“I never thought we [would be] debating things that were debated in the ’30s, both communism and socialism,” Mr. McConnell says. Those ideologies were “largely discredited at a time when Americans could have found these arguments pretty appealing in the middle of the Great Depression.”
Mr. McConnell thinks socialism ought to be a tough sell today, given the prosperous economy and low unemployment. But maybe not. Polls show socialism has risen in stature, which Mr. McConnell sees as evidence of the new era. Last year, he notes, Gallup found for the first time that Democrats have a more “positive view” of socialism than of capitalism.
Another poll—this one from 2016—showed Democratic primary voters “in every age group, every gender, and every race view socialism favorably.” Among Democrats 45 and under, 45% preferred socialism to 19% for capitalism.
That changed a bit when the pollster offered definitions of socialism and capitalism: 40% of Democrats preferred socialism and 25% picked capitalism. Still, nearly 60% said socialism would have a “positive impact.” The poll of 1,000 Democrats in 2016 was conducted for the American Action Network, a right-of-center organization.
Socialism may not dominate the new era, but neither is it likely to fade. Two things will keep it alive. One is the proliferation of left-of-center ideas that meld easily into socialism. The second is the emergence of New York’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the newest Democratic star. She calls herself a “democratic socialist.”
At the top of the Democratic agenda is a campaign to enact enormous tax hikes on the rich. One might think it’s premature to jack up taxes less than 14 months after Republicans passed tax reform. It might be wiser to let it play out first. But Democrats believe the blue wave that swept the 2018 midterm election changed everything. They interpret their capture of the House as a mandate to reverse the nation’s political direction. Though Republicans still control the Senate and White House, Democrats regard them as relics of the past.
As tax raisers, Democrats are not timid. They’re targeting the richest of the rich. Their boldest weapon is Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s unprecedented wealth tax, dubbed…
