Under the aegis of a British socialist group called Friends of Socialist China, at least 952 people have signed a pledge to “support the People’s Republic of China and to promote understanding of Chinese socialism.” These include several members of the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization which, to the dismay of some among its ranks, has been evincing pro-CCP proclivities for years (New York Post, July 30, 2026).
Eleven self-described DSA or DSA International Committee members are among those that “resolve to support, defend and build understanding of Chinese socialism,” The Post found….
The pledge argues that “the global advance to socialism is indispensable if humanity is to survive and to flourish,” while decrying capitalism as “totally incapable of solving the problems of poverty and inequality” and being “inextricably linked with war, empire, racism, misogyny, alienation, and environmental destruction.”
“Why China?” the pledge continues. “We support all states building or aspiring to socialism, and we favour the highest level of unity and friendship between them. We foreground China in particular because its size and level of development give it an objectively critical role in the global transition to socialism.”…
The Post previously reported that in order to meet a rising interest in the Chinese Communist Party, the DSA launched a monthly seminar last year about “modern China and lessons for US socialists.”
Among the wild claims made during the DSA’s first CCP seminar was that China has a “strong democracy.” There was no mention of China’s tight restrictions on freedom of expression.
The text of the pledge incorporates many confusions. One is revealed by the signers’ professed eagerness to promote understanding of Chinese socialism.
In fact, if they are like all other socialists, the signatories probably would not welcome widespread understanding of exactly how socialist policies, including those with Chinese characteristics, assault the rights of the individual, destroy prosperity, and undermine the bases of civilization.
After Mao, a less murderous but still murderous Chinese Communist Party enabled a degree of greater prosperity by permitting some market processes and profit-making. To the extent that markets are allowed to exist, they contradict the socialism; just as the CCP’s socialist engineering and chronic economic intervention contradict and derail the market processes. Freedom and the regulations and edicts that violate freedom and the rights of the individual are opposites, not two benign aspects of one seamlessly consistent mode of governance called “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
Is this the understanding of Chinese socialism that the socialist signatories want to promote? If they really are sincere about shedding light on socialism, though, perhaps the billionaire funder of CCP causes, Neville Roy Singham, can help them in their pursuit of truth. Let him fund the purchase and distribution of copies of Ludwig von Mises’s Socialism and other classic critiques of the socialist nightmare and expositions of the market economy. Toss in a few clear-minded histories of modern China.
Also see:
The Times (UK): “DSA members pledge support for Chinese Communist Party after VIP trip” (July 30, 2026)
Newsweek International: “The Ties That Grind” (February 13, 2026)
“Members of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political organization [the Democratic Socialists of America] have developed links with the Chinese Communist Party, raising questions about the extent of Beijing’s influence within the group….
“The minutes of the DSA meetings show participants discussing contacts with officials from China’s ruling party in the name of ‘anti-imperialism,’ with some members saying the organization should avoid topics that are sensitive for Beijing, such as China’s threats to invade Taiwan, its security crackdown in Hong Kong and abuses of the Uyghur Muslim minority.”
The hyperlink is to a PDF of the entire issue of Newsweek International in which “The Ties That Grind” appears. The article starts on page 11 as the number is printed on the page or on page 13 of the lefthand scrollbar.
FEE.org: “Who Cares About Inequality?” (April 28, 2016)
“There are genuine barriers to opportunity today, and the deck is becoming stacked against us—but not because ‘the rich’ are too rich and the government is doing too little to fight economic inequality. The real threat to opportunity in America is increasing political inequality.”
