How Socialism Evolved

In 1910, Victor L. Berger won Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District, sending a self-proclaimed socialist to Capitol Hill for the first time in American history. Today, 4 congressional members are members of the infamous Democratic Socialists of America.

In the past, socialism did not have the same deep, dark connotations that it carries today. Without having to carry the baggage of dictators such as Hugo Cháves and Fidel Castro, the American socialists of the early twentieth century were quite popular among the working classes – especially in an era marked by trust-busting, unions, and the emergence from the often maligned “Gilded Age”. Figures such as Eugene Debs were very popular amongst the working classes. In fact, Debs’ campaign managed to garner significant attention despite him being in prison for sedition. More than that, the socialists of the past found their way into local governments and in Congress: a significant feat considering that socialists never again saw that level of support … until today.

In modern times, Democratic-Socialists (a term that is often little more than a substitute for “socialist”) have a larger presence in Congress than ever before. However, the socialists of today are not the same as the socialists of yesterday, with many, albeit not all, of the modern socialists embracing policies or actions that Debs himself would have rebuked. Maxine Waters’ infamous calling on protestors to be “more confrontational” – and the Democratic-Socialists’ tacit, if not outright, support for that tactic perfectly encapsulates strategies that modern socialists employ. So, while it is certain that the Democratic-Socialists of the modern era are following the same school of thought as socialists of the past, they are not one in the same. Another alarming difference between early twentieth century socialism and modern day socialism is just how seriously they are being taken. While congressmen such as Victor Berger enjoyed relative popularity (especially in his home state of Wisconsin), the Socialist Party of the past was not able to pull serious legislative weight on the national level. Despite holding numerous positions in local and state governments, the Socialist Party of the early twentieth century only mustered two candidates to federal office, neither of which had any major legislative successes. 

Of course, both modern and former socialists did agree on certain fundamental principles. Among these, both Debs and the Democratic-Socialists of the modern era agree that capitalism, not big government, is the source of the woes of working class Americans. In his 1912 platform for the presidency, Debs condemns the perceived “burden of militarism, the colossal fraud of capitalist courts, the indescribable corruption of capitalist business, the cant, the chicanery and the hypocrisy of capitalist society.” 

Although capitalism has long been associated with free markets, private property, and the dominance of consumers, Debs’ vocal opposition to capitalism continues to strike a chord with modern socialists. Many of whom feel that, as Rep. Ocasio-Cortez declares, “capitalism is irredeemable.” Thankfully, Debs’ vision of a democratically induced socialist revolution proved to be too unpalatable for the American electorate, making the dismantling of American capitalism nothing more than a pipe dream.

Today, however, socialists in America have not only been able to replicate the successes of the past party, but have also been able to maintain an air of legitimacy. Proposed legislation, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s controversial “Green New Deal” or Rashida Tliab’s divisive BREATHE Act, have not only garnered the attention of their fellow socialists, but of the Democratic Party as a whole. Predictably, over the last few years not only has the number of Democratic-Socialist politicians grown, but the sheer number of party members of the Democratic-Socialist party has more than doubled since 2017.

Ultimately, socialists of today are still bound to the same ideology as socialists of the past. I mean, Bernie Sanders went as far as to produce a documentary about Debs in 1979. However, it’s the political methods employed by modern Democratic-Socialists that set them apart. Socialists today are not only embracing “confrontational” tactics, but they are also growing from it. In the end, the once-popular socialists of the past were driven nearly extinct by the Red Scares of the middle twentieth century. But now, with little in their way, the modern socialists have to accomplish a feat that their forerunners could not: stay viable to the American public – and so far, they seem to be doing just that.