence depends upon the voluntary submission to a power authority that acts to provide stability in a socially established arrangement. This concept of submission previously addressed has been expounded upon through Michel Foucalt’s philosophical system. But through our lens incorporating the four levels of reality elaborated upon in my essay titled “The Four Levels of Reality Shaping our Future with AI,” the preeminent habitus and field is coming to be altered in a reflexive social dynamic that will prove costly on many levels. Reshaping the social world always is, and it involves restructuring discourse, socio-political life, and the market economy in which it operates. The novel social dynamic then established may be one in which we on the Left would find more acceptable, but the global move toward authoritarianism is the concerning direction we are presently moving toward.
The question then becomes: How will we organize to exact a more just and freer world? How may we liberate individuals from the class-struggle within a system that alienates and subordinates them to the pressures their own participation creates? How do we reach consensus to actualize positive changes in the lives of working people?
Grassroots mobilizations will be effective in providing the conditions for a movement to emerge. But for us on the Left to continue divulging toward sectarianism in how we approach our own objections to current conditions is continuing to play into the opposition’s strategy of delegitimating its opposing views through propagandistic measures. Sectarianism divides, consensus unifies. This is best confronted with moral imperatives. We are in a historical period in which change is the only constant; and this is where we derive hope for a better future, because it contains possibility.
Unification must first occur, and misinformation, deception, and political spin must not deter efforts at reaching this aim. Social movements are often spontaneous events that arise from the seizing of the optimal time and place under conditions that would allow it to flourish. The recent conflict in the Middle East is disillusioning many, and it will be a fascinating, reflexive process of development if financial stress will provide the spark a unifying movement needs to move closer to actualization. The unifying spark will most certainly not come from the professional-middle class, nor any of the upper tier to elite classes. It’s simply against their class interests to do so. The movement will emerge from the latently powerful working class. An in-depth study of Marx has profoundly shaped my perspective, and I will never stray from the powerful concepts his work, Capital, Vol. 1, 2, and 3 have taught me. As an aside, it is a book that if read, undoubtedly it will change your life. And so, from the struggle materializes transformation that possesses the capacity to reconstruct, when the intersection of aptitude and opportunity are laid bare.
Still, looking at the Trump administration’s use of force to reach its political and economic goals, they are so clearly laying out their intentions. In the Middle East, active destabilizing measures are well underway in an already unstable region. This is clear. But so too is it true that the U.S. has had a presence in the Middle East for decades, coming to influence political processes and outcomes in nation states whose resources are vulnerable to exploitation. Coup d’etats, military presence, wars, intelligence operatives, etc.; all of this to overturn a nation-state’s political and military governing groups and influence the global economy. And part of waging new wars is by establishing justifications for their existence. Domestic support is created for these conflicts through propaganda. All conflict involves this element. This is the fuel sustaining the flame. The power struggle ensues, and here, specifically with Iran ushering support from the East, the United States and the West have arrived at a moment where its hegemony is being challenged, revealing vulnerabilities in its influence in the world order. The U.S. hegemony is weak. Thus the U.S. reaction to intervene in Iran militarily is a show of force not just to Iran but to China.
This means more than just the beginning of another war for the U.S. It is an involvement that is meant to signify to the East that it will not heed to the growing power it possesses. The U.S. is challenging China economically through the war with Iran, while also confronting Iran’s refusal to bow to the West. There are moral imperatives that arise regarding this chain of events that have driven activists to pressure the political process in the U.S., garnering momentum for a social movement to develop. Many people are frustrated and discontented. And yet, in a display of power and utter disregard, Trump stated recently to reporters on the White House lawn that, “[He] doesn’t think about Americans’ financial situation.” And even then, brazenly furthering his position in response to a reporter’s clarifying question addressing his motivations, he communicated an utter indifference of financial stress he is imposing on working Americans. I quote from CNN:
Reporter -“To what extent are American’s financial situation motivating you to make a deal [with Iran]?” Trump -“Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran; they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
His international strategy is clear from a geopolitical perspective. And his sycophantic base does not object, both domestically and abroad. He is abandoning the isolationist position on which he campaigned and captured American’s attention. His attempt to then weaponize this support to galvanize the base in his efforts to implement an interventionist approach to foreign affairs is where he has been especially deceptive. This comes at a moment of impending crisis at a time that exposes the fragility of U.S. political/military and economic hegemony on the global stage, as we mentioned. Thinking of it this way, Trump’s position is an emergency attempt to maintain coercive, imperialist influence of both economic and political processes within the globalized economy.
To understand our viewpoint let’s look at where we are. Left internationalism has progressively adapted to contemporary conditions, beginning with the democratic socialist movement best represented in the U.S. in the presidential run by Bernie Sanders in 2016. Then, it was not nationalistic, xenophobic, or isolationist, but rather a unified, dignified and domestically focused “America First” movement. It has since shifted with the genocidal war Israel, and the U.S. are waging on the state of Palestine. I bring this up as it demonstrates the imperialist agenda so well. Morally reprehensible as it so clearly presents itself, it was a foreseen State action with clear objectives. Us on the Left have had to reflect, re-organize, and reinvigorate a new agenda. Perhaps incorporating the concept of imperialism may prove effective in communicating humanistic political positions to draw in supporters. Let’s talk about the concept first.
Geopolitically and in contemporary forms, the aim of imperial dominance is to coercively impede competing state’s abilities to function with self-sufficiency and stability in the global economy. In fact, by its very nature it is the process of the supersession of a power of a positioning state whose aim is to coerce less powerful nation states in political, economic, and cultural expression; the imposition of an authority power on an unwilling, resistant, and diverse (in its own respect) alternative. To clarify, in the 21st century, what it is not is an emergence. This implies something developing from or transitioning to something new. Here we are reminded of the consensus surrounding the first imperial nation of Rome, if we retroactively apply the term to a period in history where the concept of imperialism was yet to have been conceptualized as such. Perhaps a more apt example would be the British Empire that emerged in the 19th century. Imperialism has since evolved, yet its central aim is so closely entangled within the philosophy of the West, exercised with the nature of capitalism as a driving force of conquest. And so, we describe the nature of imperialism not as a re-establishment but rather favor conceptualizing it as a supersession. With the former opening interpretation of the historical, initial onset of an emergent power. This can be contrasted with our term in that it draws on referential knowledge of a widely recognized historical practice in which an established power is succeeded in its position of dominance in international and domestic affairs.
Now let’s apply the above. The state of world affairs, specifically during Beijing summit last Thursday (05/14/2026), provided the opportunity for China’s Xi Jinping to leverage negotiating strategy from a position of strength. This positioning exposed Trump’s position of weakness which stems largely from the U.S.’s recent entanglement in the Middle East. We are referring here to the “vie for power” between the two major powers: the United States and China. Both countries are suffering because of the Iran conflict. So, the result of the summit in Beijing was to develop a “constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability” according to Beijing’s readout. This is a misrepresentation much to be expected in the mainstream media, as it was a symbolically relevant and significant political-economic event; the world was watching. What the nature of relations between the two countries is perpetuating is a cold war, one which involves trade wars, proxy wars, and conflict. The war in Ukraine, Israeli-Palestine conflict, and the Iranian conflict all stem back to the major super-powers’ competition.
Still, the Iranian conflict is over the country’s control of energy resources, specifically oil. It controls the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for the world’s oil transport. It averages approximately 20 million barrels of oil moved through it as of 2025, 20% of the global consumption and about 27% of seaborne oil trade. Although the U.S. has diversified its sources for oil, including producing more domestically, its involvement in the conflict is due largely to the shock to energy markets and the political tensions resulting from the Strait’s closure. U.S. imperialism is being challenged, and as we mentioned before, its hegemony is cracking. To use a metaphor, a game of chess is ongoing, and for the U.S. it is akin to losing a rook.
All over the world we see political and economic instability. We here in the U.S. are fortunate, as it is the most vulnerable and exploited countries that feel the effects the deepest. Iran has been in crisis, now evermore as its population is suffering soaring costs and resource depletion with the country’s involvement in the war. But it has excellent political-economic negotiating power with its control of the Strait and is exploiting the global markets because of it. The U.S. propaganda strategy is to label the country a nuclear threat and to make the argument for involvement moral to garner support for the cause. However, Trump’s approval rating has slumped, and as we mentioned before, he has no regard for American life. It’s important to call a spade a spade; Trump is an authoritarian and a significant danger to democracy. And it’s not that democracy has not been under attack in previous administrations. But what is now occurring that has not in the past is an intractable seize of power by a single ideology, a single man. The coming midterms will be a test of its hold over the Republican party, for the future of the country is at stake if it withstands its opposition.
What the Middle East conflict is, is a show of imperialist supersession. China is attempting to establish itself as the center of global markets and is using the conflict to exploit the U.S. I do not anticipate a near end to either conflict, both intimately connected. Resultingly, consumers can expect to pay more simply to survive.
This is all to say that working people are struggling. Fuel, food, housing, and services costs have all spiked, pressuring families to make difficult decisions. The war in Iran must end. We must bring support for resistance, and I envision this coming from connection. Engage online platforms to find community and build consensus, persuade your fellow American that you have similar uniting issues and draw people in with a voice of empathy and compassion.
Equally essential, it is important to confront fear with unifying humanitarian concepts. The driving force in aligning conservative factions is fear. Recognizing that we as individuals are only as strong as our weakest link, we are connected in our individuality through a collective conscience. In essence, individual conscience produces perspective, shared perspectives produces collective conscience, and collective conscience produces culture. The French sociologist Emile Durkheim explicated this concept in the 19th and 20th centuries in his endeavor to craft a sociological theory, his works still taught in graduate social theory courses to this day. This concept is a strong challenge to the growing Trumpism-led conservative project. We cannot allow the Republican hawks and Trump loyalists to continue supporting the war’s efforts. Unified action is required to address this high-stakes battle. The fate of American families is at stake.
3/31/2026 There exists a common cultural misconception across the United States, that of how deeply our systems shape our lives, and how reluctant we are to admit when those systems fail. Take a moment to think about that. It’s an initially disruptive and unsettling idea to many, and for many fundamental reasons pertaining to agency, identity, meaning, and of course worldview. Rightfully so, its aims expose the very core of our beliefs and actions to confront a reality that contradicts what has been prepared in advance for us to consume. Or, in other words, that it really is positing that the experience of lived reality is molded and shaped by institutional involvement and thus that we are not nearly as decisive as we believe ourselves to be.
Now, that’s a lot to take in and consider. This I understand. But, it is ever more a position that invites opportunity to influence the direction of change in a society. This is brought up for many reasons, but it is also clear that our very institutions are experiencing a legitimacy crisis; one to be ever grander since the financialization of society that began under the George Bush and Obama administrations and that culminated in the financial collapse from 2007-2009. The framework of our society is undergoing a rapid restructuring bringing out the very worst in human behavior. The affluent are continuing to benefit at the behest of the poor. Wealth disparities are growing and the bedrock of our society is being excavated. Change is ever constant, but this type of change is unwelcomed by many.
It’s important to take a moment to reflect whenever possible, as there are numerous social facts to be analyzed. In essence, often institutions are structured through policy; policy is implemented to affect the daily lives of those the institution serves. Confronting this type of bureaucratic monster may seem daunting, but it begins with the lived reality of those that the policy serves. That is always my starting point. Because policy is power, a malleable force that deserves attention. I aim to confront that power.
To answer my own question though, I write to influence my readers to action. I bring up situations that, although at times may bring more questions than answers, address people seeking such questions of the authorities that be and that apply to grounded experience. My natural bend is toward analyzing social systems and structures, translating their existence into a digestible form to be understood.
Understanding public policy is important because to change it we must identify where we can do so. The journey toward change begins with first identifying the structural influence that is perpetuating the issue; the systemic oppression, the exclusion of constituents from active participation in the policy making process, the prejudice our institutions thereby exert. My analysis stems from a class-based analysis; an organizing principle that unifies shared economic and cultural problems. I aim to provide analysis, transparency, and translation of social issues because I write with the aim of empowering my readership. I am a public servant devoted to providing support to a public body that is fragmented, siloed, and frustrated, and this project aims to support and provide hope where it is needed in an area where individuals are yearning for purpose and connection. Share with me in this journey and, if compelled, take these ideas and make a change. If nothing consider them, take action, organize, and spark conversation. You’ll find that we as the working class share economic, cultural and political interests. Let’s make change actualized.
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