Is Socialism the New Way?
Socialism has a long history in the United States. A socialist became mayor in Schenectady, New York in 1911, the year my father was born. A socialist, Meyer London, was elected to Congress in 1914, when World War I started in Europe.
In the year 1917, Socialists secured 7 seats on what was then called the New York Board of Alderman. By 1919, 5 Socialists were elected to the New York State Senate.
However, there was backlash. In January of 1920, the New York State Assembly voted overwhelmingly to expel the 5 elected Socialists.
Socialists were further marginalized in New York State by gerrymandering, and the “red scare” that followed the Russian Revolution in 1918.
Socialism, however, was not over in New York State. In the 1932 mayoral election, a Socialist, Morris Hillquit, received 250,000 votes, finishing ahead of the acting mayor.
Once the Socialist party became strong, it was affected by interparty disputes, which marks the success of all political parties. Even the Communist Party USA gained traction in New York State by 1938. The party drew a crowd of 20,000 in Madison Square Garden rallies.
Socialists even backed Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. He was a strong supporter of the Jewish community and outspoken in its defense of Jews who died during the Holocaust.
Ultimately, Socialism waned in New York, and in other places. Socialist candidate for President Eugene Debs made lots of noise but was never a serious threat to mainstream candidates.
What Socialism did accomplish, however, from the beginning of the 20th Century until its diminishment prior to World War II, was to rally antisocialist forces to become involved in politics. When the rightwing is strong, so-called Progressives become strong and likewise when the hard left begins to take over, moderate Republicans are energized.
Just what is socialism? It is when the government owns the major means of production such as utilities. Socialism in reality means not just taxing the rich, but taxing everyone, since taxes on the rich is never enough to pay for the benefits promised by the government. Everyone winds up paying more taxes under socialism, the benefits are high, the economy stalls, and jobs become scarce. Socialism has been tried throughout Europe and Israel, and was always at least partially, if not wholly, abandoned.
What is capitalism? Capitalism, in its unregulated form, has hardly been tried anywhere. It is when businesses and individuals can make money on their business enterprise, pay lower taxes, and let those unable to function effectively sink to the bottom of the pool. It is almost impossible to find any case of pure capitalism. Even Alexander Hamilton’s brand of capitalism involved government intervention and a national bank.
The system that most countries have landed on is a mixed form of socialism and capitalism, such as what we have here in the United States. Our markets are mostly free and open, but we have a significant safety net. In the United States, the balance has begun to shift to the social side of the scale as a result of significant government benefits, incentives, and an indecipherable tax system.
A nation with an almost $40 trillion deficit cannot tax or spend its way out of future oblivion. Countries that have worked their way out of the socialist morass of failed promises have a capitalist system, fairly regulated, with a workable safety net for those truly in need.
The apparent rise of anti-Jewish, antisemitic, and often anti-Israel leftwing socialism in New York, Michigan, and other places, is a rare opportunity for the Republican Party. The Party has been battered by anti-Trump energy throughout the country. Whether the current success of so-called progressive Democrats is due to President Trump, world affairs, high prices, and slow wage growth, or simply the swing of the pendulum is difficult to assess while in the moment. Historians will look back at these times and debate what factors were really at work in the rise of Socialism.
A good case and point for how irrational the success is of the Socialist movement is the defeat of leftwing Democrat Dan Goldman in New York. He was defeated by another Jewish candidate, who probably is not much more to the left than Goldman was. So what happened? Goldman simply was a Democrat, and that was enough for him to be defeated by a man who called himself a socialist. Goldman’s opponent was endorsed by the two stars of the American Socialist movement, New York Mayor Mamdani and Senator Berney Sanders.
Interestingly, and inexplicably, Goldman, Lander, and Sanders are all embracing those who have a knife at their back and a gun at their head. Is it about power? Political success? Or simply some distorted philosophy which pushes back against traditional Democratic politics?
In all of the haranguing, hand wringing, and debate, there is one factor that the talking heads have not said much about. The current swing to the left in the United States, and particularly the big cities, is a rare opportunity for Republicans who never win elections in those places. The pundits are now saying that the socialists will go on to represent us in Congress and local government because the districts in question are “reliably Democratic.” Perhaps that is the problem.
Could it be time for Teddy Roosevelt-type Republicans to split from Howard Taft and form their own version of a “progressive” party? Their progressive party would not be one that extols the virtues of antisemitism and destruction of the American capitalist system but rather would address the inequities and unfairness in unrestrained capitalism in order to create a more effective and fair union.
When Theodore Roosevelt, a President who deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize and did, broke from President Taft, he had very clear reasons. Taft had ingratiated himself to the robber barons of the Gilded Era. Roosevelt believed that the only way to save a capitalist democracy was to improve it and to rein in the Titans who were enraging and damaging the working class.
Roosevelt, unfortunately, split the Republican vote, and the winner of the presidential election was the bumbling, inept, Woodrow Wilson.
The question is whether the Republican Party will retreat into xenophobia, driven by rhetoric fired up by Donald Trump, or will the Party seize the opportunity to offer alternatives that a majority of Americans can comfortably embrace? Simply screaming “Capitalism vs. Communism” is not going to do it. Most people are too sophisticated for that.
It is time for the Republicans to talk about a better healthcare system, fair taxation without so many loopholes and exemptions which make the current system of taxation a joke to most Americans. Legitimate politicians need to talk about the impending bankruptcy of Medicaid and Social Security. Perhaps it is time for candidates to start tackling real problems. This would be a great time for the Republican Party to sit down and figure out what it is, post-Trump. Will the Party simply attempt to reinvent another, more mean spirited Donald Trump or will the Party seize the opportunity to develop new leadership that not only will have good ideas but also will be respected by the electorate?
The history of politics is that most political actors do not utilize threats to their power by doing a better job. Typically, the reaction is to put obstacles in front of opponents. Democratic Socialists, better called Socialists these days, will continue to talk about the plight of the working class, and the absurdity of inadequate billionaire taxation. Republicans, for their part, are likely to call their opponents foreign sympathizers, unpatriotic, and those seeking to turn the United States into a third world country.
It would be great if the current gulf between Republicans and Democrats could result in a real thought process by both parties.History shows that rarely happens, except in the most desperate circumstances.
Both parties, Republican and Democratic, need to stand up against hate, bigotry, and the ugly rise of antisemitism. The unrepentant attacks on the Democratic State of Israel are merely a stand in for old fashioned bigotry and racism, under a new and creative banner.
