Commentary by Bill McGuire

Actually, socialism is fine. It's as American as apple pie. It's the term “socialism” that's the menace. In US politics, the word stops sensible political discussion dead in its tracks. Here, socialism is what Claude Lévi-Strauss called a floating signifier: It points everywhere at once and therefore nowhere in particular. In the Capitol, we see politicians deploring the evils of socialism one moment and then co-sponsoring it the next. In Washington, D.C., socialism is any government program somebody doesn't like. It means no more than that.

Do you support social security? Medicare? Farm price supports? Bailouts for critical industries? A gargantuan defense budget that largely serves as a stimulus program? Congratulations, you are a socialist. You dirty pinko rat. The fact is the US has long had a mixed economy with both socialist and free market elements. And everything in between. But America likes to pretend otherwise.

According to many on the right, a Democrat is a liberal is a socialist is a communist, further confusing the issue. On purpose. More than 70 years after Joe McCarthy was knocked off his peg, the Red Scare continues. When former Attorney General Bill Barr denounced Donald Trump, he said he still couldn't vote for a Democrat because he had to "stop communism." Among many Americans, the terms “socialist” and “communist” are interchangeable, and that's just how Republicans like it.

Over here on the left, the term socialism is remarkably elastic as well. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) identify as democratic socialists. But over in Europe where such terms have any congruency at all, they really are social democrats, and they're not the same thing. Meanwhile, centrist Democrats in the US will offer the most socialistic-y proposals while never bringing the word socialism anywhere around. If they have any hope of passing them, anyway.

Is there a solution to this lexical logjam? It's a question that only raises another question: Could politicians ever start using words properly? If the word socialism doesn't mean anything anymore, maybe we should just stop using it.

McGuire is contributing pundit for The Hustings.