The Rise of Socialism in the United States: American “Exceptionalism” and the Left After 2016

Abstract

This chapter traces the rise of a new socialist movement in the United States, which crystallized in the aftermath of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. The origins of this phenomenon lay in the disappointed hopes of the Obama presidency, following the disastrous Iraq War and the 2008 economic crisis. Subsequently, growing concerns over declining economic opportunities, rising inequality, and the effects of exploding student debt drove support for Sanders’ unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination in 2016 under the banner of "democratic socialism." Since then, the emergence of this new movement has been embodied in the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which now has over 50,000 members. DSA’s emergence marks the first time American socialism had such broad organizational support since the heyday of the Communist Party during the 1930’s. This development, I argue, reflects a historical irony that the traditional weakness of American socialism has now become an advantage. In recent years, the absence of an electorally viable socialist or social-democratic party has also meant that, unlike in Europe, the US left bore none of the stigma for austerity, inequality growth, and chronic economic instability. As a result, socialism is now seen by many younger Americans as a new and progressive force. I conclude by arguing that in order to build on this momentum, the new movement must resolve a variety of challenging political and organizational questions.

Annex: What Is Democratic Socialism?

“What Is Democratic Socialism?,” Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), accessed November 21, 2018, https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/.

This short, question-and-answer-style introduction to DSA’s basic politics appears on the organization’s website. It provides an overview of the group’s traditional political outlook, including a description of “democratic socialism” as something akin to what is sometimes known as “market socialism,” its interpretation of the failures of the Soviet model and the limits of European social democracy, its relationship with the Democratic Party and electoral politics, and its understanding of the necessity for strategic involvement in a variety of youth and social movements.

It is important to note that while this document captures much of the thinking of key segments of the DSA membership, it is also outdated and no longer reflective of the full range of opinion inside the group. In fact, the group’s membership has grown so explosively since 2016; it now contains a wide variety of perspectives on these questions, from mild social democrats to proponents of a revolutionary rupture with capitalism. Many members have not come to a firm position on precisely what “democratic socialism” will look like or how it might be achieved.

Moreover, while this document is clearly shaped by Cold War hostility to the idea of socialism, and the imperative of differentiating DSA’s traditional socialist reformism from the Soviet model, today, these are no longer such important concerns. Thus, none of this should be taken as a comprehensive or settled statement on the current politics of DSA, which remains in flux.

Doesn’t Socialism Mean that the Government Will Own and Run Everything?

Democratic socialists do not want to create an all-powerful government bureaucracy. But we do not want big corporate bureaucracies to control our society either. Rather we believe that social and economic decisions should be made by those whom they most affect.

Today, corporate executives who answer only to themselves and a few wealthy stockholders make basic economic decisions affecting millions of people. Resources are used to make money for capitalists rather than to meet human needs. We believe that the workers and consumers who are affected by economic institutions should own and control them.

Social ownership could take many forms, such as worker-owned cooperatives or publicly owned enterprises managed by workers and consumer representatives. Democratic socialists favor as much decentralization as possible. While the large concentrations of capital in industries such as energy and steel may necessitate some form of state ownership, many consumer goods industries might be best run as cooperatives.

Democratic socialists have long rejected the belief that the whole economy should be centrally planned. While we believe that democratic planning can shape major social investments like mass transit, housing, and energy, market mechanisms are needed to determine the demand for many consumer goods.

Hasn’t Socialism Been Discredited by the Collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe?

Socialists have been among the harshest critics of authoritarian Communist states. Just because their bureaucratic elites called them “socialist” did not make it so; they also called their regimes “democratic.” Democratic socialists always opposed the ruling party states of those societies, just as we oppose the ruling classes of capitalist societies. We applaud the democratic revolutions that have transformed the former Communist bloc. However, the improvement of people’s lives requires real democracy without ethnic rivalries and/or new forms of authoritarianism. Democratic socialists will continue to play a key role in that struggle throughout the world.

Moreover, the fall of Communism should not blind us to injustices at home. We cannot allow all radicalism to be dismissed as “Communist.” That suppression of dissent and diversity undermines America’s ability to live up to its promise of equality of opportunity, not to mention the freedoms of speech and assembly.

Private Corporations Seem to Be a Permanent Fixture in the USA, So Why Work Toward Socialism?

In the short term, we can’t eliminate private corporations, but we can bring them under greater democratic control. The government could use regulations and tax incentives to encourage companies to act in the public interest and outlaw destructive activities such as exporting jobs to low-wage countries and polluting our environment. Public pressure can also have a critical role to play in the struggle to hold corporations accountable. Most of all, socialists look to unions to make private business more accountable.

Won’t Socialism Be Impractical Because People Will Lose Their Incentive to Work?

We don’t agree with the capitalist assumption that starvation or greed are the only reasons people work. People enjoy their work if it is meaningful and enhances their lives. They work out of a sense of responsibility to their community and society. Although a long-term goal of socialism is to eliminate all but the most enjoyable kinds of labor, we recognize that unappealing jobs will long remain. These tasks would be spread among as many people as possible rather than distributed on the basis of class, race, ethnicity, or gender, as they are under capitalism. And this undesirable work should be among the best, not the least, rewarded work within the economy. For now, the burden should be placed on the employer to make work desirable by raising wages, offering benefits, and improving the work environment. In short, we believe that a combination of social, economic, and moral incentives will motivate people to work.

Why Are There No Models of Democratic Socialism?

Although no country has fully instituted democratic socialism, the socialist parties and labor movements of other countries have won many victories for their people. We can learn from the comprehensive welfare state maintained by the Swedes, Canada’s national health-care system, France’s nationwide childcare program, and Nicaragua’s literacy programs. Lastly, we can learn from efforts initiated right here in the USA, such as the community health centers created by the government in the 1960s. They provided high-quality family care with community involvement in decision-making.

But Hasn’t the European Social Democratic Experiment Failed?

Many northern European countries enjoy tremendous prosperity and relative economic equality, thanks to the policies pursued by social democratic parties. These nations used their relative wealth to insure a high standard of living for their citizens—high wages, health care, and subsidized education. Most importantly, social democratic parties supported strong labor movements that became central players in economic decision-making. But with the globalization of capitalism, the old social democratic model becomes ever harder to maintain. Stiff competition from low-wage labor markets in developing countries and the constant fear that industry will move to avoid taxes and strong labor regulations have diminished (but not eliminated) the ability of nations to launch ambitious economic reform on their own. Social democratic reform must now happen at the international level. Multinational corporations must be brought under democratic controls, and workers’ organizing efforts must reach across borders.

Now, more than ever, socialism is an international movement. As socialists have always known, the welfare of working people in Finland or California depends largely on standards in Italy or Indonesia. As a result, we must work toward reforms that can withstand the power of multinationals and global banks, and we must fight for a world order that is not controlled by bankers and bosses.

Aren’t You a Party That’s in Competition with the Democratic Party for Votes and Support?

No, we are not a separate party. Like our friends and allies in the feminist, labor, civil rights, religious, and community organizing movements, many of us have been active in the Democratic Party. We work with those movements to strengthen the party’s left wing, represented by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

The process and structure of American elections seriously hurt third party efforts. Winner-take-all elections instead of proportional representation, rigorous party qualification requirements that vary from state to state, a presidential instead of a parliamentary system, and the two-party monopoly on political power have doomed third-party efforts. We hope that at some point in the future, in coalition with our allies, an alternative national party will be viable. For now, we will continue to support progressives who have a real chance at winning elections, which usually means left-wing Democrats.

If I Am Going to Devote Time to Politics, Why Shouldn’t I Focus on Something More Immediate?

Although capitalism will be with us for a long time, reforms we win now—raising the minimum wage, securing a national health plan, and demanding passage of right-to-strike legislation—can bring us closer to socialism. Many democratic socialists actively work in the single-issue organizations that advocate for those reforms. We are visible in the reproductive freedom movement; the fight for student aid; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender organizations; anti-racist groups; and the labor movement.

It is precisely our socialist vision that informs and inspires our day-to-day activism for social justice. As socialists, we bring a sense of the interdependence of all struggles for justice. No single-issue organization can truly challenge the capitalist system or adequately secure its particular demands. In fact, unless we are all collectively working to win a world without oppression, each fight for reforms will be disconnected, maybe even self-defeating.

What Can Young People Do to Move the USA Toward Socialism?

Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, young people have played a critical role in American politics. They have been a tremendous force for both political and cultural change in this country: in limiting the USA’s options in the war in Vietnam, in forcing corporations to divest from the racist South African regime, in reforming universities, and in bringing issues of sexual orientation and gender discrimination to public attention. Though none of these struggles were fought by young people alone, they all featured youth as leaders in multigenerational progressive coalitions. Young people are needed in today’s struggles as well: for universal health care and stronger unions, against welfare cuts and predatory multinational corporations.

Schools, colleges, and universities are important to American political culture. They are the places where ideas are formulated and policy discussed and developed. Being an active part of that discussion is a critical job for young socialists. We have to work hard to change people’s misconceptions about socialism, to broaden political debate, and to overcome many students’ lack of interest in engaging in political action. Off campus, too, in our daily cultural lives, young people can be turning the tide against racism, sexism, and homophobia, as well as the conservative myth of the virtue of “free” markets.

If So Many People Misunderstand Socialism, Why Continue to Use the Word?

First, we call ourselves socialists because we are proud of what we are. Second, no matter what we call ourselves, conservatives will use it against us. Anti-socialism has been repeatedly used to attack reforms that shift power to working-class people and away from corporate capital. In 1993, national health insurance was attacked as “socialized medicine” and defeated. Liberals are routinely denounced as socialists in order to discredit reform. Until we face, and beat, the stigma attached to the “S word,” politics in America will continue to be stifled and our options limited. We also call ourselves socialists because we are proud of the traditions upon which we are based, of the heritage of the Socialist Party of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas, and of other struggles for change that have made America more democratic and just. Finally, we call ourselves socialists to remind everyone that we have a vision of a better world.