The Reasons for Socialism's Weakness in the U.S.

Socialism never has been, and likely never will be feasible in the U.S. on a mass scale(at least not in our lifetimes). We should accept this fact at the start in order to get a productive dialogue going. Otherwise, we are simply deluding ourselves like groups such as the RCP and ISO.

The early part of the 20th Century was actually quite ripe for socialism in this country in myriad ways. In fact, that is the only time at which socialism was a viable, organized political movement in large portions of the U.S. For that matter, even Communism was feasible at that time!

So the question is, what has happened since then? Why has socialism been such a weak force? Why is socialism taboo? Why is there a “socialist bogeyman.”(if there is one…), and how do we get rid of him? I argue that there are three main factors accounting for this: the betrayal of Marxist ideals by the Soviet Union and its followers, the ineffective use of rhetoric and language by the left, and the lack of a communitarian tradition in America, along with the corresponding emphasis on rugged individualism(lift yourself up by your bootstraps!).

The 1920’s and 30’s were particularly fertile time periods for socialism in the U.S. While socialist movements (and social democratic ones as well, as the two go hand-in-hand), have flourished across both the industrialized world and the Global South, the high water of socialism in America was reached around 1912 or so, when Eugene Debs won over 5% of the vote nationwide(even getting ~ 10% in Mid-Western radical bastions such as Oklahoma and Kansas!). After the Depression and the fall of the New Left, all strains of socialism have been largely fringe movements, little more than utopian fantasies in the U.S., as well as several other non-European industrialized, democratic states(such as Canada, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, and Japan…). In such states, GDP per capita (average standard of living…) was too high; therefore, the (largely urban) proletariat, despite their miserable conditions vis a vis the ruling class, had little incentive for revolution.

Although their relative conditions were poor in the U.S., their absolute conditions were considered decent when looked at in terms of the whole world. For instance, a low-level blue collar worker in the U.S. usually has at least some housing, no matter how sub-standard it may be, while the same worker in Africa or China might only have a hut or some cardboard and a tin roof. Therefore, the poor American looks at the starving peasants in the Global South and believes he is lucky to live in America. He counts himself lucky to have what he does, rather than focusing on the real enemy, the ruling class and capitalism.

Despite terrible wealth inequality(symbolized by the terrible Gini coefficient…), malnutrition and hunger, low (and declining) real wages, and especially pitiful health care (The US was ranked 40th by the World Health Organization, behind such countries as Slovenia and Morocco!), the working class was pacified and crippled by “bread and circuses”(professional sports, reality tv…), a poor education system fostering ignorance, a complacent corporate media, and lack of a global perspective.

Organizing and education will take years to overcome these practically insurmountable (and very daunting, even for lefty veterans from the 60’s, etc…) odds. How can we change this? Unfortunately, but rather predictably, there are no easy answers. Post your thoughts here! I will post my own thoughts in a forthcoming essay.