--- title: What Is a Democratic Socialist? description: The past year has seen several self-identified democratic socialists prevail in key local races. But what exactly does it mean to be a democratic socialist? canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/what-is-a-democratic-socialist-mamdani-lewis-george-bernie-sanders-aoc/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-06-18T19:11:31.159Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-18T19:11:31.418Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Is a Democratic Socialist? og:description: The past year has seen several self-identified democratic socialists prevail in key local races. But what exactly does it mean to be a democratic socialist? og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/what-is-a-democratic-socialist-mamdani-lewis-george-bernie-sanders-aoc/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2f96192c557257/6a31bfd4c02aade759092c1d/Dem-Socialist-Explainer.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Dem-Socialist-Explainer.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Is a Democratic Socialist? twitter:description: The past year has seen several self-identified democratic socialists prevail in key local races. But what exactly does it mean to be a democratic socialist? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2f96192c557257/6a31bfd4c02aade759092c1d/Dem-Socialist-Explainer.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Is a Democratic Socialist? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Jun 18, 2026 7:11 PM UTC  Mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George speaks during an event in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2026. Mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George speaks during an event in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2026. Pete Kiehart—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Jun 18, 2026 7:11 PM UTC A different kind of politician has been gaining prominence in Democratic politics in recent years: the [democratic socialist](https://time.com/5422714/what-is-democratic-socialism/). Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont [drew awareness to the ideology](https://time.com/4121126/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism/) with his 2016 presidential bid. In the years since, other politicians—including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York—who have called themselves democratic socialists have emerged on the national stage. And the past year has seen several self-identified democratic socialists prevail in key local races, with [Zohran Mamdani](https://time.com/7308924/zohran-mamdani-interview-time/) [winning](https://time.com/7331192/zohran-mamdani-wins-nyc-mayor-race/) the New York City mayoral race in November, and [Janeese Lewis George](https://time.com/article/2026/06/17/DC-mayor-race-Janeese-Lewis-George-DSA-democratic-socialists-midterm/) claiming victory in the Democratic primary race for Washington, D.C.’s next mayor this week**.** **Read More:** [_Democratic Socialist Set to Be D.C.'s Next Mayor—Furthering Breakout Year For Left_](https://time.com/article/2026/06/17/DC-mayor-race-Janeese-Lewis-George-DSA-democratic-socialists-midterm/) But depending on who you talk to, they might define “democratic socialism” differently. “It’s a very ambiguous term, and there’s a great deal of confusion about what it is and isn’t,” says Marc Farinella, a senior advisor to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and former Democratic political consultant. “There’s a lot of ambiguity even among people who might describe themselves as democratic socialists. I think there’s a wide array of flavors of democratic socialists.” So what exactly does it mean to be a democratic socialist? TIME spoke to experts to unpack the term. ## What is democratic socialism? There isn’t one universal definition of democratic socialism. According to the [website](https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/) of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), democratic socialists view capitalism as “a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit” and want to “replace it with democratic socialism, a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society.” “What we want to do is extend democracy to our workplace and our housing and society at large, sort of deciding the ways our cities run, our jobs run, our housing runs, as opposed to right now, we think we’re in sort of a dictatorship of capital—the big corporations kind of make the decisions about everything, really,” says Megan Romer, the co-chair of the DSA. Democratic socialism in the U.S., Farinella says, is not the socialism seen in the former Soviet Union, which was an autocratic system that eliminated capitalism by putting all major industries under centralized government control. Democratic socialists don’t want large corporations to be controlled by the government, and don’t want an autocracy; rather, they want to place the power of decision-making in the hands of the people through a democratic process. Farinella says that democratic socialism also isn’t the kind of social democracy seen in Scandinavian countries, which reject authoritarianism and, in his words, “combine free market capitalism with high taxes” to fund social programs such as health care and education. Democratic socialists, meanwhile, don’t support capitalism (though some self-described democratic socialists have suggested that it is possible for democratic socialism and capitalism to exist together). Democratic socialism “resides perhaps in the middle of the spectrum,” Farinella says. “The democratic socialists in the United States want to shift political and economic power away from corporations and ultimately move beyond a capitalistic system, which they view as inherently unfair and exploitive,” he says. “They want to replace capitalism with an economy driven by social need rather than by profit motive, and they want to do this with workers and ordinary citizens making decisions about how to deploy resources—not having government make the decisions about how to deploy resources.” “They want to do it all through democratic processes and institutions,” he adds. ## How does it differ from the mainstream Democratic party? Democratic socialists tend to support policies to the left of mainstream Democratic politicians. Democratic socialists “are very focused on making sure basic needs are guaranteed,” Farinella says—for instance, universal health care, free tuition, housing for all, paid family leave, and free child care are all policies that the [DSA supports](https://platform.dsausa.org/communities/). Some of those policies are in line with those backed by moderate Democrats. But others may not align with the views of many in the party; for instance, on its [website](https://platform.dsausa.org/foreign-policy/), the DSA says it wants to “allow workers to freely migrate between countries to seek employment without restrictive immigration controls,” as well as “provide access to jobs, labor rights, and social services to all immigrants.” While the Democratic party has vocally criticized the Trump Administration’s hardline immigration policy, some of the DSA’s views on immigration may fall to the left of the more moderate Democrats. Strategically, a politician identifying themselves as a democratic socialist could create problems for their campaign, Farinella says, because the word “socialism” can bring “a lot of baggage with lots of people, and there’s a lot of confusion over what they’re really talking about.” “To a lot of Americans, democratic socialism is a nonstarter because of the preconceived negative notions they have about what socialism is and their notions may or may not be actually descriptive of what the democratic socialists in the United States are talking about,” Farinella says. But Farinella says it’s not surprising that democratic socialism is gaining popularity now, at a time when there’s “enormous economic inequality and the perception that the economic system is failing a lot of people”—particularly young people. “At a time when people are feeling left behind and feeling that the economy is structured in such a way as not being equitable and not being fair, they’re going to be interested in exploring other systems,” he says. “There are plenty of people who think the system is not working for them, and so they are looking elsewhere for a system that they might feel is more just and equitable and would give them a better shot at economic success.” _\-Philip Wang contributed reporting._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/what-is-a-democratic-socialist-mamdani-lewis-george-bernie-sanders-aoc/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/what-is-a-democratic-socialist-mamdani-lewis-george-bernie-sanders-aoc/"},"headline":"What Is a Democratic Socialist?","datePublished":"2026-06-18T19:11:31.159Z","dateModified":"2026-06-18T19:11:31.418Z","description":"The past year has seen several self-identified democratic socialists prevail in key local races. 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