What is socialism? Even its most prominent advocates seem unsure.
Actress and former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon failed to provide a coherent definition when she adopted the label and challenged New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his seat. But she did describe what socialism is not, as she understands it: It’s not Cuba, China, or Venezuela. The “democratic” part of “democratic socialism” makes sure of that, she said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has said much the same, describing socialism as an economic ideology that will guarantee “basic levels of dignity so that no person in America is too poor to live.” It’s simple, really.
And presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who is arguably the most famous socialist in the United States, prefers to think of socialism as “democracy with a small ‘d.’” And by that, he means “human beings have the right to control their own lives” in matters of politics and economics — just not when it comes to healthcare or taxes or the environment or … well, a whole bunch of things, it turns out.
These vague answers serve a very specific purpose: They’re intended to whitewash socialism, and to remove its many negative connotations. This is also why politicians such as Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders regularly praise “the Nordic model,” or the vast welfare states adopted by some European countries, such as Sweden.
But these sweeping definitions (or the lack thereof) also reveal how little American socialists understand about the policies they hope to implement. Even Sanders, with his many years of experience, balked last night when he realized Sweden’s economy isn’t exactly socialist.
“Basically, since the 1990s, if you look at examples in Sweden and Denmark, they have been lowering or cutting property taxes, lowering corporate taxes, allowing vouchers for schools — for public schools and private schools — which is one of the reasons why their education has improved,” Fox News host Martha McCallum explained to Sanders during a televised town hall Monday night. “So, they appear to be moving away, more towards market reform, not towards what you’re describing here.”
Sanders’s response? “Look,” he said, “I’m not an expert on the current economy in Sweden.”
He most certainly is not. Indeed, for years, he has hailed Sweden as the “Scandinavian socialist” ideal that provides a countermodel to American capitalism, even though Sweden is more capitalist than socialist. In fact, Sweden has one of the most market-oriented economies in the world, according to the Heritage Foundation’s 2019 Index of Economic Freedom ranking.
Sanders is also painfully unaware of the havoc his socialist policies would wreak on the U.S. economy — or he simply doesn’t care. He routinely dismisses concerns about his policies’ lofty price tags and insists that the multitrillion-dollar hole in his math doesn’t matter because he hasn’t yet passed Medicare for All, student loan debt forgiveness, or the Green New Deal.
And this is where Sanders’s disconnect from reality becomes apparent. He has the vision and the enthusiasm, but he lacks the foresight and prudence necessary to turn an idea into law. Sanders is a great socialist in theory. But practically, he’s still trying to figure out what socialism means — and more importantly, what it requires.
