Capitalism is still favored by 79% of Republicans in comparison to only 5% favoring socialism. The poll of independents showed 44% favored capitalism, with only 21% favoring socialism.
The founders knew that true individual liberty could not be achieved without economic freedom. Smith’s idea of the “invisible hand” offered an idea of individual economic freedom where the individual tastes and choices of citizens drove whole economies.
As I write in Rage and the Republic:
“While he never visited the United States, his theories seemed quintessentially American to many of his generation. For a revolution that was triggered by tariffs and fueled by events like the Boston Tea Party, Smith’s general principles read like an economic version of Common Sense. It was a type of declaration of independence not just from the British policy of mercantilism (emphasizing British exports over imports) but from economic controls over individual productivity and self-determination….
In summary, Smith was first and foremost viewed as a political theorist, and his economic theories were closely tied to his views on the natural liberties of humanity. He saw capitalism as a liberating system that gave individuals the wealth and resources to pursue their chosen paths. Conversely, he saw government controls and subsidies as forms of control and potentially forms of suppression of the human will. If people are to be truly free, they must have the resources to pursue that freedom. The government dole can become a type of servitude or at least a subterfuge for citizens. If they are dependent on the government, they are never truly free.”
I believe the key to our surviving and thriving in the 21st Century will be preserving what I call a “liberty-enhancing economy.”
The rise of the Democratic Socialist Party has fueled the trend away from capitalism with calls “to dismantle the capitalist state.”. Many of the rising candidates have spent years working the anti-capitalist movement. For example, Senate Democrat nominee James Talarico appeared intent on bringing a touch of Trotsky to Texas. In a video from a climate forum, Talarico is shown declaring capitalism an “oppressive system” linked with white supremacy and that it must be “dismantled” to achieve a better world. It is reminiscent of Leon Trotsky, who denounced the “fundamental evil of the capitalist system” and called on citizens to free themselves from its oppression.
As a state representative, Talarico addressed the 2020 climate conference with an attack on capitalism:
“I’m so thankful that you asked this question and also thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and White supremacy and capitalism in our country … And I think only ending the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we gonna be able to begin the process of dismantling them.”
Talarico’s views closely parallel socialist and communist talking points online. Democratic Socialists of America has challenged people to “Imagine the end of capitalism.” Those words in the Democratic Socialists of America manifesto offer Americans a world without landlords, debt, mandatory work hours, and “food, education, energy, medicine, and transportation… are common goods and utilities.”
The DSA is premised on the same stated objective of Talarico, declaring that there has to be “a revolutionary transformation to replace the capitalist social order based on exploitation and oppression.”
Other candidates have sought to pander to this radical mob. Recently, California Gov. Gavin Newsom thrilled the mob by declaring that “nostalgia is not working,” adding that “capitalism as we know it doesn’t work either.” He also recently said that the DSA is the future of the Democratic Party.
The Framers understood that political rights mean little without economic freedom. Capitalism offered citizens the ability to transcend class and social barriers, to advance as far as their skills and labor would take them.
Together, those political and economic theories created the most prosperous and stable democratic system in the world. That system is now under attack on both sides.
“You know, when people’s voice start getting squeaky and really high pitched, usually they’re lying. And Ashley Moody knows that I’m not a socialist,” Nixon said, claiming to only join DSA because she aligns with them on “fighting for adequate public housing, as well as fighting for quality health care, as well as making sure that we are getting our veterans off the street, taking big money out of politics.”
The success of politicians like Zohran Mamdani in promising to introduce people to the “warmth of collectivism” has only worked due to a young generation with no memory of the failure of the socialist systems in the last century.
As I explain in “Rage and the Republic,” the French economy collapsed, as the British economy had earlier during the “winter of discontent” under Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan. Britain was even forced to seek a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Both France and Britain would later reintroduce capitalist policies and roll back socialist policies to stop the economic collapse.
We also tried collectivist policies in cities across this country, including a commune on Long Island called Modern Times (now called Brentwood). It lasted about ten years before collapsing.
Yet, candidates such as Colorado’s Democrat congressional candidate Melat Kiros recently declared that there is nothing more American than socialism.
In places like New York, that message has resonated more with young college-aged voters than with blue-collar voters. Indeed, the DSA admits it has not done well at attracting actual blue-collar workers. Indeed, almost one-third of DSA members earn over $100,000.
This election is being fueled by temporary economic fluctuations in gas prices and other conditions. Those are real issues that citizens must grapple with. However, a more fundamental debate is just beginning over the economic principles that will guide this country in the future.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”