‘Democratic Socialists’ Really Need to Learn More about Socialism

By Benjamin Powell (Washington Examiner 11/14/18)

With a growing number of politicians self-identifying as socialists, and two—New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Detroit’s Rashida Tlaib—newly elected to the House of Representatives, Americans need to ask themselves a question that didn’t appear on any ballot.

Are you ready for socialism?

It’s an especially interesting question because most Americans don’t really understand what socialism is—or the consequences of embracing it.

I attended the largest socialist conference in the United States, “Socialism 2018,” this past July while finishing research for a new book. Attendees’ opinions on how far down the spectrum toward full-blown socialism they wanted to move varied widely. Some favored small moves in specific sectors, such as energy or healthcare. But many, particularly members of the growing International Socialist Organization, favored moving all the way to abolishing private ownership of the means of production.

Technically, the abolition of private property in the production of goods and services and its replacement with collective ownership under government control is the very definition of socialism...............The report offers a sobering look at the countries closest to the socialist end of the spectrum: the former Soviet Union, Mao’s China, Castro’s Cuba, and Venezuela. The results of taking one’s country to that end of the spectrum were universally awful...............To Read More...