The thing that dem socs in the us want, a socialist economy and government, hasn’t really happened in a rich country. The closest example would be Sweden in the 70s. I don’t think there’s much value in comparing the results of left wing revolutions in extremely poor and war ravaged countries with what might happen if dem socs like bernie sanders were to be able to enact their agendas in rich countries. The most economically left wing governments and societies in the rich world, i.e. Scandinavia, are some of the best places to live based on a whole host of metrics.
I think it’s important to be clear that Scandinavian Social Democracy is not a socialist economy or a socialist government—I’m a big fan of the Nordic countries and think they’d be great to emulate, but (like all countries) Sweden is somewhere in between “capitalism” and “socialism”, using taxation and a strong welfare state to ensure that the benefits of capital are widely distributed without total redistribution. Based on the 20th century, I’m pretty confident that the optimal system of government has both free markets and government control.
I see the Capitalist/Socialist false dichotomy a a relic of the Cold War, with neither side able to admit that the other had a point. Total laisse fare Capitalism is pretty unpleasant for the people on the bottom, but it’s the height of hubris to think the government can centrally plan the entire economy—and as soon as the Chinese stopped trying, it turned out pretty well for them!
The thing that dem socs in the us want, a socialist economy and government, hasn’t really happened in a rich country. The closest example would be Sweden in the 70s. I don’t think there’s much value in comparing the results of left wing revolutions in extremely poor and war ravaged countries with what might happen if dem socs like bernie sanders were to be able to enact their agendas in rich countries. The most economically left wing governments and societies in the rich world, i.e. Scandinavia, are some of the best places to live based on a whole host of metrics.
I think it’s important to be clear that Scandinavian Social Democracy is not a socialist economy or a socialist government—I’m a big fan of the Nordic countries and think they’d be great to emulate, but (like all countries) Sweden is somewhere in between “capitalism” and “socialism”, using taxation and a strong welfare state to ensure that the benefits of capital are widely distributed without total redistribution. Based on the 20th century, I’m pretty confident that the optimal system of government has both free markets and government control.
I see the Capitalist/Socialist false dichotomy a a relic of the Cold War, with neither side able to admit that the other had a point. Total laisse fare Capitalism is pretty unpleasant for the people on the bottom, but it’s the height of hubris to think the government can centrally plan the entire economy—and as soon as the Chinese stopped trying, it turned out pretty well for them!