With the big news of Bernie Sanders formally throwing his hat in the electoral ring, the word ?socialism? has been popping up more and more as his donations rack up.
Sanders is a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, so it was no surprise to me when I noticed the term striking fear into the hearts of Americans. One of the best remedies for fear is education, so let’s take a deeper look into what exactly that means, what that would mean for America, and how socialism already shapes our daily lives without us really noticing.
Democratic Socialism is defined as: ?a political ideology advocating a democratic political system along side a socialist economic system.?
Socialism is commonly associated with Communism; some might even use the terms interchangeably in conversations, but Communism is actually the extremist form of Socialism. To assume that all Socialism is Communism would be similar to assuming every Christian church in America is Westboro Baptist. See, in a Communist economy, the government owns everything; there is no such thing as personal property. Everyone works for the government, and in turn, the government redistributes all output to everyone according to their needs. This leaves no room for a class system, everyone is equal. Everyone has their basic needs met, but there is nothing to distinguish your hard work from someone else’s maybe not-so-hard-work. Socialism is different in the way that you receive based on your contribution. So while class systems may be diminished, they are not abolished.
So when you look at America, how it is today, can you see the little bits of socialism already ingrained in our system? If you can’t afford to send your child to a fancy private school, they can still get an education thanks to public schools. That’s socialism. If you want to get somewhere but don’t want to build your own road, you can use the roads that are already there! Socialism. If you pay a couple bucks for a library card, you can read for free for the rest of your life, thanks to socialism. The postal service, public parks, the National Weather Service, your local fire department… all brought to you by socialism. Even more importantly, if you become disabled, you can thank socialism for your disability checks, because Social Security, well, that’s so socialism. In fact, you can find a lovely list here of 75 ways socialism has improved America.
So now, let’s say Bernie Sanders is elected as the next president of the United States, what would that mean? I can tell you what is not likely, and that is falling under a Communist dictatorship. That’s not in the cards; we are still a democracy. One of the important socialist points he has brought up is affordable higher education for everyone, and with 40 million Americans in crippling student loan debt, that would mean building a better future for your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Sanders voted also in favor of The Affordable Care Act, and wants to see the government providing every American with health care. The changes he wants to see come about are changes to ensure that everyone gets what they need, even those who don’t make as much money as others. We can keep our property, but we would also be able to thrive more comfortably, and in my opinion, that’s how America should be. We should stand together as a nation and take care of each other. But that’s just how I see things, I’m just a socialist.
