During his Sept. 25 speech before the U.N. General Assembly, President Donald Trump called for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela by way of referencing historically ingrained biases. In his speech, produced by his Senior Advisor Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump proclaimed that: "Virtually everywhere Socialism or Communism has been tried, it has produced suffering, corruption and decay. Socialism's thirst for power leads to expansion, incursion and oppression. All nations of the world should resist Socialism and the misery that it brings to everyone."
While this may be just a snippet from the president's rambling speech, it appears to have been designed for domestic consumption, as well as to incite an international response, while regurgitating "red scare" propaganda from the 1920's and 1950's, conflating Socialism with Communism, and exhibiting a misunderstanding of Socialism and its role in some highly developed western democracies.
To be clear, Socialism and Communism, although linked in some political theories, are not alike. Communism is a political system. Socialism is an economic system. Karl Marx saw Socialism as a historical phase of economic development superseding Capitalism. The term refers to a system of social organization in which private property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. The conception of that control has been interpreted in myriad ways. Over time multiple paths by which Capitalism can best be turned into Socialism have been identified.
Pure Socialism has only been seen very rarely, usually in a few Communist regimes. Far more common are systems of social democracy, also referred to as democratic Socialism, in which the means of production (including wealth) are socially and collectively owned or controlled alongside a politically democratic system of government in the belief that it produces a fair distribution of income without impairing economic growth. (Donald F. Busky, Democratic Socialism: A Global Survey, Praeger, July 20, 2000).
In 19th century Marxist theory, Socialism was considered a transitional state between the overthrow of Capitalism and the realization of Communism. In reality, this is not what happened. During the 1920s and 1930s, even Hitler separated Communism from Socialism as being on opposite ends of a continuum. Moreover, Socialism did not produce suffering, corruption, et. as depicted in the president's speech. Near the top of a list identifying the 10 most socialist countries in the world (Peerform, Dec. 6, 2012), we find allies like Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Ireland. These countries tend to feature large welfare programs, including universal free healthcare. They focus on developing an egalitarian lifestyle. It is notable that Denmark only spends 11 percent of its GDP on healthcare. We spend 18 percent. A list of countries on the "Quality of Life Index" show that Denmark, Finland and The Netherlands rank #1, 2 and 3. The U.S. ranks #9. Moreover, Norway has the highest standard of living in Europe.
Venezuela, by the way, is not considered to be a socialist country. It has a mixed economy, a compromise between government ownership of the means of production and free market Capitalism. Over 70% of its economy is comprised of private industry. The country has less central government spending than European social democracies.
In a way, Mr. Trump's misguided verbal attack on Socialism may be understandable. Public speeches, even those before an international audience, are designed to inspire a domestic audience as well. Cynics may remind us that during this election year Socialism has cropped up as an issue. In recently concluded primaries nearly two dozen candidates ran under the socialist banner on platforms that included healthcare for all, a $15 per hour minimum wage, free tuition and income equality. Newcomer, and self identified Socialist, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez's primary defeat of Rep. Joe Crowly, the fourth highest ranking House Democrat representing New York's 14th district, sent shockwaves through both parties. The "Democratic Socialists of America," a group formed in 1982, has experienced an enormous surge of interest since President Trump was elected. Since November 2016, its membership increased more than seven-fold, from 6,000 to 45,000.
While Socialism seems to be losing its historic stigma in this country, there does appear to be a significant generation gap in its insurgence. In a 2015 Harvard Institute poll, a plurality of voters under 30 supported Socialism, dropping to 15% among those over 65.
Democratic Party leaders worry that talking openly about being a Socialist will make it harder to defeat Republican opponents. After all, the word "Socialist" has long been wielded by conservatives as a slur, associated with bad things in history.
Perhaps it would help to understand what we really are talking about.
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