Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Politics and Religion
The Rebirth of Socialism

The Rebirth of Socialism

Last updated on: March 12, 2019 at 6:00 am by Gene Veith

0 Comments

The Rebirth of Socialism 2019-03-05T16:31:34-05:00 Gene Veith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, people were saying that socialism had been “consigned to the dust bin of history.” Free market capitalism and liberal democracy were so ascendant that people were talking about the “end of history,” in the sense that the wars and ideological conflicts that make up so much of history were over with.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist as of Christmas day, 1991. But just 28 years later, socialism is back in vogue. Among Democrats, 57% have a favorable impression of socialism, with a minority of 47% saying that about capitalism (the overlap liking both systems). Two avowed socialists, Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortes, dominate the party. Almost half of Millennials, 48%, identify themselves as socialists.

A big article in the latest New Yorker magazine, entitled Pinkos Have More Fun, chronicles the way socialism has become fashionable among the cool people.

. . .Among New York’s creative underclass — cash poor but culturally potent — it feels like everything but socialism is now irrelevant. “I’ve noticed that there’s a kind of baseline assumption in the room that everyone is a socialist,” says Brostoff. “And if they’re not, it’s because they’re an anarchist.” Coolheaded Obaman technocracy is out; strident left-wing moral clarity is in. And while this atmospheric shift is felt most acutely among the left-literary crowd, it’s also bled into the general discourse, such that Teen Vogue is constantly flacking against capitalism and one of the most devastating insults in certain corners of the internet is to call someone a neoliberal.

To be sure, most of the neo-socialists are unclear about the concept. From the New York Post editorial Socialism’s millennial fans don’t even know what it is:

Today’s Democratic socialists don’t seem to embrace the classic definition of socialism as government control of the means of production — which has traditionally meant nationalizing whole industries.

These socialists insist they don’t support repressive states like the Soviet Union or North Korea. But Sanders and the rest refuse to say a critical word about Venezuela, which is on the brink of social and economic collapse due to socialism.

Instead, they point to Scandinavian-style socialism in nations like Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as “true socialism.” One problem: Those countries aren’t socialist.

As Danish Prime Minister Lars-Lokke Rasmussen has said: “Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy.”

These “socialist” states have no mandated minimum wage or guaranteed jobs. Taxes are higher than US rates, but largely by making the middle and working classes pay big via the Value Added Tax — which hits consumption, not income or wealth.

True socialism, in fact, is reflected in Venezuela, Cuba and the Soviet Union. All are or were economic disasters and brutally repressive states.

And yet, at least some of the new socialists are the real thing. The New Yorker article describes “red parties” and the “red dating” scene, but it also gives accounts of intense discussions of Marxist theory, of the sort that must have characterized the Communist cells of the 1930s. “Socialist discourse,” we are told, is “in contrast to the pieties of the identity-politics left, the righteousness of the #resistance, or the smug wonkishness of Vox.” This is real working-class Marxism, opposed to the alternative progressivism of identity politics that is competing for the soul of the Democratic party.

For a good sense of the new socialism, see the magazine Jacobin, named after the radicals of the French Revolution. It is unabashedly Marxist, revolutionary, and critical of bourgeois liberals. Interestingly, it supports Bernie Sanders for president while thinking his revolution, should he get elected, will also require some more direct action.

“Democratic Socialists” believe radical change can come from peaceful political action, like voting. But the harder core Marxist socialists believe that radical change can only be implemented by violent revolution. Can we expect Marxist terrorism, along the same lines as Islamist terrorism? Let’s hope not, but it could happen.

So why has socialism come back? Marxist socialism fell apart because of its economic failures and political oppression–as is happening today in Venezuela. But socialism is coming back in the teeth of capitalism’s unparalleled success and prosperity.

Matthew Continetti, in his essay What to Do About the Rebirth of Socialism, sees some spiritual reasons for this. Traditional religion and moral beliefs have faded. What’s left in the West is an economic system stripped of its former human values. Thus, that system seems unfulfilling at best and evil at worst. And to fill the religious void, many people turn to secular ideologies to provide inspiring ideals. Says Conteinetti, “Socialism is the attempt to derive from the political sphere the direction and purpose to human life that is the traditional province of morality and culture.”

Some socialists are saying essentially the same thing themselves, putting forth socialism as the alternative to religion. See, for example, “The Spiritual Case for Socialism” in the New Republic.

Continetti raises the key question, without being able to supply an answer. Quoting Irving Kristol, he writes,

“What can a liberal-capitalist society do about the decline of religious beliefs and traditional values — a decline organically rooted in liberal capitalism’s conception of this realm as an essentially ‘private affair’ neither needing nor meriting public sanction?” Here is the toughest question to answer. At the very least we must defend religious freedom, and promote religious and civic education, if we are ever to address the denuded moral and cultural system that has become the breeding ground of the socialist revival.

Illustration via Pixabay, Creative Commons license

Previous Post

March 11, 2019

Demagoguing Tax Refunds

Next Post

March 13, 2019 Rich Parents Indicted for College Admission Fraud

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"VCRs, tape decks, and cassette players are all having a revival among a segment of ..."

Tom Hering

Luther on Tools

"As a (retired) lawyer I see potential liability from sharing things like power or sharp ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"I am not sure the items you mentioned, though disused, discontinued, discarded, could be considered ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"“Friend, use me in your relations with your neighbor just as you would want your ..."

DakotaLutheran

Luther on Tools

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category America Apologetics Art baseball Bible Blog Christ Church crime Culture Economics Education Ethics Family Food Football Government History Holidays Holy Week Humor International Islam Language Law Life Issues Literature Media Medicine Movies Music Nature News Personal Philosophy Politics psychology Reformation Religions Sacraments Science sex Social Science Sports technology television terrorism Theology Uncategorized Vocation war

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Barnabas" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Chosen One Servant of the Lord Son of Encouragement God is my help

Books by This Author Books by Gene Veith

See All Titles »