The Other Big Surprise of 2016 Is the Return of Democratic Socialism

[jnos]

The headline caught my eye. I posted in Current News rather than Political Debates. I'm don't think it's "current news" as much as "historical perspective observation."

Democratic socialism used to be a vibrant force in American life. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, the Socialist Party of America, headed by the charismatic union leader, Eugene V. Debs, grew rapidly, much like its sister parties in Europe and elsewhere: the British Labour Party, the French Socialist Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Australian Labor Party, and dozens of similar parties that voters chose to govern their countries. Publicizing its ideas through articles, lectures, rallies, and hundreds of party newspapers, America’s Socialist Party elected an estimated 1,200 public officials, including 79 mayors, in 340 cities, as well as numerous members of state legislatures and two members of Congress. Once in office, the party implemented a broad range of social reforms designed to curb corporate abuses, democratize the economy, and improve the lives of working class Americans. Even on the national level, the Socialist Party became a major player in American politics. In 1912, when Woodrow Wilson’s six million votes gave him the presidency, Debs―his Socialist Party opponent―drew vast, adoring crowds and garnered nearly a million.

The second paragraph is quite a contrast:

This promising beginning, however, abruptly

came to an end. Socialist Party criticism of World War I led to a ferocious government crackdown on the party, including raids on its offices, censorship of its newspapers, and imprisonment of its leaders, including Debs. In addition, when Bolshevik revolutionaries seized power in Russia and established the Soviet Union, they denounced democratic socialist parties and established rival Communist parties under Soviet control to spark revolutions. In the United States, the Socialists fiercely rejected this Communist model. But the advent of Communism sharply divided the American Left and, worse yet, confused many Americans about the differences between Socialists and Communists. Although the Socialist Party lingered on during the 1920s and 1930s, many individual Socialists simply moved into the Democratic Party, particularly after its New Deal programs began to steal the Socialist thunder.

more here

The author, Lawrence Wittner sounds like a well know and respect historian and peace activist. I think now it would have been exciting and challenging to have been a historian. And to think I really didn't like it at all in school.
:noway: Maybe it's a "senior" think but I now really enjoy historical documentaries, docudramas and dramas. I'm learning now what I could have learn 50 years ago! Ah, such is life!

 

[WhatInThe]

I could go either place, if it's about government or politics of anykind can't go wrong on politics.

Key information is stated and that's the Democrat's "New Deal" stole the socialist thunder.