Sixty-five percent of Democrats have a favorable view of socialism, according to Gallup. Gallup says 39 percent of Americans overall view socialism favorably, and 45 percent would vote for a socialist for president. Of course, they may have varying views of what “socialism” means. Some presumably mean government ownership of the means of production, the standard definition. Others may have in mind what Europeans call “social democracy,” as when Sen. Bernie Sanders defended his self-proclaimed socialism by saying he wanted the United States to be more like Denmark. The prime minister of Denmark promptly responded that “Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy.”
The other day I saw a striking example of actual socialism in a Washington Post article. But before I quote that article, I’ll consult some other sources about the definition of socialism.
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