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New & Prospective Members

What is the DSA?

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with over 100,000 members and local chapters in all 50 states. We believe working people should run both the economy and society democratically, to meet human needs, not to generate profit for a wealthy few.

What Do We Stand For?

Capitalism is a system that concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a small elite, exploiting working people for private profit. The DSA’s goal is to replace it with democratic socialism, a system where ordinary people have a real, meaningful voice in their workplaces, neighborhoods, and government.

Our vision goes beyond traditional social democracy and firmly rejects authoritarian models of socialism. We believe in a democratic road to socialism, built from the ground up by working-class people.

What Does DSA Membership Mean?

The Marin DSA is entirely member-driven. Everything we do, including canvassing, phonebanking, community organizing, and running meetings, is organized and funded by volunteer members. There’s space for everyone, whether you can give a few hours a month or go all in.

We’re building a mass movement for a more just world; that means talking to people outside our usual circles, standing up for each other, organizing in our workplaces, and building working-class solidarity in Marin County and the Bay Area.

DSA membership includes:

  • Paying dues to the national DSA, which keeps the organization independent, democratic, and free from corporate donors or foundation influence

  • Participating in local democratic decision-making at chapter meetings

  • Helping carry out the priorities members collectively decide on

Become a dues-paying member at dsausa.org/join

How Do We Work Together?

A comrade is a teammate in the struggle for a better world. The DSA is a “big tent” organization; we don’t all agree on every strategy or path to socialism, but we’re on the same side. To work together effectively, we follow some basic principles:

  1. Act in good faith

  2. Assume good faith in your comrades

  3. Avoid either/or thinking, since most things aren’t mutually exclusive

  4. Know when to speak up and when to listen

  5. Stay open to having your mind changed

  6. Respect differences in feelings, culture, and background

  7. Keep conversations accessible to everyone

What Can You Do?

Real change doesn’t happen from the sidelines. Marin DSA members take collective action on the issues that matter most. Our current focus areas include:

  • Fight the Right: Resisting the oligarchic Trump/Musk takeover of the federal government and the billionaire assault on workers, unions, and public programs

  • Immigration Justice in Marin: Standing in solidarity with immigrant neighbors and communities against mass deportation and ICE enforcement in the Bay Area

  • Housing Justice in Marin County: Fighting for housing as a human right and organizing against displacement, rent hikes, and exclusionary zoning

  • Palestine Solidarity: Opposing U.S.-funded military operations and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank

Have an idea for a new project? Bring it to a DSA 101 General Meeting, open to all members, where we democratically set our priorities together.

We’re glad you’re here. Now, let’s get to work!

This guide draws on new member materials developed by the East Bay, Austin, and Denver DSA chapters, and we thank them for their efforts. Guide production was volunteer labor.