By Chris Talgo
Like a lingering rash, socialism just won’t go away. Incredibly, despite its absolutely horrific history of mass death, poverty, misery, and destruction, it continues to plague the world.
Socialism has even had a presence in the United States for a very long time.
In the early 1800s, social reformers sought to create collectivist utopian communities modeled on the socialist ideas emanating in Western Europe. Men like Robert Owen believed they could create perfect communities from scratch. However, most of these “experiments,” such as Owen’s New Harmony in Indiana, failed amid internal power squabbles and lack of basic resources, like food, clothing, and housing.
After The Communist Manifesto was released in 1848, utopian socialism gave way to scientific socialism. Under scientific socialism, the goal was no longer to create an arbitrary, subjective utopia.
Rather, it was to use science, reason, and expertise to create a society predicated upon the philosophy: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”
In the United States, scientific socialism was adopted by the Progressive movement. President Woodrow Wilson, although he never formally referred to himself as a socialist, and jailed Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene Debs, embraced the ideology.
After the Progressive movement lost its luster, socialism has continued to resurface in the United States under a variety of iterations and names. It has had its ups and downs; its ebbs and flows.
However, over the past decade or so, socialism has come back with a vengeance in the United States. In 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the oxymoronic term “democratic socialism” into the political lexicon.
Since then, nouveau socialists like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have made New York ground zero for the development and rise of democratic socialism. AOC makes socialism seem so empathetic and in line with democratic principles. She is superb at spouting socialist slogans.
Make no mistake, as of now, socialism has gained a foothold among the left in New York City. Ironic, isn’t it? After all, Columbia University played a vital role in spreading Marxist philosophy throughout America’s institutions of higher learning nearly a century ago.
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I can’t help but cringe when I watch Zohran Mamdani, the latest socialist media darling, espouse shallow, stupid, and obviously failed policies such as city-run grocery stores, as a real response to the affordability crisis New York City residents face on a daily basis.
Sadly, it seems like an avowed communist, who has literally called for “seizing the means of production,” will likely be the next mayor of New York City.
But all is not hunky dory on the left as socialist momentum builds.
Consider the situation in Minneapolis, where another young socialist is running for mayor. Unlike in New York City, where Mamdani holds a commanding lead and looks like a sheer lock at this point, Omar Fateh faces an uphill climb.
Fateh’s controversial tactics at the nomination convention have sparked outrage among Minnesota Democrats.
In Minneapolis, the moderate Democrats are refusing to kowtow to Fateh. They say he’s unelectable. That he’s too radical. That his policies will not work. I think they are right.
The point is that most Americans, especially downtrodden and working-class Americans, still reject socialism. They know it sounds good, but does not work. Some of these people have even come to the United States to escape their poverty-ridden socialist homeland.
Socialism may be gaining ground among rich, college-educated, white liberals in places like New York City, but I doubt it will ultimately resonate among the millions of hardworking, freedom-loving Americans in the so-called fly-over states.
In the heartland, common sense still reigns supreme.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
Editor’s Note: Zohran Mamdani is an avowed Democratic Socialist and has a real chance to become the next mayor of New York City.
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