Penna Dexter

Socialism is disturbingly cool these days. Obviously, we haven't learned enough from history. There are generations of voters who weren't even born yet when the Berlin Wall and Soviet communism fell. They also weren't around in the 60's when many European countries implemented socialist policies that are now a drag on their economies. Author Joshua Muravchik is an expert in foreign policy, especially socialism. He says: "It's hard to think of another idea that's been tried and failed as many times and in as many ways or at a steeper price in human suffering." Socialism, he says, fails every time it's tried. Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson spoke recently at a Heritage Foundation event about why socialism resonates with younger Americans. He said they are "emotionally drawn to the ideals of socialism" because they see it as compassionate. He says there's this ignorance of history, especially among young people. "What young people know about 20th-century history is nonexistent," he told the Heritage gathering, "especially about the history of the radical left." Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says his brand of socialism isn't the kind that has taken hold in Venezuela. Don't count on it. The Wall Street Journal combed through the writings of Senator Sanders' senior advisors and concluded: "Redistribution of wealth and property is a major theme among the Bernie brigades." In a Salon op-ed in 2013, David Sirota, now a Sanders speechwriter wrote of "constructive lessons to be learned from Chavez's grand experiment with redistribution." Senior Policy Advisor Heather Gautney praised Chavez's "programs to redistribute the wealth of the country" and his "nationalization of private industry." Sanders' national Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray said, to achieve racial equality, we need "aggressive redistributive policies." Claire Sandberg, National Organization Director for the Sanders campaign, speaking of the United Kingdom's economy, wondered, "How do we undo all of the privatization that's occurred over the last 30 years?" Their ideas are wrong for America.