What is Socialism in 2018?

By Keith Guthrie

For the first time in over a generation, socialism is gaining popularity and acceptance in U.S. politics. DSA membership, about 5,000 people total in 2016, has surged to over 50,000 today. The fact that a growing number of political candidates openly identify as socialists is another testament to the momentum of this movement. More people every day are becoming politically activated — many for the first time in their lives — and embracing the radical vision that socialism offers for a better world.

Though socialism may finally be shedding the taboo image it has carried for the better part of the past century, there’s still no shortage of misinformation about what it is and isn't, leaving the newly interested confused as to what it actually stands for. Many like to inaccurately define socialism as “the government owning everything,” while opponents might go farther to describe socialists as lazy naive slackers who just want “free stuff,” pointing to authoritarian socialist-identifying states as examples of how bad life would be under socialism and its inherent inferiority to the “freedom” of capitalism. But this rhetoric is not only oversimplified, deceptive and false, it also throws the baby out with the bathwater.

Undoubtedly there are important lessons to be learned from socialist movements that devolved into authoritarianism and in identifying the historical factors that contributed to these situations, including the interference of outside capitalist forces violently opposed to the success of any socialist-identifying state. As socialists we need to be willing to discuss these topics openly and frankly. The struggle for socialism in every modern example has been just that — a struggle — an attempt to shape a better world out of the shell of the old one. The idea that failed socialist revolutions are proof that socialism is unachievable or inherently authoritarian rely on cherry-picked facts; at its core, this argument is simply a narrow-minded, stubborn refusal to acknowledge the possibility of a just and more egalitarian society.

Socialism could be described as believing the world can and should be transformed into a place where human potential is maximized and individual happiness achieved through collective economic production, democratic and sustainable distribution of resources and promotion of universal solidarity. Our world today has been ravaged by the exploitation and violence of capitalism’s never-ending quest for profit. It’s no surprise that many are now pushing for “building a better world,” a platitude we all are likely familiar with. What separates socialism from the traditional liberal vs. conservative political paradigm is that, instead of blaming society's disfunctions on a few problematic policies or individual decisions, socialists see the underlying capitalist system as the structural source driving inequality and oppression.

What separates socialism from the traditional liberal vs. conservative political paradigm is that, instead of blaming society’s disfunctions on a few problematic policies or individual decisions, socialists see the underlying capitalist system as the structural source driving inequality and oppression.

Within the movement differing tendencies frequently have conflicting ideas on tactics and strategic priorities. But at the end of the day, socialism basically boils down to a belief in the core principles of radical democracy, human equality and collective strength through solidarity, and the understanding that each of these concepts cannot be fully achieved without the others. Building socialism in the present isn’t about repeating the past; it is about organizing and bringing the struggles of all people together into a common mass movement and, through that solidarity, building enough power to ultimately dismantle all forms of oppression and exploitation.

Whether you are new to the movement or a longtime socialist, the time for action is now. Impending climate catastrophe, obscene economic inequality and the spread of violent right-wing fascism and racism are all wake-up calls that the era of moderate political compromises has passed. It's time to stand up — not just in our social media feeds, but also out in the streets. We shouldn't just be demanding the world we want from those in power. We must build it from the ground up in our own communities and on our own terms.

This column has been updated after originally appearing in the Portland chapter of Democratic Socialists of America’s newsletter, Bread & Rose City, Fall 2018 edition.