If you watch any debate about economics on cable news or social media, you will likely hear references to “socialism” or “collectivism” in loud and furious contrast to “capitalism” and “the free market”.
Such simplistic, zero-sum framing is harmful to any left-of-center arguments. We should fear words like “socialism”, the argument goes, because they are antithetical to the free-enterprise roots that built our power and prosperity.
A simple version of history is told: capitalism triumphed over collectivism in the Cold War, and a new global consensus reigned. The younger, progressive generation is simply ignorant of the empirical evidence from past societies.
Now, it seems any proposal to limit the scope of private industry is described as a foolish lurch towards the failed systems of Marx and Lenin. Our economic discourse has been stuck in this same false choice since the 1980s.
Every modern industrialized country — including the United States — has a mix of privatized and socialized elements. While corporations employ the bulk of America’s workforce, we also have Social Security, Medicare, a public highway system, public K-12 schools, national parks, the National Weather Service, and the U.S. Postal Service. These collectivist programs are instrumental to our daily life and are broadly popular.
