Socialism is not a Scary Word

Stop letting the word Socialist Scare you Embrace the idea of a wealthy capitalist county that is a gentle caring place to live Bernie calls it Democratic Socialism, but it is the idea that is important Right wing thinkers and demagogues, going way back in history and certainly to McCarthyism, have created in ordinary Americans a fear of the word Socialist. They have convinced people that even to say the word will lead to the second coming of Lenin and turn the USA into the Columbia of Hugo Chavez. Just look at the republican rhetoric as it attacks progressive agendas. What they are saying is nonsensical gibberish. The fear they have created has caused ordinary people of all classes but especially working and middle classes to vote for a party and its leaders that oppose all attempts to create a country that is both wealthy in total and gentle in the way it treats its unfortunate or protects the very people who votes for them. Anyone from a wealthy western nation will attest to USA being horrible place to be poor, to be an underprivileged young or old person or unlucky enough to be sick. We deserve better than this and we can do better but we must drop the fear of the word Socialism. As a native European who chose to become an American, I am not afraid of the word. No European is because the word has been used in normal conversation since the beginning of the 20th century. Hearing the word does not cause alarm but prompts follow up questions seeking detail. The label is not toxic Of course, there are left wing extremists who use the word to promote almost a nihilist view of the world. Of course, there are progressives with whom I disagree on specifics. That is the point, the word has no meaning by itself. Why is this important? Bernie Sanders has co-opted the word socialism into his campaign for Democratic Socialism and it is not going to go away. Naturally, the scare mongers that I have described above have been at work. It is just a word. it is important that we look at its meaning. So let’s look at Democratic Socialism Democratic Socialism is the way in which almost the entire Rich Prosperous, Free Thinking and Pleasant to live countries in western world are run. It rejoices in capitalism and the idea that the free market is the best way to generate wealth, but it does not stop there. It realizes that there are constant pressures from the powerful to subvert the freedom of the market and it seeks by regulation to make sure that the market is as free as possible and the playing field as level as possible. It then looks at the magnificent pile of wealth created and says OK is the there a way to make sure that this wealth is used to educate our young, keep our population healthy, cushion the challenges of ageing and protect the temporarily and permanently disadvantaged while still rewarding successful risk takers and encourages innovation. Why wouldn’t we all rally around this goal? If we do we can start talking practical details. - Is it one size fits all? – no each country has its own version and that version changes over time. - Is it perfect? – of course not- it is hard and requires constant thought and engaged electorate to adjust and refine to practical realities - Is it a magic answer? – Of course it isn’t. It must deal the challenges of cyclical economic cycles, natural disasters and funding triage issues. I am convinced that if we would just stop being afraid of the word Socialism and embrace the embedded goals of Democratic Socialism then American Exceptionalism could make it work even better than it does in other countries. There is nothing to fear but the word itself.