Kerby Anderson

Lots of young people say they believe in socialism but when asked to define it they don’t often give an accurate answer. But what do people who are socialists believe and what do they want to implement in this country? Jarrett Stepman went to a socialism conference and came back with a number of observations.

The Socialism 2019 conference had the tag line, “No Borders, No Bosses, No Binaries.” That should give you a good idea of the direction socialism in America is headed. Even the bathroom signs were changed with one label saying, “This bathroom has been liberated from the gender binary!”

He found that all of the speakers were very serious about socialism. They quoted Karl Marx and set forth a Marxist and socialist agenda based on that ideology.

They were also very serious about gender politics and identity politics. One panel discussion addressed how the traditional family reinforced capitalism. The answer to this supposed tragedy was to simply abolish families.

Not surprisingly, the idea of “open borders” was considered a key litmus test. They admit that while capitalism is moving freely between the US and Central America, labor has been restricted. The solution is to eliminate borders.

Socialism is also tied to radical environmentalism. He described it this way: The green movement is red. Speakers called for a command-and-control economy (reminiscent of the Soviet Union) to implement such programs as the Green New Deal.

Finally, he concluded that socialism cannot be ignored. A recent Gallup poll found that so many young people associate socialism with vague notion of “equality” rather than as a policy where government exerts control over the means of production.

All of this was a preview of what might happen if socialist ideas begin to be implemented in government.