Socialism vs. capitalism debate needs more minority voices
Minorities have a lot to say about socialism, if pollsters are willing to listen.
It’s long been suspected, but now it’s confirmed: socialism is gaining serious traction, and not just among young people. According to a new poll from Axios and Momentive, certain groups (Black American, American women, and non-white Republican populations) are starting to look at socialism with a less critical eye.
“Socialism has positive connotations for 60% of Black Americans, 45% of American women and 33% of non-white Republicans,” notes Axios.
“Those numbers have grown over the past two years from 53%, 41% and 27%, respectively.”
But these results don’t really do justice to how all minorities like me feel. What’s more, they don’t explain the rich perspective of those who have actually lived under socialist governments. My family did.
I can say, with confidence, from my family’s experience: Socialism is neither trendy nor a specter. It’s an economic and political system that has endangered millions of people and left a generational toll on their families.
The Axios poll measures race and ethnicity in the simplest of terms, having only asked participants if they are White, Black, Hispanic, or Other. Fair enough — polls can’t express the breadth of American diversity. But then a few minority statistics can’t be lumped together to reach the conclusion that America is moving towards socialism or that socialism is becoming a “badge of pride.”
There are valid questions as to whether a wide enough spectrum of minorities were included, especially within the umbrella term “other.” Their voices matter particularly in the context of this debate.
In recent years, socialism has become a heated topic in political and policy circles. Lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders and
Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez claim that capitalism is “irredeemable” and that a new economic system, namely democratic socialism, will bring back power to the people. The Democratic Socialists of America believe that this system “pushes further than historic social democracy and leaves behind authoritarian visions of socialism in the dustbin of history.”
Democratic socialism is, nevertheless, built upon an ideology that impacted the world in harsh and unforgivable ways. Rebranding it as a system that empowers people is just recycling how Marxist-Leninist-Maoist leaders sold it the first time.
Look no further than the wealth and social inequality argument. According to the Axios/Momentive poll, 66% of surveyed Americans want the federal government to pursue policies that reduce wealth inequality. Democratic socialists purportedly have the solution. They want to level the playing field between the 1% and 99%, reduce classism, and create a more efficient economy. They assert that their visions are completely different from past iterations of socialism and communism, yet their messaging and transformative goals sound awfully familiar.
My family’s home in Chinawas destroyed by socialism and communism. During the 1950s, Maoist leaders convinced Chinese workers that there was a fix for their poor economic and social conditions. All they had to do was take the land from their landlords, which would be used more equitably than private ownership ever could. Resources never fell back into the hands of the people, but it was too late. Armed militias tortured and killed anyone they deemed “powerful.” Many innocent people, like my grandmother, were enslaved for years while others, like my uncle, did not survive. This is what happens when class warfare and wealth redistribution are pushed to the limit.
The Axios/Momentive poll, and others in the policy discourse, make it seem like socialism is just an alternative to capitalism. But immigrants and refugees would tell you otherwise. Countries can’t dismantle capitalism and “opt in” to socialism without incurring a generational cost. For many years, my family did not have enough money for food, clothes, or medical care — all because the state decided the wealthy were enemies. It took decades for my family to climb out of extreme poverty and, to this day, physical and mental scars remain. This lived experience is part of the valuable perspective minorities bring to polls.
The United States is a nation of immigrants. Every American came to this country from somewhere else and, for millions of minorities, their first home was a socialist or communist country like China, Venezuela, Cuba, or the Soviet Union. Their stories have more to say than the polls that overlook them.
Surveying the socialism versus capitalism landscape is incomplete without a fair representation of minorities and their lived experiences. Ignoring the refugee perspective, especially in the context of socialism, will lead to inaccurate results. This is why the polls were wrong in Florida during the 2020 election and why the Axios/Momentive survey may not tell the full story.
The Axios article claimed that socialism was no longer an “all-purpose pejorative” and they’re right. It’s worse than that, it’s state-sanctioned brutality. Pollsters would know this if they thoughtfully surveyed minorities or, at the very least, asked them for their opinion.
Rachel Chiu is a Young Voices contributor who writes about technology, employment, and human rights. Her opinions are her own and no organization has influenced the content of this article. Her writing has been published in
USA Today, The American Conservative, The Hill, RealClearPolicy, and elsewhere. Follow her on Twitter: @rachelhchiu.