This is simplistic. If reform works, do it. If it cannot, use force. Even Marx, if I remember correctly, supported the reformist Chartists in relatively democratic countries like England (while supporting revolutionary methods in feudal Germany).

Marxist: Let me mock one of my closest ideological allies. That will help bring about revolution.

Democratic Socialist: The fuck did I do to you, bro?

This is so dumb.

If you want change, you have to take power. Power is where the people think it is.

If people can't even realize their own power as workers and unionize, they're not about to rise up in some glorious revolution. And even if they did, the majority would just do capitalism again, because most people can't imagine anything else

But the economic system is collapsing. When it does, we need power. That's how this works. We take local, State, and federal positions and use them to do progressive things, to improve material conditions.

And then when we get to an inflection point, we need leaders who already have the support of the people. We need populist progressives in power