News Viewpoints

Rising ranks of young Democratic Socialists

By Mary Huerta

Frustrated over how the two main political parties operate, some younger voters are looking for alternatives. Some are turning to Democratic socialism, with Democratic Socialists of America counting 6,000 members in 2015 but  94,000 members in July 2021. 

Among them is Mary Elizabeth Murphy, 21, a Fordham University student majoring in film and television studies.

“I haven’t met a single New Yorker who is okay with the way our government is voting,” she said.

With U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont), the former U.S. presidential contender, among the nation’s prominent Democratic Socialist, the national party counts 239 local chapters. In December 2017, the median age of its members was 33, compared to 68 in 2013.

Twelve of 16 Democratic Socialists or Socialists interviewed by The Spectrum gave similar reasons for opting not to be Democrats or Republicans. 

“Both parties are so obsessed with defeating each other that it’s really more about hate than it is love for their own community,” said Eshq Salem, 15, a student at Bayside High School in Queens. Socialism, she added, aims to create “more [accessibility] for disabled people, racial equity, protection of women against violence, and you know, workers rights.”

“The rich are getting richer; the poor are getting poorer,” said Ezra Wallace, 19, restaurant server.

“I don’t even know where to start,” said Murphy. “Our current government is disgusting.”