Trump declared in his 2019 State of the Union Address that “America will never be a Socialist Country.” However a 2019 Gallup Poll found that 43% of all Americans, and 58% of Americans between 18 and 34, believe that socialism would be good for America.
Over the last few years Democratic Socialists played an active role in movements such as Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, fight for $15 minimum wage, the Me Too movement, the Green New Deal, and resistance to Trumpism. Issues like Medicare for All, and a Federal Jobs Program are gaining support, along with the idea that the rich should pay their “fair share” of taxes, in order to pay for the reduction of income and wealth inequality. We can’t forget improving public education, including free college at public Colleges and Universities. These are all issues Democratic Socialists support.
Once upon a time a Women’s Right to Vote, Social Security, the Minimum Wage, and Civil Rightsfor all races and genders were considered radical ideas. Now they are universally accepted. All were ideas that originated in the early days of Socialism starting from the late 1880’s right up to the 1970’s, and I don’t believe any of us would be willing to give them up now.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), of which I am a member, now reportedly has over 60,000 members with over 200 chapters in both red and blue states, and it is continuing to grow, with a majority of members being millennials or younger.
For a robust discussion of the history of Socialism in America, I urge you to read “We Own The Future,” edited by Kate Aronoff, Peter Drier, and Michael Kazan, and published in the New Press in 2020.