Do democratic socialists really want socialism? If so, they have no place in America

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Like many Democrats, I patiently wait for the party to find ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The upcoming 2026 midterms have instilled the same amount of dread in me as in previous elections. It seems that the Democrats love to hate President Trump, but they don’t seem to offer any practical solutions on how they would do things better.

It has been beaten to death that the rise of so-called democratic socialists is a result of Democrats’ impotence. I don’t have to remind you that the constant failures of Democrats in Washington has led to voters (especially young voters) turning to candidates who proudly wear the title of socialist while trumpeting populist policies.

But pushing aside the Red Scare run-for-the-hills rhetoric, there needs to be a serious discussion. Are these so-called democratic socialists actually socialists? And do we really want socialism in America? Like the Beatles song “Revolution” said — “If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, You ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow.” If these candidates truly view themselves as socialists, then the answer should be an unequivocal no.

The first thing we need to ascertain is whether these candidates and politicians — ranging from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Colorado congressional candidate Melat Kiros to Washington, D.C. mayoral hopeful Janeese Lewis George — truly want to seize the means of production in this country and limit private business, private property, and private ownership. Because, folks, that is what socialism is.

It is easy to look at Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos and think that socialism makes sense. It’s not so easy when you apply the concept to your parents’ real estate investments or your family business.

Darializa Avila Chevalier’s deleted tweets about Lenin and Marx also championed the idea of seizing the means of production. However, when asked by MS Now if she was a communist, she replied that she was just a democratic socialist. Chevalier’s deleted tweets might have just been the rantings of a college kid who reads a book on Marx and then thinks she has the solutions to the world’s problems. Or it might be how she still feels, and she is deliberately downplaying it to appeal to a larger electorate.

But between her and Mamdani, we really need to ask whether they are socialists or supporters of a free market economy with a robust welfare state. Tackling poverty, healthcare and education with robust social programs appeals to many Americans. Helping people buy homes and making it easier to start a family is also appealing. In this era where the rich are getting richer, the idea of helping Americans become the Joneses instead of keeping up with them is very important.

Healthcare, education and housing need to be affordable and attainable for all Americans. It’s the benchmark for stability so that people can still achieve the American Dream. There is no doubt the Democrats have failed to achieve those goals.

But does that mean we need to embrace socialism?

Can we just fix our problems by adjusting taxes, balancing the budget, and stopping members of Congress from enriching themselves? Probably. America, for all its problems, still has the world’s largest economy. We still control how things run in the world (despite Trump’s disastrous second term). Are we really going to elect people whose solution is to break the machine that puts food on the table, rather than elect those who want to fix the machine?

We have seen socialism fail time and time again around the world. And no, this doesn’t include the Nordic model which has a fully free-market capitalist economy and a fully developed welfare state. I know plenty of Republicans like to call that communism or socialism, and even some Democrats love to pretend that is proof that socialism works. But the Nordic states are not socialist by any serious definition. They chose to focus on preventing wealth inequality, which is clearly a problem our current system can’t solve, but one can still run a private business or own private property in those countries.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an avowed socialist, has championed the Nordic system and become a darling of the far left and Democrats for doing so. But do these newcomers have the same ideals as him? Or are they leftists who see the failures of communism and socialism from the Soviet Union to Venezuela and think, “Yeah but this time it will work!”

The Nordic model works because of its commitment to free markets. Socialism doesn’t work because nationalized economies usually end up failing or the socialists decide that democracy really gets in the way of them doing what they want (see Venezuela).

This country’s success is based on the notion that anyone (with equal opportunity) can obtain property, start a business, and accumulate wealth that they wouldn’t be able to do elsewhere. It’s the reason why wave after wave of immigrants have fled socialist countries to seek a better life. The Republicans, trying to stop their own midterm implosion, will be quick to call out these democratic socialists as a threat to this country.

If the Democratic Party has any brains, it should roll out a platform based on the Nordic model or something similar, and it should force these so-called socialists to distance themselves from actual socialism. The last thing an American political party needs is to be hijacked by a movement that is so very un-American.

Joslin Joseph is a recipient of the Military Reporters and Editors award for Best Commentary /Opinion. A graduate of Harvard and Ohio State, he is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. He currently lives in Anaheim, Calif.

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Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders

Darializa Avila Chevalier

Democratic Party

Elon Musk

Jeff Bezos

Melat Kiros

Zohran Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani

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