American Obsession With Socialism

From all the questions that could cross your mind about Cory Doctorow, this one is probably the most American one: "Is Cory Doctorow a socialist?" It is so shallow, it shouldn’t even get air in the room, not when there’s real meat to chew on.

America still flinches at the mere whisper of the word "socialism," like it’s some restless ghost looming in the shadows. There’s this sickly, deep-rooted fear, almost pathological if you dig into it.

Like the very idea of a society where folks aren’t ground down into cogs, where people are allowed just to be human with basic needs met, sends a shiver up the spine of Uncle Sam himself.

Why would such a system, one that dares to cater to the many and not just the few fat cats at the top, feel like such a threat? 

Maybe it’s because we’ve been fed this rugged individualism myth for so long that we can’t stomach the thought of a communal safety net. Or perhaps we've been bred to bow before gilded altars, praying to the rich as if their glittering castles weren’t built on the bones of those who came before.

America doesn’t entertain socialism as a possibility - it dresses it up in shadows and fangs, like the villain in a fevered pulpy paperback. It's easier that way. Easier to keep snarling at the apparition in the corner, easier than staring down the hulking beast coiled right here in the room. The system we hold onto isn’t some lifeline; it’s barbed wire wrapped tight around our throats, blood trickling into the dirt as we smile through the pain, pretending it’s all fine.

Find out for yourself: https://pluralistic.net