>>But there's also a real political problem with saying "I'm a socialist,"
>>beyond indicating some affiliation. There is no socialist movement, and
>>the whole idea is essentially dead except in the realm of fantasy. It's
>>heartbreaking that that's true, but it is. So I'm not sure what you
>>accomplish by foregrounding an allegiance to socialism if you're more
>>interested in changing the world than advertising your authenticity.
>>
>It might contribute to removing the stigma that decades of anti-communist
>propagandizing has nurtured in US societies.
>Martin
How, though?
Plenty of people already believe the Dumbocrats are ideological kissing cousins with Joe Stalin; why're they going to come around when "actual socialists" come out of the closet?
For something like that to happen it'd have to come from an "unimpeachable source" whom people would have "known well" (or thought they did if s/he claimed allegiance to socialism) for some time. It'd have to have come completely out of left field. The odds on that happening aren't too good, to put it mildly.
Better to get in there at the local level, get some names made as "good people", start building a socialist base, etc. I do think that Carrol's right about plenty of people being socialists and just not being aware of it (I could even go so far and say they're afraid of it); they'd flock to your banner then, I'd expect.
Todd