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The spectre of socialism is haunting America . . . Bizarrely enough in 2026, a new Red Scare has taken over American politics, with the GOP, the Democratic Establishment, plenty of media, and liberals raising alarms about the recent success of candidates identifying as Democratic Socialists and Progressives, especially those endorsed by the political group the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Given Trump's various crises, invoking the threat of socialism (and more preposterously Communism) has become the GOP's 2026 midterm strategy, and Democratic leaders like Schumer and Jeffries and old boys like James Carville have jumped on the bandwagon, punching left to warn that DSA candidates and progressives like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan will not be electable and that the Democrats have to reject the Left and vote for what they call centrists or moderates.
So Scott and Bob and their comrade and frequent guest Professor Clayton Lust got together to discuss what socialism really means in America. Unlike European or 3rd World socialism the development of a socialist ideology or political movement never really took root in America. What did happen was an expansion of the state's role in the economy--sometimes brought about by socialists like the "gas and water socialists" in the Progressive area--to create programs and laws that would address economic crises and provide government help not just to capitalists but to working people--best demonstrated by New Deal programs to ameliorate the poverty and unemployment of the depression.
After that, those types of programs, better described as social democratic or, more recently, democratic socialist, did not challenge private ownership of the means of production or try to transfer power to working people. They continued to seek programs to help struggling people . . . as in LBJ's Great Society. In fact, these programs were so popular that Republican presidents Eisenhower and Nixon promoted policies on labor, wages, and housing similar to the New Deal.
Finally we talked about what groups like DSA are doing today and how it's not a socialist threat to democracy or capitalism but a movement to create programs on housing, food, jobs, and other issues that impact working people. Guest bio//Clayton Lust (@profclaytonlust.bsky.social) is a historian, activist, teacher, conqueror and warper of minds.
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Outro// "Green and Red Blues" by Moody
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