The United
States—like almost every other country with an advanced economy, such as the
U.K., Germany, France, and Japan—is already a partially socialist country, with
a mixed economy and many government programs that serve the public good. Note
however that this is “socialism” with a small “s.” Democratic socialism is far less about
limiting opportunity than many think, and more about simply determining and
establishing a reasonable and equitable definition of what constitutes
basic human needs. By this definition,
Social Security is a socialist program: it's a government-run pension system
that cuts out private money managers. Medicare - a single-payer, government-run
health insurance program for those over 65 - is too. Medicare-For-All would
simply extend this to the rest of the population.
The minimum
wage, maximum hour, and child labor laws that go back over a century are
likewise "socialist" programs, in that the government intervenes in
the capitalist market to require employers to meet minimum standards that might
not be met in a pure, unregulated “free” market.
Agricultural
and energy subsidies, both, oddly enough favorites of many Republicans,
including members of both the House and the Senate who get farm subsidies, are also
a form of socialist programs. Unlike Robin Hood, however these are a concentrated form of "take from everyone and give to the rich." Likewise, the government’s crop insurance program
is more of the same. Direct farm aid has climbed each year of Trump’s
presidency, from $11.5 billion in 2017 to more than $32 billion this year — an
all-time high. The USDA is paying farmers roughly twice as much as the actual
harm that they suffered from the Trump incited tariff/trade war. And the
payments are based on production; the bigger the farm, the bigger the payments.
Thousands of farmers got more than $100,000 each. According to an NPR analysis
of USDA records of payments made through July 2019, 100,000 individuals
collected just over 70% of the money. Thirty-three members of Congress and
their immediate family members collected at least $15.3 million in farm
subsidies over the past 10 years. On the other hand, only two, both
Senators, are actually working farmers. The rest are essentially simply
collecting a “return on investment.” The “shadiest” part? Although current
year’s payouts ($32 billion, remember) exceeds the USDA budget by over $8
billion, Congress rarely even discusses the extra expenditure of public monies
to a select few. Where’s the Republican outrage? Begin with the fact that this particular
form of wealth redistribution tends to favor “red state” endeavors.
Stripped of the
Red-baiting and name-calling, the real debate isn’t between capitalism vs.
socialism, but about the appropriate balance between the two.
Conservatives
want to reduce Social Security and Medicare benefits and reduce the numbers who
qualify, while progressives want to increase and expand these programs. Many progressives want to move towards a
Medicare system covering all Americans, not just those over 65 (“Medicare for
All”) while centrist Democrats want to protect the ACA which is a hybrid
between private insurance and government insurance and regulation, and
conservatives want to go back to the all-private system which pre-dated the
ACA.
It is worthy of note that the first US President to actively discuss and promote universal health care was Theodore Roosevelt! (A Republican, although except for shared white superiority views, Trump wouldn’t recognize that). Again, in the “what they don’t know” category, is the fact that historically, “for profit” heath care is a relatively new concept. For profit health insurance truly began during and after WWII, and was more formalized by the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973. Today's truly astronomical drug company profits are relatively recent, as well.
Both are the results of successful Conservative attempts to enable the private generation of profit from the unfortunate medical circumstances of others, which shouldn’t be revenue sources, but basic rights of citizens. The vast bulk of civilized nations of the world recognize this as a basic fact.
The government
already supports higher education, grants, and scholarships to a fair extent, (that’s
socialism) but progressives want to make a public college education free or
debt-free. Conservatives support
government subsidies for agriculture and the oil energy (that’s also a form socialism)
while many progressives believe, as do I, (discussed above) that this is
“reverse welfare” for the rich.
Under the
headline, "Most Young Americans Prefer Socialism to Capitalism" CNBC
reported on a Gallup poll this summer showing that millennials are more
favorable to the socialist side than the capitalist side of the equation. with
51% having a positive view of socialism and only 47% having a positive view of
capitalism.
Lost in the fog of partisan bickering are two basic truths:
·
The United States has, and has had, for over 100
years, social programs and ideas which are socialist in nature. Even such
things as Fire departments, roads, snow clearing, levees on rivers, etc. are
instances of public money spent to benefit all the population. The fact that
private interests and capital continue to be the business models for most goods
and services is why it’s properly called Democratic Socialism. It can be, and
is being argued that such things as producing cars, farming and, in fact, the
vast bulk of consumer goods which are purchased with discretionary spending
should be privately financed and produced. No sane US politician has opined
otherwise.
However, it can also be argued that such universally necessary modern
necessities as Electrical Power should be produced by centrally owned and
operated entities without a profit motive. Actually, many developed nations have nationally owned
power prediction facilities, but others use privately owned systems. There is some form of government oversight or control in almost all, regardless of public or private status. In truth, in the US, Public Utilities
Commissions who regulate and approve rates for these privately owned and
operated utilities are a hybrid approach to this issue and have been in place,
working as designed, for decades, as have most state insurance regulators.
·
The second and sad point is that the bulk of
those who flock to the banner of “No Socialism” have essentially no awareness
or understanding of the things discussed in the preceding paragraphs. They have been
fed a diet of “Socialism is Communism” for about a hundred years.
Trump’s
false proclamation that America “will never be a socialist country” is simply
an attempt to resurrect the post-war McCarthyite red-baiting of his childhood (Trump’s
first personal “fixer” Roy Cohn, was also Joe McCarthy’s legal hit man) in
order to put his thumb on the capitalist side of the scale favored by the
oligarchs in the ongoing debate over how much socialism and America should
have.
Truth told, it
is impossible to over-exaggerate the chaos and misery which would ensue if all
the things which are produced, provided, or regulated in the public interest
(you know, like socialism) were to evaporate, This is why it makes me cringe,
to see a MAGA hat wearing, over 65, person, since the vast percentage of them
happily cash Social Security checks every month and use some form of Medicare.
There are those
who insist that this isn’t “true” socialism a la Marx and Engels. Of course, it
isn’t and no one with a brain has suggested that it is, although several have
been blamed for it. Marx and Engels theorized about State Socialism
(Communism) in which the state owns or controls everything. On a sliding scale
of political theory with Fascism far right end and Communism on the far left,
Democratic Socialism is just a bit left of center. Unregulated Free Market
Capitalism (essentially Oligarchy) of the sort John Stossel (and to a significant
degree, Donald Trump) advocates is farther right of center than Democratic
Socialism is to the left.
Let’s look at
definitions:
Fascism: far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism
characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition
and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to
prominence in early 20th-century Europe.
Communism: A philosophical, social, political, economic
ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of a communist
society, namely a socioeconomic order structured upon the ideas of common
ownership of the means of production and the absence of social classes, money
and the state.
I would point
out that, for the average citizen, if you go far enough Right, conditions will
be just about the same as if you go far enough Left. The extremes of both deny personal
freedoms, that’s why I generally represent the political spectrum as a circle,
not as a line from left to right. In fact, wartime Italians under Mussolini were
little better off than wartime Russians under Stalin. Both had dictatorial
leaders and little freedom for citizens. Finally, consider how easily Vladimir
Putin was able to move Russia from what is was to the Oligarchy it has become.
When participative government falls victim to absolutist “lifetime leaders,”
such as Kim, Putin or Saudi princes, all of whose power Trump admires, and has
said so, bad things happen, and the people bear the brunt of it.
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