Four years ago the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) were in a funk(沮丧，消沉). Jacobin, a left-wing magazine, depicted on its cover three DSA-friendly lawmakers in a waiting room and declared the group in purgatory(炼狱，受苦之地). Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in 2020 had made Democrats complacent—they had gone “back to brunch(回到早午餐（指回归安逸）)”, in the pejorative of the left. Then came the war in Gaza; progressives found their animating(激励的，鼓舞的) cause in Palestine. Mr Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris strengthened their case for change: what were establishment Democrats good for if they couldn’t stop his second coming?(特朗普击败哈里斯强化了他们变革的理由：如果建制派民主党人连阻止他卷土重来都做不到，那他们还有什么用？)
四年前，美国民主社会主义者（DSA）还处于低迷状态。左翼杂志《雅各宾》在封面上描绘了三位亲DSA的议员坐在候诊室里，宣称该组织正身处炼狱。2020年乔·拜登击败唐纳德·特朗普，让民主党人志得意满——用左派的贬损话来说，他们“回去吃早午餐了”。接着加沙战争爆发；进步派在巴勒斯坦问题上找到了他们的激情所在。特朗普击败卡玛拉·哈里斯，更强化了他们要求变革的理由：如果建制派民主党人连阻止他的卷土重来都做不到，那他们还有什么用？
These days the populist left is ascendant(上升的，占优势的). New York has a DSA mayor and soon Washington, DC, will get one too. DSA-backed insurgents(起义者，挑战者) have trounced(彻底击败，重创) incumbents in several congressional primaries. On August 4th Abdul El-Sayed beat Haley Stevens, a centrist(中间派，温和派) backed by pro-Israel groups, in Michigan’s Democratic primary for Senate. Dr El-Sayed is not a DSA member—he calls himself a capitalist—but he draws support from the socialist crowd. In Wisconsin, Francesca Hong, an out-and-proud(公开且自豪的) socialist, looks likely to win the Democratic primary for governor on August 11th. The momentum(势头，动力) is fuelling speculation that a DSA-aligned candidate could nab(夺得，抓住) the party’s presidential nomination in 2028. It is a remarkable development for a group with quirky(古怪的，独特的) governance, few members and many unpopular positions.
如今，民粹左翼势力正日益壮大。纽约已有一位DSA市长，华盛顿特区很快也将迎来一位。DSA支持的挑战者在多场国会初选中击败了在任者。8月4日，阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德在密歇根州参议院民主党初选中击败了海利·史蒂文斯——一位得到亲以色列团体支持的中间派。埃尔-赛义德博士并非DSA成员——他自称是资本主义者——但他获得了社会主义群体的支持。在威斯康星州，公开自豪的社会主义者弗朗西斯卡·洪看起来很可能在8月11日的民主党州长初选中获胜。这一势头助长了猜测：一位与DSA结盟的候选人可能在2028年赢得民主党总统提名。对于一个治理方式奇特、成员稀少且立场多不受欢迎的组织来说，这是非凡的发展。
The DSA has a structure unique in American politics: it is a discrete(独立的，分离的) entity but its candidates compete on the Democratic Party ballot line, enabling it to change the party from within. Unlike the top-down model of the two big parties, where officeholders and donors hold sway(拥有支配地位，掌控), DSA members decide most things by vote. Their activism(行动主义，激进活动) extends to union organising and agitating(鼓动，煽动) against data centres. This keeps the rank and file(普通成员，基层) engaged outside campaign cycles. The DSA, says David Purucker, a sociologist and member, thrives during periods of Republican governance because “it’s on the barricades(在街垒上，积极抗争) much more naturally than the Democratic Party”.
DSA拥有在美国政治中独一无二的结构：它是一个独立的实体，但其候选人却在民主党的选票线上竞争，从而能够从内部改变民主党。与两大政党的自上而下模式不同——在那种模式下，官员和捐赠者掌握大权——DSA的多数事务由成员投票决定。他们的行动主义延伸到工会组织和反对数据中心的抗议活动。这使基层成员在竞选周期之外也能保持参与。社会学家兼成员戴维·普鲁克表示，DSA在共和党执政时期蓬勃发展，因为“它比民主党更自然地处于街垒之上”。