What is Democratic Socialism?

According to the book, Democratic Socialism: A Global Survey by Donald F. Busky, democratic socialism can be defined as combining the “ideas of liberal-democratic government with that of social ownership and control of the economy.” The author goes on to say that it is a “wing of the socialist movement that combines a belief in socially owned economy with that of political democracy.”

The term “democratic socialism” is often used to distinguish those ideals from a more traditional view of socialism, which aligns itself more with communism than a democracy. Critics of this view democratic socialism as being a watered-down version of the revolutionary approach and upheaval that’s truly needed, and say that it is only a movement of “reform,” not revolution.

Aside from democratic socialism, the other ideologies that can be found within the socialist umbrella include: utopian socialism, social anarchism, and communism. Each of these then have subdivisions and variations within them. For example, social anarchism is often divided into schools of mutualism, collectivism, communist anarchism and syndicalism to name a few.

Views of Democratic Socialists

Democratic socialists often say that their approach is described as “bread and roses” — that is, an economic and political environment that allows all people to have their basic needs met (“bread”) and to enjoy life (“roses”).

Again, as previously mentioned, democratic socialists do not believe that the government should own all the means of production, that there should be zero free market, that there should be a planned economy (where government determines the price and supply of goods), or that private property should be abolished. Instead, democratic socialists simply say that:

• Workers are entitled to a larger share of profits because they are the main people producing the wealth for the country
• Social safety nets are essential
• People should be able to vote democratically on policies and changes (which is where the “democratic” part comes in, of course)

Ultimately, if we think of a spectrum, with Capitalism on one end, Communism on the other end, and true Socialism in the middle, social democracy probably falls somewhere between Capitalism and Socialism.

Therefore, this ideology is not necessarily allowing corporations and billionaires to run rampant in society while the other 99% suffer and struggle to make ends meet (as is common with capitalism), but it’s also not a communist system where the government often uses force against its citizens to retain authoritarian control. In fact, this is one of the main differences between democratic socialism and communism: democratic socialists reject authoritarianism or any other undemocratic form of government, a main characteristic of the Marxist-Lenin framework.

Is Democratic Socialism Possible in America?

I personally believe that it is absolutely possible, but that we are likely a long way from seeing the United States shift to full-on Democratic Socialism.

The reason for my doubt is that for too long, the US has operated under a two-party system, and the path to introducing a viable third party option is rife with obstacles and red tape, not to mention concerns about a third party splitting the traditional Democratic party so much that Republicans would always have majority.

I believe a more viable and realistic approach would be to bake in socialist principles and policies into the existing democratic party, and to slowly ease the country closer to that ideology. In fact, there are already some of these social initiatives in place, such as food co-ops, public transportation, public libraries, Planned Parenthood, and the United States Postal Service (which unfortunately at present moment is under siege by Donald Trump). Essentially, any service or business that is mostly worker-owned or provided as a shared public resource, is already enacting certain socialist characteristics.

I see the biggest differences between what we have in the US today and where we may want to be five or 10 years from now as being made up of three parts:

1. Extremely disproportionate distribution of wealth as a result of too little regulation of corporations and the super wealthy, and a lack of opportunity and living wages for the common worker
2. Privatization of what should continue to be public domain, including mail service, education, police departments, city parking, housing, policymaking, and prisons (note: I believe that prisons should eventually be abolished altogether, but that is for another post)
3. Lack of social services (the “social safety net” as referred to in socialist practice), including community resources, mental health assistance, public housing, high-quality public education, and appropriately sized unemployment stipends and job placement / training services

Addressing these areas of opportunity in a socialist manner would very likely be achievable even in this political climate, particularly with leaders like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (and in some ways, the agenda of players like Elizabeth Warren) having already stepped up and created frameworks for us to work on. It’s not perfect and it’s certainly not revolutionary, but if we can follow the lead of the “left-wing Democrats” then I believe we can slowly move toward dismantling the oppressive facets of capitalism, while keeping our democracy intact and creating more just and enjoyable country for all.