Does Bernie's Democratic Socialism Exist and What Is It?

Democrats love to invent euphemisms that do not accurately describe the terms and the agenda behind the words. Such a term is Democratic Socialism. Bernie Sanders and all his followers promote very loudly Democratic Socialism. Do they know what it is?

All countries that were ruled by the Communist Party were Socialist Democrat Republics but, there was nothing Democratic about them, they were socialist countries where the authoritarian government owned the means of production by force and controlled everything else.

Such governments proclaimed the existence of a scientific socialism, but the country was run poorly by a handful of top Communist Party apparatchiks with their paid henchmen. People did not elect them; they were forced to accept their existence and tyranny at the end of a barrel of a gun or by voting fraud.

Bernie Sanders advocated the “kinder, gentler socialism like Denmark and Sweden” and millions of young Americans believed him, voted for him, and supported his “Democratic Socialism” platform.  

Denmark’s prime minister was unhappy because, although Denmark is a welfare state, they are not socialists. This welfare state is paid for by the entire population in the form of 25 percent sales taxes and income taxes of 60 percent starting at an income of $60,000 per year. The rich people in Scandinavia pay way less taxes than the rich in America. Bernie’s mantra that the rich must pay more to pay for his socialist paradise is ridiculous.

Sen. Rand Paul said that Scandinavian corporations have been paying on average 15 percent less in taxes than the corporations in America in the last twenty years. Just recently U.S. corporate taxes have been lowered to the level of Scandinavian countries.

The Prime Minister said, “Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy.” Scandinavian countries have private property, stock exchanges, and free markets. Calling Scandinavian countries socialist is bad for their business. Their economic freedom indexes are great, i.e., Denmark (10), Iceland (11), Netherlands (16), and Finland (17). I do not recall the former Soviet satellite countries run by dictators having any freedoms at all and the workers did not own any means of production or private property.

Does Democratic Socialism exist? Dinesh D’Souza wrote about Indian socialism which adopted Fabian socialism from England when India became independent in 1947. He wrote, “I grew up under Indian socialism – which I remind you was democratic socialism – and experienced its signature institutions.” D’Souza enumerated such signature institutions: everyday corruption (paying petty bureaucrats a bribe under the table), the ration card (how much sugar and cooking oil a family was allowed to purchase each month), and the seven-year waiting period to get a phone. (Dinesh D’Souza, United States of Socialism, 2020, p. 5)

D’Souza argues correctly that socialism fell because of its economic failures. He cites as examples North Korea vs. South Korea and East Germany vs. West Germany. When East Germany (socialist republic) reunited with West Germany (capitalist federal republic), East Germany had one third of West Germany’s GDP (gross domestic product). South Korea is 20 times richer than North Korea. (United States of Socialism, pp. 4-5)

Mao’s socialism was implemented through fear, deprivation, starvation, and tyranny and Soviet satellite states followed the same playbook to implement their socialism. His Communist Red Guard purged all dissidents. The dissidents were those who spoke loudly against the forced socialism. Vaclav Havel wrote a collective book on dissent, The Power of the Powerless, to point out the marginalized citizens called dissidents.

If so many millions of marginalized citizens, some famous, have escaped socialism and established in capitalism, why are Americans clamoring for socialism, for misery, deprivation, tears, and fear? They do not understand what socialism is. Schools spend little time studying socialism and communism.

Following the example of Mao and other socialist dictators, socialist governments nationalized all factories and confiscated private lands. The bourgeoisie (tradesmen, businessmen) were targeted and their properties were seized.

Mao wrote that he wanted to “destroy the property-owning class by killing at least one landlord in every village via public execution.” A cousin in our family was sent to prison for seven years for owning a nice home. A friend spent seventeen years in a lead mine because he owned a hotel in a mountain resort. Both lived to tell their prison-time stories. One eventually escaped to freedom in the U.S. The other died under socialist oppression.

Socialism is the steppingstone to communism when you won’t own anything, but you will be happy about it and your needs will be met by a benevolent government each day if you obey and behave appropriately. “From each according to his ability; to each according to his needs” is the guiding principle of a communist, classless society.

In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friederich Engels wrote, “There are, besides, eternal truths such as Freedom, Justice, etc., that are common to all states of society. But communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new basis; it therefore acts in contradiction to all past historical experience. (Simon & Schuster, Inc.,1964, p. 92)  

Marx and Engels’ fundamental changes proposed in the Communist Manifesto were adopted in every socialist republic that were Soviet satellites in the 20^th century:

1.      Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.  

2.      A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3.      Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4.      Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5.      Centralization of credit in the hands of the state by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6.      Centralization of the means of communications and transport in the hands of the state.

7.      Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state.

8.      Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9.      Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.

Free education for all children in public schools.

(quotes from Simon & Schuster, Communist Manifesto, 1964, p. 94)

To all Americans who clamor for socialism, remember that your current capitalist way of life will become a distant memory once you adopt socialism. Diana Gabaldon wrote a non-political but fitting metaphor on cherished memories and possessions. “Things you cherish and hold dear are like pearls on a string – cut the knot, they scatter across the floor, rolling into dark corners, never to be found again. So, you move on and eventually forget what the pearls even looked like.”

Once you adopt socialism, you are forced to forget your former life and to accept the new reality of socialism, forgetting what capitalist freedoms looked like.