In the mid-1950s, several countries had fallen or were falling to the scourge of tyrannical socialism.
At the time, President Dwight Eisenhower, who a decade earlier played a crucial role in the defeat of national socialist Nazi Germany in World War II, proposed “the falling domino theory.”
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Speaking metaphorically about the rise of socialism in Southeast Asia, Eisenhower explained, “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So, you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.”
China and North Korea had already fallen. Eisenhower was concerned about “the possible sequence of events, the loss of Indochina, of Burma, of Thailand, of the Peninsula, and Indonesia following.”
“Asia, after all, has already lost some 450 million of its peoples to the Communist dictatorship, and we simply can’t afford greater losses,” he warned.
Eisenhower’s theory has been scrutinized by historians who benefit from the fact that hindsight is always 20/20. Some say he was prophetic. Others claim he was wrong.
Regardless, I think Eisenhower’s theory applies to America in 2026, as so-called “democratic socialism” is rising rapidly in big cities on the coasts and urban enclaves in the heartland.
The political context is similar, but the circumstances are different.
First, a brief note about socialism.
Socialism falls under the ugly family tree rooted in rotten socialism-communism that has spawned Nazism, Stalinism, the Khmer Rouge, and many more grotesque atrocities.
It is the antithesis of the American way because it places the state, not we the people, as the sole source of authority. “Democratic socialism,” like all forms of Marxism, does not protect individual liberty, private property, or natural rights.
Socialism does not desire to improve America. It seeks to destroy America.
According to the Democratic Socialists of America, “Capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit. We must replace it with democratic socialism.”
Socialism thrives on anger, resentment, grievance, greed, envy, sloth, zero-sum thinking, and selfishness. It begets immorality. It fosters dependence.
Socialism is not aspirational. Nor is it virtuous.
Despite these shortcomings, socialism is clearly rising in America. The Democratic Socialists of America is a political force, and it is teaming with socialist political groups such as Our Revolution and Justice Democrats in mainstreaming “democratic socialism.”
Tragically, they have been aided and abetted by public schools, social media, Hollywood, academia, and other cultural forces that have generally championed socialism.
Strangely, given socialism’s macabre history, it is being celebrated with a big smile in America. Somehow, “democratic socialism” has become avant-garde cool. It is hip, “inclusive,” and oozes empathy.
I am particularly worried about hopelessly misguided young Americans who think socialism is the solution to their economic woes.
According to recent polls conducted by Rasmussen Reports and The Heartland Institute, more than half of likely young voters want a socialist to win the White House in 2028.
Meanwhile, more than half say their parents, guardians, teachers, and professors also “favor” socialism. Could this be correlation, causation, or both?
Eisenhower was deeply worried that dirt-poor, uneducated people who had just become free from colonization could fall prey to the scourge of socialism.
I worry that rich, spoiled, entitled, lazy, miseducated young Americans will burden us all with socialism. They will unwittingly unleash the throes of tyranny that will doom us all. They will empower the super-smart experts and central planners to chase their vainglorious dreams of utopia. Never mind if erecting that utopia necessitates force and coercion. It is for the greater good.
To prevent this nightmare scenario and ensure that the American dream remains, we must teach young Americans two things: Socialism is awful, and the American way is amazing.
As a former public high school social studies teacher, I know this is a tall task. But it is of the utmost importance because we must confront the fact that socialism has gained a foothold in America politically, geographically, as well as spiritually.
HERE’S WHAT SOCIALISTS GET WRONG ABOUT THE FOUNDING FATHERS
Make no mistake, socialism is on the march across America. Like Eisenhower said in 1954, this could be the “beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.”
If the domestic socialist dominoes continue to fall in America, it will create a disintegration of freedom in the most liberty-minded nation ever to exist. That could have profound implications for the future of freedom the world over.
Chris Talgo is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
