Tag: Socialism

So consider this: It's been a whopping 22 years since the Berlin Wall fell.  China is in many ways more capitalist than we are these days and anyone who actually considers Cuba a serious threat is smoking something way more potent than cigars.

The best examples we have of semi-socialist ideas incorporated into democratic capitalist systems like our own are in Western Europe -- you know, like those poor, oppressed, suffering Scandinavians.

In short, the threat of world communist revolution sweeping over us in the foreseeable future is, shall we say, rather unlikely.

So why, in this day and age, so much talk of socialism?  I think the reason is fundamentally strategic. Repubs gain and keep power through the unlikely feat of harnessing populist fervor to support elitist, corporate interests.  In order to prevent Democrats from stealing their populist thunder, conservative propagandists must ensure that Dems and progressive strategists do not propose a program of economic empowerment for the lower and middle classes.

And how to do that?  Why, you have to scare Democrats away from even thinking about such a thing.  You have to brand all forms of economic populism, and all policies that may help anyone other than the upper classes, as "socialist".