Social Democracy: The Forgotten Stonewall Against Socialism

Guest Opinion by Jason J. Keeley

“Democratic socialism” is a term we hear thrown around quite a lot nowadays, isn’t it?

Bernie Sanders, AOC, and now the new mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani all claim this identity. But it is an identity that has been incorrectly imposed on many to the benefit of real socialists like these three.

What is socialism? Do you imagine vast welfare systems? Government healthcare Universal basic income? If so, you’re wrong, and this is the problem conservatism needs to address. Well-meaning anticommunists have made the error of crying wolf, and the real wolves are coming, but nobody believes them anymore. If you strip away the titles and ask Americans about real socialist policies, the vast majority will vehemently oppose socialism.

Karl Marx defined socialism as a Dictatorship of the Proletariat that enforces the abolition of currency and private property with revolutionary violence against counterrevolutionaries. Marxism is socialism; they should not be separated.

“Democratic socialism” is an oxymoron akin to “republican monarchism.”

Most people who answer Gallup polls saying they view socialism favorably are not actually socialists. They’re social democrats. All those things I mentioned earlier that weren’t socialism? That’s social democracy. Bernie Sanders loves to call the Nordic countries socialist for their vast social safety nets and free healthcare, but former Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen explicitly rebuked this description. Social democracy is capitalism. It’s just very expensive capitalism.

As a member of Gen Z, let me explain what Gen Z “socialists,” who I am not among the ranks of to be clear, want. They want free healthcare, free education, and enhanced social safety nets. They don’t want the abolition of private property, the confiscation of their currency, or government dictation of their careers.

The issue is that too many conservatives have conflated socialism and social democracy, and in calling social democrats socialists, we have created socialists that never existed without us.

But why does this matter? Why, then, does this misnomer exist? Well, it originally existed as “moderate” Marxism, seeking to achieve socialism through democratic means rather than revolution, though its end goals were still firmly Marxist and totalitarian. It just imagined a referendum establishing the USSR rather than storming the Winter Palace. As they continued to moderate, “democratic socialism” ultimately gave way to the social democrats who govern the Nordic countries and much of Europe today. It progressed away from Marxism and deradicalized Marxists, first from violence, then from authoritarianism.

But people like Mamdani are using it regressively.“Democratic socialism” is being used to support Marx, not to civilize him. The youth are told they are socialists by conservatives, and real socialists nod along with toothed grins and welcome them with open arms to get themselves into power.

We are doing socialists’ work for them by making “socialism” moderate. Socialism is not just more welfare, and conservatives must start shouting this from the rooftops in order to expose real socialism. Socialism must become toxic again. A socialist must be seen as an enemy to the republic as a believer in Marx’s unabashed dictatorship. In order for that to happen, though, we must stop calling social democracy socialism. One is democratic, and the other is totalitarian.

Social democracy is an important ideological stonewall against Marxism. One does not need to be a social democrat to see the value of its existence. It emerged specifically to civilize socialists and turn them away from revolutionary Marxism. As much as we may try, we cannot make everyone conservative, but we can at least stop them from becoming socialists.

Social Democrats can even be socially conservative despite liberal economic policies.

The Christian Democrats in Europe emerged as a conservative vanguard against leftism by adopting social democratic economic policies under conservative social policies. Even if we cannot convince someone on economics, we can try to convince them socially and welcome them into the party as Christian Democrats. If someone wants to secure the border, we can debate them on welfare after the border’s secure.

We cannot win this political struggle with purism. We must find common ground where we can and use it to fight the radical left tooth and nail, whether it be joining as Republicans or as bipartisan anticommunists. Welfare is not the only issue in America. Unless we reach out to the social democrats and distinguish them from the socialists, we’ll lose a potential ally and strengthen authoritarians who would end all debate permanently.

Jason Keeley is a political science student at Auburn University at Montgomery. He is the Eagle Forum River Region Action Group leader, has served as a page in the Alabama Senate, and is currently an intern for the Barry Moore for Senate campaign. The views expressed here are his own. To contact, email JasonKeeley6@gmail.com.

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