JONAH GOLDBERG: Democratic socialists pose no real threat to America’s free markets

JONAH GOLDBERG: Democratic socialists pose no real threat to America’s free markets I am not a conspiracy theorist, yet it is striking how the GOP appears to be quietly boosting the Democratic Socialists of America, a group that is currently generating energy and enthusiasm that feels misplaced within both major parties. The DSA advocates a range of positions that lie far outside the mainstream of American political discourse, including calls to abolish the police, prisons, the Pentagon and the U.S. Senate. Such ideas are, in the language of social science, utterly unfounded. Even if one were to judge them on their merits—which I do not—they are politically absurd. The Constitution effectively prohibits eliminating the Senate, even by amendment, so devoting political capital to that goal is akin to demanding that two plus two equals five. Nevertheless, certain factions embrace this rhetoric with zeal. Specifically, far‑left activist youth, predominantly white progressives holding seemingly impractical undergraduate and graduate degrees, and elements of the Republican Party. The first two groups adopt the rhetoric because they agree with it; Republicans do so because they are eager to campaign against it. Republicans are increasingly asserting that the only way to thwart a takeover by “godless communists” is to vote Republican. During a July 3 appearance at Mount Rushmore, President Donald Trump declared, “Communism is simply a mortal menace to American liberty. It is the top menace to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or adjacent 9/11.” He added, “I agree! Barring any clip instrumentality shenanigans, communism is simply a bigger menace than Pearl Harbor and galore different past events.” House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted, “We’re warring close present successful Congress implicit whether we’re going to support our presumption as a law republic, or we’re going to commercialized that in, dismantle the foundations and spell down this acheronian roadworthy of decease to communism. That is the question connected the ballot this fall.” A Republican operative working on Trump’s political strategy told Axios this month, “It’s going to be a hatred election. Voters person to hatred the Dems much than they hatred us. And we person worldly to enactment with.” Even if the GOP fails to weaponize the Red Menace, the prospect of a socialist takeover remains exaggerated. Polls show, especially among younger Democrats, growing sympathy for socialism and rising distaste for capitalism. Yet this pattern is not new; for the past two decades, dissatisfaction with the economic status quo has fueled interest in socialism, largely because many equate that status quo with capitalism. Faced with a binary choice, respondents assume the opposite of capitalism must be socialism. A 2014 Reason Foundation survey found that millennials preferred capitalism to socialism by a slim 10‑point margin (52 percent‑42 percent). When asked whether they favored a “free marketplace economy” over a “government managed economy,” the free‑market option prevailed by a two‑to‑one ratio (64 percent‑32 percent). By 2026, an Echelon Insights survey indicated that among Democrats under 50, the favorability rating for “capitalism” stood at minus 31 points (it is unpopular with every other demographic). When the same group was asked about a “free marketplace economy,” favorability rose 41 points to a plus 22 score (a trend that holds across other cohorts as well). In other words, the term “capitalism” conveys something quite distinct from “free markets” to many self‑identified socialists. That distinction matters. I would prefer a system that leaned more toward free markets, but the core point is that many people use “capitalism” as a shorthand for aspects of the economy they dislike, not as a synonym for free enterprise or free markets. Net favorability for communism stands at minus 40. The same ambiguity applies to socialism, which carries different meanings for different audiences. Moving beyond labels and polling quirks, the evidence suggests that implementing socialist policies would be a formidable. For example, according to Echelon, 74 percent of Medicare for All supporters believe the program could be financed solely by taxing billionaires. That claim is inaccurate. Medicare for All is projected to cost roughly $32 trillion over ten years, whereas the combined net worth of all American billionaires is about $9 trillion. Even confiscating every asset held by the billionaire class would cover less than one‑third of the expense. Consequently, even if socialists achieved electoral victory, they would likely encounter serious governance challenges, and the appeal of socialism would likely wane. Jonah Goldberg is editor‑in‑chief of The Dispatch and host of The Remnant podcast. His X handle is @JonahDispatch.