Why is America So Scared of Socialism?

At least half of the American electorate has a negative view of socialism — even if they don’t entirely understand what it means.

This stands in stark contrast to almost every other developed country in the world. Many of our closest allies maintain large social welfare systems. Some of these systems are in operation right next door.

So why is America so scared of Socialism?

Well, we aren’t.

Just like other countries, Americans love socialism — when we’re not being prosecuted for it.

Although we might not trust each other enough to make it work today.

So let’s go to the past — which is also the future.

Welcome to the year 2000 AD. The future. The United States is a bonafide utopia, complete with personal credit cards, streaming music, online shopping, and socialism. Lots and lots of socialism.

This is the central conceit of Edward Bellamy’s 19th century novel, Looking Backward. Published in 1887, it became the third bestselling book of the time, and only the second American novel to sell a million copies. It also helped jumpstart socialist societies all across the US.

Even though the book describes a United States with a nationalized industrial economy and an exhaustive social welfare system, Bellamy never calls any of it socialism. In fact, the word socialism never appears in the text. By the time of its publication, a series of violent and deadly labor strikes was enough to make the American people wary of anything labeled socialism. So Bellamy was reluctant to promote it in his book — even though that’s exactly what he was doing.

America’s stance on socialism wouldn’t be any more forgiving in the subsequent decades.

After World War I — which many socialists opposed — the federal government cracked down on political dissent — both real and imagined. This was the first Red Scare. Socialists were lumped together with anarchists, Bolsheviks, and communists — all of which were considered terrorist organizations by the US military. Immigrants were seen as harbingers of dangerous socialist ideas. Their communities were targeted and many were deported. Even activists working toward racial equality fell under…