Join the Kansas City chapter of Democratic Socialists for America on Saturday, July 29th as we march for singlepayer healthcare in America.

Stand in solidarity with the millions of people who have been exploited by corporate medicine, pharmaceutical giants, and for-profit insurance cartels by demanding universal health care as a fundamental human right.

We will be gathering signatures all month long to support a Missouri ballot measure that would provide a public option for statewide healthcare.

Want to learn more about the moral and humanitarian failure of for-profit healthcare? Read local author, Garrett S. Griffin's take in his latest article: Free Market Healthcare is Immoral.

Get more details about the petition for a public option for healthcare.

ABOUT KANSAS CITY DSA

What is a Democratic Socialist? It is indisputable that our current society and economy prioritize the profits of a privileged few at the expense of the people. Democratic Socialists believe that making our economy, political system, and social structures truly democratic is the only way to build a society where the needs of all people are met. Political, economic, and social institutions in a democratic socialist society vest power in the people: workers, voters, and citizens.

Democratic Socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few. Democratic Socialism elevates the exploited and marginalized so that the fundamental imbalances of power that have led to racism, misogyny, imperialism, and oppression of LGBTQIA people are eradicated. We aim to work in solidarity with the poor and working class.

Democratic Socialists also recognize that capitalist economies are unsustainable, and built on a history of violent colonialism, patriarchy, and authoritarianism. Only by replacing these systems will the human race be able to reach its full potential. We also completely reject authoritarian and state capitalist systems that perpetuate this violence under the guise of socialism.

DSA is not a political party, but an activist and advocacy organization. Through campus and community-based chapters, DSA members use a variety of peaceful collective action to fight for reforms that empower working people. Commonly employed collective action includes direct advocacy to legislators and policy makers, grassroots political action such as ballot initiatives, public demonstrations, and tactical support and collaborations with aligned organizations.

The Kansas City DSA was founded in January 2017 to be a catalyst for radical change in our region. More than 200 individuals have attended events and meetings, and active subcommittees implement action in areas such as health care, women's rights, environmental justice, and science and technology. In June, the chapter held its first convention, which elected organizing committee members to one-year terms.

All people are welcome to join KC DSA meetings, marches, protests, etc. To vote at meetings, sign up as a national DSA member here: http://www.dsausa.org/ Official members can join subcommittees and will have equal voting power to be able to join in the democratic decision-making of the organization and help shape its future.

WHY WE FIGHT

Early 20th century activist Rosa Luxemburg once said, “There is no democracy without socialism and no socialism without democracy.”

We believe in giving power to the people. That is, expanding democracy in our workplaces and government, so ordinary people have the power to use such institutions to meet human needs. These people are not distant government bureaucrats or wealthy elites, but our families, friends, and neighbors.

Modern capitalist economies are run by and for the few, in the relentless pursuit of profit. The vast majority of firms and workplaces are owned by a single person or perhaps a small group of people who hold all decision-making power.

The singular goal of these firms is to generate profit by increasing productivity and sales while keeping wages as low as possible for workers. Although none of their profits would be possible without the labor of workers, firm owners routinely award themselves the fruit of profits. Over the past several decades, wealthy capitalists have destroyed the livelihoods of millions of workers, moving operations to poorer nations where the exploitation of workers can be taken to appalling extremes, purely for increases in profit. The perpetrators of these actions then cast the blame on labor unions, which organize and fight for the rights of workers.

In addition to the abuse and degradation of workers the world over, the exploitative capitalist apparatus has pushed our planet and the seven billion people who inhabit it, as well of millions of species with whom we share the planet, to the brink of ecological ruin. The unrestrained pursuit of profit by capitalist elites has engendered dangerous short-term thinking for the global ecosystem, allowing millions of tons of greenhouse gases to be pumped into the atmosphere, spawning irreversible climate change that threatens the existence of life on Earth.

We envision an economy that empowers workers and stakeholders, instead of owners and shareholders. We will continue to fight for a truly democratic economy in which decisions of impact will be made collectively, and the interests of all stakeholders are taken into account. The divisions between owners and workers will dissipate, allowing all people to pursue meaningful work and granting them the freedom to unlock their potential.

We will also fight for an economy that values the well-being of our environment and future generations, ensuring that present desires will not overrule and jeopardize

Governments around the world, notably the United States federal government, are controlled by these same elites and have become mechanisms for them to expand and perpetuate their wealth. The problems that our governments have created or allowed to exacerbate through negligence are not the results of a few bad apples, but are inevitable consequences of the elite-driven capitalistic system that is responsible for so much violence and exploitation.

Widespread dissatisfaction with government exists because those who should be our representatives do not adequately serve the people. It is the few who pursue eternal war, from which oil companies, weapons manufacturers, and others profit, who so many politicians serve. The interests that have orchestrated a hostile takeover of governments all over the world continue the scourge of colonialism, support brutal authoritarian regimes, and continue to wreak havoc on the planetary ecosystem are the same that profligate exclusion from the democratic process.

The government envisioned by Democratic Socialists will seek inclusion from all people, and will operate for the public good while rejecting the short-sighted interests of exploitative profiteers. The people will be actively involved in the development of public policy, rather than servants of the capitalist elites, or bureaucrats who are continually subject to regulatory capture. Perhaps most importantly, we will tax personal and corporate wealth that does not benefit the broader society, such as financial speculation, capital gains, intergenerational wealth transfers, and transactions meant simply to increase profit, will be taxed to sufficiently provide for the common needs of the people, such as education, health care, energy infrastructure, and a fair legal system.

There is no true democracy in the workplace without democratic socialism. There is no true democracy in government without democratic socialism. We invite you to join us and help create a humane and just society that works for all people.