Kevin Drum: We Are All Social Democrats Now

[Algernon Moncrieff]

Mother Jones

These statements are both so indistinct that I have a hard time associating them with anything, let alone socialism. Mostly, it just sounds like the left wing of the Democratic Party but without trade unions. What kind of socialism doesn’t care about the means of production and doesn’t mention unions once in a 5,000-word platform?

It’s funny. I guess what really gets me is that we already have a perfectly good term to describe people like Ocasio-Cortez (and Bernie Sanders): social democrat. That’s basically the European left, which is why Ocasio-Cortez’s platform would sound pretty ordinary if she were running for office in Sweden or Germany. It’s what I call myself if I’m talking to someone who understands what it means. But the fact that it’s foreign makes it taboo in America. Instead we make up a new term and then struggle to define exactly what it means.

But the truth is that American liberals aren’t becoming either socialists or Bernie-bots. American liberalism is simply moving once again in the direction of Europe. This is something that conservatives have been accusing us of for decades, mostly because it’s true. Our progress in that direction is slow and halting, and sometimes it just stops dead for a while, but American liberals have always admired the social democratic model of Europe. Maybe sometime soon it will become acceptable to just say so.

[AlexSFCA]

1. but they confuse it with socialism

Europe is social democracy but the system is capitalism not socialism. Social democrats in the US do not support socialism but support capitalism. Because Bernie refuses to joint dem party, instead of saying social democrat he invented democratic socialist tag. Socialism is an economic system (no private ownership, only public - no one supports that including Bernie). Captalism assumes that certain services are provided via taxes which includes law enforcement, military, etc. and should of course include healthcare and education. In a democracy, it is for people (through representation) to decide how their taxes should be spent.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

2. I was recently in Denmark

Two separate conversations: one with an executive and one with an immigrant cab driver. Couldn't talk with two more different people in a socioeconomic sense. I heard pretty much the same thing from both: the taxes are ridiculous, but we're happy to pay them because look at what we get.

I'd also point this out: You are an American earning an average to above average wage. Your taxes are probably around 20-25% effectively. But when you add medical insurance to that, as well as the out of pocket medical costs, how much worse off are you? I'm blessed with very good medical by objective standards, and it takes a huge bite.