Stop Talking About Socialism

A Stupid Waste of Time

We are engaged in a stupid and pointless discussion of “socialism” vs. “capitalism.” Candidates on the political left like to call themselves “democratic socialists.” On social media, we see criticisms of ”End Stage Capitalism” from the left, and on the political right, we see people arguing passionately that “socialism has never worked.”

This discussion is stupid and pointless because it gets in the way of discussions of substantive policies. The discussion is particularly bad for the political left because - due to decades of Republican propaganda - the word "socialism" turns off most American voters. By choosing to describe themselves as socialists, leftist politicians actually reduce their chance of being elected to office or of enacting the policies that they favor. Of course, the political right is only too happy to label all of the left's proposal's as "socialist."

Leftists should deal with this situation by dropping all talk of "socialism." Instead of talking about socialism, the left should insist on political debates on the merits of its proposals. Such debates would benefit the left because the left's proposals are really very moderate. Nothing that the political left has proposed is particularly radical or new in the context of American politics. So, instead of claiming that its proposals are revolutionary, the left should stress their moderation. To see just how moderate the left's proposals are, let us examine a few of them.

Moderate Policies That Are Portrayed as "Socialist"

Medicare for All

One signature proposal of the American left is Medicare for All, which would expand Medicare to cover everyone in the United States.  This is hardly revolutionary. It is a proposal to expand a successful existing program, and the reasons for the expansion are the same as the reasons for the initial creation of Medicare.

Medicare was established in 1965 because it had become almost impossible for old people to get health insurance.  Old people were starving or eating cat food because they could not pay their medical bills. So, we established Medicare, and it has become the most successful anti-poverty program in our history.

Today, again, the cost of health care is driving millions of Americans into poverty.  Health emergencies are the most common cause of personal bankruptcy in our country, and every day, more of our people cannot afford adequate health insurance.  To solve this problem, the left proposes that we expand a very successful program to cover more people. That is not revolutionary. On the contrary, it is precisely the sort of pragmatic, incremental change that has always characterized American politics at its best.

Free College

Another signature proposal of the left is free post-secondary education at public colleges and universities. This is completely unrevolutionary. In fact, we used to have it, but under prodding from the Radical Right’s anti-tax crusaders, we gave it up. When I attended the University of California in 1958, the tuition was free, and the fees were $140 per semester. State universities in other states were just as inexpensive.  That was also the period of the GI Bill under which military veterans could have even these modest expenses paid by the federal government.

In the years since, radical rightist anti-tax crusaders have persuaded us gradually to reduce the states’ support for higher education and shifted the burden more and more onto the students. We have gone so far in that direction that the left’s proposal now seems revolutionary to some people, but it is not. It is merely a restoration of the normal, American way to pay for the higher education of our people.

Green New Deal

Politicians on the left of the Democratic Party have proposed the idea of a Green New Deal.  It proposes large investments in green energy projects that would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and help to save our planet from global warming. At the same time, in theory, the projects would create millions of good jobs.

The Green New Deal sounds revolutionary, but in fact, it continues our long-standing policy of promoting the development of energy sources.  We have always believed that adequate supplies of energy were crucial to the development of our economy, and the Green New Deal merely redirects our energy policy toward promoting new energy sources that fit our country’s current needs in a time when the use of fossil fuels is endangering our country and its economy.

Today, we spend enormous amounts subsidizing the fossil fuel industries, as we have for many years. The Green New Deal proposes that we continue to subsidize energy production but that in doing so, we should focus our subsidies on green energy rather than fossil fuels. Today, the climate crisis has given rise to new needs, and we must shift our policies to meet them. Again, that is not revolutionary. It is precisely the sort of pragmatic, incremental change that has always made our country successful.

Let's Stop Wasting Time

Let us not waste our time in stupid arguments about socialism. Let us focus on real policy questions with real implications for people’s lives. We on the left should stop using the word "socialism," which turns off most voters, which has nothing to do with any real policy proposals, and which contributes nothing to advancing the cause of making life better for all Americans