Jonah Goldberg: Can socialism ever be more than just a fad in America?
The resurgence of socialism in American political discourse has sparked significant attention, with recent polls indicating a notable decline in support for capitalism among registered voters. An NBC poll revealed that a majority of voters are dissatisfied with capitalism, while a Gallup poll from September showed a similar trend, particularly among Democrats. The Data for Progress poll further suggested that when framed in the context of democratic socialism, public opinion leans favorably towards this ideology. This shift has prompted media outlets like Politico to declare that “capitalism is out … and socialism is in,” while NPR has even explored the phenomenon in a podcast segment titled “How socialism got sexy.” This renewed interest in socialism echoes sentiments from 2018, when Gallup found that more Democrats viewed socialism favorably compared to capitalism, a trend that influenced the Democratic primary candidates in 2020.
However, the interpretation of these polls and the implications of this supposed shift towards socialism warrant a more nuanced examination. Critics argue that issue polling can be unreliable and highly sensitive to wording changes. For instance, the term “welfare” often garners negative reactions, while “assistance to the poor” receives a more favorable response. Additionally, the unpopularity of the Republican Party during President Trump’s administration may have contributed to the declining support for capitalism, as many associate the party with the economic system it champions. Furthermore, Trump’s approach to capitalism, characterized by government intervention and cronyism, diverges significantly from traditional free-market principles, leading some to question whether the current economic climate truly reflects capitalism or a distorted version of it.
Despite the apparent rise in socialist sentiment, the author, Jonah Goldberg, cautions against overinterpreting these trends. He argues that many Americans do not possess a deep understanding of socialism, viewing their preferences as more of a reaction to the current political and economic landscape rather than a genuine ideological shift. The notion that millions of Americans have a coherent grasp of socialist theory is, according to Goldberg, unrealistic. He posits that while the “vibes” may be improving for socialism, history suggests that placing socialists in positions of power could lead to disillusionment. Ultimately, Goldberg expresses skepticism about the likelihood of America transitioning to a socialist state, suggesting that the current enthusiasm for socialism may be more ephemeral than substantial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0DeBs2KTA
Here we go again.
Socialism is making a comeback, according to friend and
foe
alike. A new
NBC
poll
now suggests that a majority of registered voters don’t like capitalism.
A Gallup poll in September also found that support for capitalism was
slipping
. A Data for Progress poll around the same time showed that — after asking some decidedly leading questions about democratic socialism — people liked democratic socialism. Still,
Politico
combined the results to declare: “Capitalism is out … and socialism is in.” And just this week, an NPR podcast dedicated a segment to explaining “
How socialism got sexy
.”
This has happened
before
. In 2018,
Gallup
found for the first time that a majority of Democrats had a more favorable view of “socialism” than of “capitalism.” And we got
similar headlines as a result
. No doubt such polls partly explain why Democratic presidential primary candidates overwhelmingly ran in the Bernie Sanders lane in 2020. Joe Biden, the candidate who mostly avoided that lane, however, won the nomination.
Like Sanders, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist. His popularity has driven many to claim that democratic socialism is popular too. It may well be, especially in New York City. But what plays in NYC may not have legs far outside the Big Apple. Indeed, Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in neighboring New Jersey, which shares much of the same media market, didn’t run as a democratic socialist and beat primary candidates who more or less did.
But punditry is not my aim here. My problem is with these periodic, poll-driven, “socialism is coming” fads.
For starters, issue polling — even when done well — is not very reliable. Change one word and you’ll get very different
results
. For decades, if you call a program “welfare,” Americans won’t like it. Call it “assistance to the poor” and Americans like it whole a lot more.
It’s also difficult to keep other issues from influencing issue polling. Capitalism’s popularity dropped — particularly among Democrats — during President Trump’s first term. It has dropped again during his second term. Is it really so hard to imagine people associating capitalism with the avowed party of capitalism? When that party is in power and is unpopular, it shouldn’t be surprising that the thing it claims to stand for is (slightly) less popular too?
And then there’s the messy fact that Trump’s brand of capitalism isn’t exactly the uncut free market stuff (that I like). It’s not socialism, but it’s definitely close to “
state capitalism
” — a system involving massive government interventions in the economy, usually on behalf of favored industries. Most serious libertarians would rather eat glass than call Trump’s program of massive tariffs, cronyism, industrial planning and partial government ownership of industries “capitalism.”
There’s a famous —
and widely attributed
— line that the problem with socialism is socialism, but the problem with capitalism is capitalists. When the administration is run from the top by private-jet-flying billionaires seemingly getting richer with insider deals and literally
cosplaying “The Great Gatsby”
at a time when SNAP benefits are running out for 40 million Americans, you’d think capitalism would be in even worse odor.
But take Trump out of it. When the status quo is unpopular, if you call the status quo “capitalism” they’ll have problems with it. Call the economic status quo “capitalism” and a lot of people will choose option number two, whether you call it “socialism” or not.
It’s not like the new “socialists” have cracked the books in their free time and suddenly have a newfound respect for Karl Marx, Sidney Webb, Michael Harrington or some other socialist thinker.
Socialist intellectuals have a hard enough time agreeing on what socialism is. The best definition the very well-read editors of the socialist journal Dissent could come up with in 1954 was
“socialism is the name of our desire.”
The idea that millions of Americans have a fully formed and coherent understanding of the concept, never mind know how to implement socialism, is preposterous. Asking people if they like socialism or capitalism is a “vibes” question and little more.
Of course, socialists are entitled to be happy about improving vibes. But the best way to make Americans sour on socialism is to put socialists in charge — which is why I’m not too worried about America becoming a socialist country.
Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is
@JonahDispatch
.
