Kerby Anderson

Whenever you are having a debate or discussion, it is essential that you define your terms. This is especially true in any discussion about socialism. Actor Jim Carrey recently said he was tired of hearing talk show commentators say that socialism is a failure. He concluded that, “We have to say yes to socialism: to the word and everything.” Anders Hagstrom (Daily Caller News Foundation) in one of his videos asks, “What does socialism mean to him?” He says that conversations about socialism often go like this: “A liberal says we should be socialist. A conservative points to Venezuela, and says socialism doesn’t work. A liberal says, What about Sweden and Norway? The conservative then points out that those countries aren’t actually socialist.” Even if we accept the comment by liberals, there is a problem. “Nordic countries have tiny populations of less than 10 million. And copying and pasting their policies to a country of 330 million isn’t going to work.” These Nordic countries were successful before they adopted the redistributive policies they have now. And in the previous commentary, I explained that if Sweden were to join the U.S. as a state, Sweden would be poorer than all but 12 states. There’s a more important point. Anders Hagstrom reminds us that the policies of true socialists like Senator Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez go far beyond what the Nordic countries have. For example, Bernie Sanders wants a planned economy. None of the Nordic states have this. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez wants to abolish profit. None of the Nordic countries have done that. And both of them want a universal minimum wage. None of the Nordic states have that. Are there any socialist countries that have those policies? Yes, those would be the countries of Venezuela, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union. Those are the countries conservatives often point to as why we don’t want socialism. Remember this in your next discussion about socialism.