Joel Moret

POLS 434
Gibson
December 17 2018

The Suppression of Socialism

Socialism, defined as a political and economic theory of social organization which

advocates for public ownership of resources, production, distribution, and exchange, has largely

been ignored by Americans, favoring capitalist ideologies instead (Dagger, Ball). While some

socialist legislation has been introduced in America, socialism as a whole has never taken hold in

the United States. But why has it not? This question cannot be answered simply, however, there

are arguably three primary influences as to why socialism, and/or socialist legislation, has not

flourished in America: American Individualism in association with slavery, anti-socialism

resulting from anti-communism and the protection of capitalist legislation.

During its European settlement period, immigrants flocked to North America, many to

escape religious persecution and others to escape serfdom, allowing these immigrants to craft the

foundational ideologies of the New World. Alexis De Tocqueville comments on Jamestown,

noting that, “The men sent to Virginia were seekers of gold, adventurers, without resources and

without character, whose turbulent and restless spirit endangered the infant colony, and rendered

its progress uncertain.” (De Tocqueville). Kevin Dooley, in his article, ​De Tocqueville's

Allegorical Journey: Equality, Individualism, and the Spread of American Values,​ draws a

conclusion from De Tocqueville's comments, stating that, “...Jamestown was founded upon the

overriding belief that the freedom gained in the New World was best served by the private

interests of competing individuals. Competition was the basis of the settlement and the result of

inhabitants' unyielding thirst for wealth...Thus, they settled a land that lacked the Pilgrim's sense

of community and contributed to the modern notions...of capital accumulation and competition”
(Dooley). These sentiments essentially formed the basis for the creation of social and political

systems in America, as they were later incorporated into the foundational documents of the

United States to reflect the ideas already present in the New World (Dooley). This is a sort of

starting point for the repression of socialist ideas in America, mainly because the ideologies in

Jamestown weren’t the only ones present in America at the time. De Tocqueville also comments

on Plymouth, noting that it was founded on ideas geared more towards communal survival and

Puritan obedience to God, however, looking at present day America, it's clear which ideologies

gained more popularity (De Tocqueville). It is important to note that there is a primary reason for

this popularization: slavery. De Tocqueville states, “[Jamestown] was scarcely established when

slavery was introduced, and this was the main circumstance which has exercised so prodigious

an influence on the character, the laws, and all the future prospects of the South. Slavery, as we

shall afterwards show, dishonors labor; it introduces idleness into society, and with idleness,

ignorance and pride, luxury and distress....The influence of slavery, united to the English

character, explains the manners and the social condition of the Southern States.” (De

Tocqueville). Here, De Tocqueville is pointing out the effectiveness of slavery in regards to

changing human character and social conditions, an idea which Dooley also expands on, pointing

to slavery as a catalyst for individualistic capitalism to flourish, “Slavery seemed to have resulted

from the South's inability to forge a morally bounded sense of community. Slaves were

necessary to a culture designed around individualism and capital accumulation. The only way

one could secure as much land and resources as possible was to find cheap, and in this sense, free

labor.” (Dooley). Conclusively, the ideas of individualism and accumulation of personal wealth

originated in the minds of the settlers of Jamestown, encouraged by the availability of free labor
via slavery. At the time, this was more lucrative than community focused ideologies, as

immigrants were primarily looking for wealth in the New World. Thus, capitalist ideas

flourished and the communal socio-economic foundation of Plymouth (which more closely

represented socialist ideas) fell by the wayside, leaving individualism and the accumulation of

personal wealth to become ideologies ingrained in American society.

During the second Red Scare, socialism and other non-capitalist ideologies became

associated with communism, which at the time was heavily villainized by the American

government. There was a myriad of propaganda films created to inform the American public

about socialism, communism and their threat to the American way of life. Many films came in

the way of short movies, while others featured lecturers, historians and other scholars, presenting

the information to a classroom. One of these movies, iconically named ​Red Nightmare ​(1962),

illustrates this point particularly well. The film opens with a conversation between two Russian

spies in an American town and the first spy says, “Americans...they have too many freedoms”, to

which the second spy responds, “That is another thing you must remember comrade...for one day

it will be your mission to destroy those bourgeois capitalist freedoms” (00:00:33-00:0043).

Albeit a bit dramatic, ​Red Nightmare​ provides a shining portrayal of the influences present in

1960s America, which creates a partial explanation for the villainization of communism, as

undoubtedly, these ideas, to some degree, took hold. Aside from propaganda, other evidence to

show anti-communism in America includes state anti-Subversion laws and the actions of the

House Un-American Activities Committee, as argued by author Nick Fischer, “The treatment of

violators of federal statutes and state ordinances pertaining to lawful assembly and morality

constituted an important form of political terror in America” (Fischer 209). The message was
clear, communism was the enemy. The most important aspect here, however, is understanding

why there was such a close association between communism and socialism, something which

again, can be seen in American anti-communist propaganda. ​A Look At Socialism (​ 1955), now

preserved in the Prelinger Archives, film shows Professor Clifton Ganus presenting the

ideologies of Socialism. In the opening minutes, he states, “Modern socialism and modern

communism both arose [from] Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels….The word socialism and

communism are very much the same in their root meaning….Scholars say that the two doctrines

are alike and that the final results ultimately will be the same” (00:00:17- 00:00:35). This

introduction presents the association of communism with socialism in America completely,

creating a compelling reason for an instilled negative stigma surrounding socialism in relation to

its connection with communism. Communism was the enemy and by association, socialism was

too. As Yeonsik Jung noted in regards to Franklin D. Roosevelt's inaugural address, “...his

speech on the need to overcome fear itself is no other than a veiled message on the need to

produce a fear object, which foreshadows, if not invites, forms of mass hysteria, xenophobic

anti-socialism/anti-communism that gripped early-to-mid twentieth century American society”

(Jung 1-13). Anti-socialism as a byproduct of anti-communism continued as an American

sentiment, creating a negative stigma surrounding socialist ideas, thus providing another primary

explanation for the lack of socialist presence in America.

In many ways, socialist ideas have historically been suppressed by those who benefit the

most from capitalism, a group which is primarily comprised of CEOs and business owners,

especially those who own parent companies of entire industries. It's no secret that capitalism

provides the opportunity for infinite wealth to business owners, as promised by the tenets of the
American Dream, which perpetuates the understanding that monetary success will come to the

entrepreneur who works the hardest (Hochschild 15-38). This belief is instilled in the American

populace, resulting in a workforce that is motivated to continue providing labor for corporations

much larger than themselves. With this being said, it is clear that the primary beneficiaries of

capitalism (commonly referred to as the “One Percent”) have a motivated interest in perpetuating

the philosophy of capitalism and the American Dream. Put simply, capitalism drives people to

continue working and people working means profits for the employer. Because of this motivated

interest, chairmen and CEOs have made their presence known in politics, where they can have an

affect on economic legislation, steering it to benefit them. One of the best historical examples of

this is Donald Regan's involvement in the Tax Reform Act of 1986: Regan, who was formerly

chairman of Merrill Lynch, was appointed to Treasury Secretary under Ronald Reagan and used

his influence to design and pass the act. A New York Times article published after Regan’s death

gave a quotation from Edward J. Rollins, a political director in the Reagan White House, to

emphasize Regan's involvement, ““The president no longer has advisers….He has Don Regan,

and Don Regan has advisers”” (Severo). The Tax Reform Act of 1986 is representative of the

economic legislation that was passed during Reagan’s presidency, which came to be known as

“Reaganomics”. To define, Reaganomics is an economic system which seeks prosperity by

reducing tax rates from both labor and capital as well as decreasing regulation. The intended

effect of this deregulation is increased saving and investment, resulting in economic growth as

well as restoration of financial markets (Encyclopedia of Economics and Liberty). The Tax

Reform Act of 1986 consolidated tax brackets and reduced the tax rate for the upper income

level from 50% to 38.5%, something which Michael Moore, in his documentary, ​Capitalism: A
Love Story, ​argues hurt the American Economy (Tax Foundation). Moore theorizes that

President Reagan was much like a puppet for businessmen like Regan, allowing him to pass tax

cuts like the 1986 reform primarily to benefit America’s richest under the guise of legislation.

With this, a connection can be drawn between the lack of socialist legislation and the motivated

interest of businessmen like Regan: they want to suppress socialist legislation in favor of

monetary gains. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 is especially relevant because higher tax rates are a

socialist characteristic, so in favor of keeping more of his accumulated wealth, Regan used his

influence to lower his tax rates, using the President as a way to make the reform appeal to the

American populus. With this understanding, it’s clear that the top grossing individuals in

America do not favor socialist ideologies and so, people like Donald Regan use their power to

suppress socialist regulation in favor of legislation that works toward increasing the ability to

accumulate personal wealth.

Socialism and socialist ideology has historically been placed on the back burner in

regards to American politics. While legislation carrying socialist ideas has been implemented to

some degree, socialism as a whole has never entirely caught on. Socialist ideas have largely been

stunted in favor of capitalist ones, which is the result of America's foundational ideas in

association with slavery, villainization of socialism in its association with communism and

through the perpetuation of pro-capitalist legislation due to the motivated interest of wealthy

individuals.
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