Socialism might end up being the word of the year, but I’ll spare you a definition. In most discussions, it doesn’t matter as much as you think.
Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years…. Socialism is the name for anything that helps all the people. ~ Harry Truman
It has a historical definition, failed implementations, and modern understandings that will eventually be in dictionaries. It has variants like democratic socialism and is often confused with social democracy.
Likely, not everyone is talking about the same thing.
What matters is how it’s being used to shape what we do now. The word socialism is being used as a thought-ending, emotion-inducing prop. A stand-in for actual discussion of policy.
Arguing about an abstract noun like socialism is a fool's game. It accepts the word as the best topic of discussion. The best response is to change the frame and center the discussion on more concrete things like our economy and our government.
"In both law and politics, I think the essential battle is the meta-battle of framing the narrative." ~ Ted Cruz
What’s true is that our economy is a mix of capitalism and socialism, as is the economy of almost every nation in the world.
Today our economy is working well, but not for everyone. It’s the largest economy in the world, but we’ve got high income inequality and a higher poverty rate than most other developed nations
Our economy used to work better. In the 1930s, the US entered a 40-year period where the New Deal Consensus framework was accepted by both parties.
As a nation, we supported labor unions, accepted government management of the economy, and regulated markets. We also built a social safety net. One that included universal programs like Social Security and Medicare, as well as means-tested programs like Medicaid, food stamps, healthcare, and housing programs.
This socialist oriented framework led to the creation of the largest, wealthiest middle class in history. It was made possible by the technology of the time and the need to rein in the excesses of unregulated capitalism, extreme wealth inequality, and unchecked corporate power.
History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes ~ Mark Twain.
As we mentioned, socialism has economic and political aspects so it's worth grounding discussion here as well.
What’s true is that our government is a democracy. Technically, a democratic republic; imperfect, just like our founders knew it would be.
Thankfully, the system they enshrined includes checks and balances. There are limits to what politicians can do, and they have to work with others to get things done. Likewise, we have frequent elections. If we don’t like a politician’s performance, we can change course if we drift from a working course.
Covering the relevant aspects of our economy and government can help avoid arguing over the meaning and implications of an ism while stuck in a negative discussion.
We can't run from the word, and we shouldn’t debate it. What we have to do is tell stories that connect it to better days in our history, and to concrete policy that people can see improving their lives. Stories paint pictures that people can connect to; make sure yours are properly framed.