The annual State of the Union address was given by the president last week. A line that particularly stood out to me was Trump’s proud declaration that “America will never be a socialist country.” His profound ignorance on the matter of socialism highlights a feeling that is still broadly held by the American public.
The line, and the fanfare that it received from the audience, continues to show how warped our perspective is on socialism. Through a series of scare-propaganda campaigns in the 20th century and a dearth of education on socialism in primary education, the United States has effectively become proudly uninformed on the issue of socialism. As a result of the systematic anti-socialist rhetoric our politicians have espoused for decades, most critics of the ideology can hardly discern what it is that socialism aims to do, much less soberly assess its pros and cons. North Carolina is no exception to this campaign.
Our state’s history with socialism dates back to 1940s when UNC-Chapel Hill student, Junius Irving Scales, developed the UNC-CH branch of the Communist Party of the USA at the university. He was able to recruit many members of the student body and faculty into the party up until he was convicted of being a communist in 1955. This, followed by the reporting on Joseph Stalin’s human rights abuses against his own citizens, led to the end of the socialist movement in North Carolina.
Trump’s declaration is a fairly self-evident one given the history of our country, but the real danger in his words lie in the resentment for socialism that he continues to build. Having such a knee-jerk reaction to socialism prevents us from capitalizing on socialist policies that would actually help the country. His words only stoke the old Red Scare flame that still burns bright as ever in our country.
Many are quick to assume that advocacy for socialist policies is the equivalent of cries to model our government after the Soviet Union. When American leftists advocate for socialistic policies, they are simply suggesting for certain production and distribution of goods to be either governmentally or collectively controlled — not so much the brutal dictatorship or harsh famines associated with the USSR. Additionally, most advocacy for socialism is only directed toward areas within the United States where the free market has failed its citizens.
One hallmark of socialism that addresses these failures is ensuring equity for all citizens. Equality stops at treating everyone the same, but equity ensures that all people are given equal access to desired outcomes according to their need. The materialization of this concept in the United States would result in policies that are particularly beneficial for poor Americans, like better access to higher education.
Another example of a socialistic policy is the American left’s crown jewel: Medicare for all. Medicare for all has gained an increasing amount of traction since U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ first bill proposed in 2017. This proposal would save the country 5.1 trillion dollars over the course of a decade and greatly reduce how much middle-class Americans spend on federal healthcare spending. While the policy is starting to win over public opinion, many still bemoan the socialistic idea of making the government responsible for healthcare.
Despite the stigma toward socialism, Sanders managed to grab 41 percent of the vote in North Carolina’s 2016 Democratic primary. Republican U.S. Senator Richard Burr even went so far as to favor Sanders over Ted Cruz in a hypothetical presidential election matchup between them.
Socialism is not the bad word that our country has painted it to be for the past century. Like most ideas, it is one that comes with its pros and cons. Instead of getting hung up on the negative aspects associated with socialism, we must recognize that socialism has both a historic presence and a practical purpose in North Carolina, and we must learn to let our politics reflect the history of our state.
