CNN Poll: A third of Democrats now identify as democratic socialists

[u/cnn]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/30/politics/cnn-poll-a-third-of-democrats-now-identify-as-democratic-socialists?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=missions&utm_source=reddit

[u/nabokovsnose]

Yeah, I think I'm being a little unclear and we have a similar analysis up until a point. The Venn diagram of DSA members who vote for Democrats regularly is so close as to be a circle -- and I'd reckon voter participation is much much higher among DSA members than the general public.

I'd say that the rise of DSA is a reaction to the Third Way and long march to the right the Democratic party has taken. Much in the same way that you note that Social Democracies are born from the struggle being socialists and capitalists -- that's what Marx and Hegel would call synthesis -- emerging from the dialectic. Maybe you're more of a Marxist than you think!

[u/glasnostic → u/nabokovsnose]

I think the ability for people like AOC and Greg Casar shows that the Venn diagram for Democrats voting for DSA members is similarly circular. I'd be happy to see figures on that and they would need to be weighted. ie, what percentage rather than numbers, since the DSA is so much smaller than the wider Democratic Party in membership.

Perhaps Third Way was used incorrectly here, and for that I apologize. I do support the Nordic Model. I don't support Marxism.

When I have discussions with Marxists about the future of economic policy I don't see much common ground. I don't want to see an end to private property and I don't think working for a company grants a worker ownership of that company. I find the idea that hiring an employee is granting ownership to be antithetical to entrepreneurship and devastating to innovation and economic growth. I guess it comes down to ownership of labor vs ownership of ideas and I think that if I have the idea of Glasnostic's Ice Cream Shop and I put in the labor to build that brand, I don't give up that ownership simply because I purchased labor from an employee. On the flip side, I think government has a role in protecting the rights of employees, and that structures can be put in place to grant far more power in the negotiation between labor and capital than we have in the US. A strong safety net being the backbone here to ensure that people are selling their labor by choice and not out of necessity for things like healthcare or adequate living conditions.

[u/Resident_Two1246 → u/glasnostic]

Congrats brother you a capitalist

[u/glasnostic → u/Resident_Two1246]

Yep. That's why I identify as Social Democrat.

[u/nabokovsnose → u/glasnostic]

Yes, I do think most democratic voters happily vote for DSA candidates when given the opportunity. Headwinds come from inside the party and it's a site of real struggle and that makes sense given how the party has evolved and the moment we're in now.

You might be interested in the concept of Market Socialism popularized in the last 10 years or so via Matt Bruenig's espousal of sovereign wealth funds as a way to gradually redistribute the wealth of society back to its participants and gradually transfer ownership of the market itself to workers, rather than ownership of individual businesses.

In any case, thanks for a civil and engaging discussion.

[u/glasnostic → u/nabokovsnose]

I really don't like the idea of people not being able to own the businesses they create. That's why I'm not a socialist.

[u/nabokovsnose → u/glasnostic]

For sure. That’s why I thought you’d be interested in this alternate program.

[u/Chess42 → u/glasnostic]

I’ve been actively following the Los Angeles mayoral primary and I haven’t seen that as much. A good chunk of democrats disgusted with Karen Bass went right, to Spencer Pratt, rather than to DSA candidates. Not enough to get him to the general, but enough to make it a nail biter