Socialism is one of the most vilified and misunderstood ideas in modern political discourse. The number one reason for this hatred? Most people have no idea what socialism actually is.
Decades of propaganda have reduced the concept to caricatures of authoritarian states and failed economies. But here's the truth:
Socialism isn’t about state control of everything.
It’s not about bureaucrats seizing your paycheck or telling you what kind of car to drive.
At its core, socialism is about democracy—real democracy—applied to the economy.
It’s the radical notion that the people who do the work should have a say in how their workplaces and resources are run.
Socialism in Government
Let's start with the elephant in the room: socialism in government.
Despite attempts to associate socialism with dungeons and breadlines, we have decades of precedent that show it's just not that scary when we look at modern examples, which are almost universally situated within mixed-market economies.
Countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland combine strong social welfare systems with thriving private sectors. They offer universal healthcare, subsidized education, and robust social safety nets while fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Germany has publicly owned utilities and a strong system of worker representation through "co-determination," where employees participate in corporate decision-making.
Not Scary in Practice:
Many socialist principles already operate in ways people accept without fear.
For instance:
-Public libraries provide free access to information.
-Public roads are maintained through collective taxation.
-Fire departments and police services are government-run to ensure equitable access, regardless of income.
These systems are socialism in action but aren't typically framed that way in everyday discussions.
Here's what most social democratic governments have in common today:
-Decentralized and Democratic: Modern examples of socialism in mixed-market economies are decentralized and responsive to democratic input, avoiding authoritarian pitfalls of 20th-century models like the Soviet Union, which scholars like Noam Chomsky classified as state capitalism. With state capitalism, the state owns the means of production but retains the authoritarian structure of modern capitalist enterprises.
-Targeted Interventions: Modern socialist policies often address specific areas—healthcare, utilities, education—where market mechanisms fail to provide equitable or efficient solutions.
-Economic Balance: Mixed-market economies allow private enterprise to flourish while addressing inequalities and market failures through public systems.
The real "elephant in the room" is that socialism is already a foundational element in many successful societies. It's not an abstract threat but an integrated part of systems people rely on daily. When framed this way, it becomes less about ideology and more about pragmatism: How do we structure systems to work better for everyone?
Decades of precedent show that a balance of socialist principles within a market framework is not only workable but often highly effective.
Public Goods
The core of socialism in government is about addressing public goods—services too essential to be left to the whims of private profit.
Public utilities like water and electricity systems are prime examples. When privatized, these services often gouge consumers and prioritize profits over reliability. Publicly owned utilities, however, prioritize affordability and access because they are accountable to the public, not shareholders.
Consider public banking. States like North Dakota run public banks that reinvest profits into local communities instead of enriching Wall Street. Or public energy systems, like those in Nebraska, where the power grid is entirely owned by the people, ensuring affordable rates and renewable investments.
Socialized healthcare offers perhaps the clearest example of modern socialism integrated into a mixed-market economy. Systems like Medicare in the U.S. or the National Health Service in the UK aren’t about government overreach—they’re about ensuring that healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
Socialized healthcare costs less too. Medicare in the US operates with administrative costs of around 2% of total expenditures. The low percentage reflects Medicare's efficiency as a single-payer system without the need for profit margins or elaborate marketing.
Private insurers typically spend 12-18% of total expenditures on administrative costs. This includes marketing, underwriting, executive compensation, profit margins, and complex claims management processes. A portion of these costs also goes toward denying claims and negotiating with providers—activities largely unnecessary in Medicare.
Market (small-scale) Socialism
Next, let's look at market socialism. Imagine an economy where businesses aren’t controlled by a handful of CEOs and investors but by the workers themselves.
This isn’t fantasy—worker cooperatives exist all over the world. According to the International Cooperative Alliance, there are approximately 3 million cooperatives worldwide, employing an estimated 280 million people. Take Mondragon Corporation in Spain, where workers collectively own and manage the company. Profits are shared, decisions are democratic, and the enterprise still competes in the market. That’s market socialism: a system where workplaces are accountable to the people who create the value, not to distant shareholders.
Another term for market socialism is workplace socialism. Think of it as applying democracy to the places we spend most of our lives: our jobs. In a worker self-directed enterprise (WSDE), decisions about hiring, wages, and policies are made collectively by the workers. This isn’t some abstract ideal. Companies like Equal Exchange, a cooperative specializing in fair trade goods, operate this way right now. Means TV is another example. Workers earn fairly, have a say in decisions, and still thrive in competitive markets.
Socialism isn't a one-size-fits-all blueprint.
All in all, these ideas—cooperatives, WSDEs, public utilities, and universal healthcare—aren’t about dismantling markets or innovation. They’re about rebalancing power and ensuring the economy works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. Socialism in this sense isn’t a rigid ideology but a practical toolbox for creating a fairer, more democratic society.
If you’ve been taught to hate socialism, ask yourself:
Why is worker control scarier than billionaire control?
Why is public energy scarier than private monopolies?
Why is collective ownership worse than exploitation and having no say at work?
Once people understand what socialism truly is, many find it’s not so scary after all. In fact it's already working in places they admire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Aren’t the Scandinavian countries just “social democracies,” and not truly socialist?
Yes, it's true: Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are best described as social democracies, meaning they combine market economies with strong social welfare systems and public services. But this distinction actually supports the case for socialism rather than refuting it.
The idea of pure socialism is a myth—just like the myth of pure capitalism. Show me a country anywhere in the world where capitalism exists without regulation, taxation, or public services. It doesn’t exist.
What we’re really talking about is a spectrum—and social democracy is one successful form of socialism adapted to modern realities. My definition of socialism is rooted in its spirit: democratic control, public well-being, and economic fairness. That spirit already exists in many nations and businesses around the world.
Social democracy is one of the most practical and successful expressions of socialism in the modern world. It’s not without flaws, but it offers a stark contrast to hyper-capitalist systems—where people die due to lack of healthcare access, go bankrupt from medical bills, or are denied essential care by profit-driven insurers.
Q: Can you name one country where socialism has worked? Just one.
Yes—many, in fact. But if you're looking for one, take Norway. It combines publicly owned energy resources, universal healthcare, tuition-free education, and robust worker protections, all while maintaining a thriving economy. Its sovereign wealth fund—one of the largest in the world—is publicly owned and reinvests oil profits for the benefit of all citizens.
If you're thinking only of authoritarian regimes when you hear "socialism," you're asking the wrong question. The better question is: Where have socialist principles improved people’s lives? The answer includes dozens of countries, including Germany, Finland, Canada, and yes, even the United States—when you consider programs like Medicare, Social Security, and public schools.
These aren’t failures of socialism. They are its quiet successes, hiding in plain sight.
Q: What is “true” socialism, anyway?
"True socialism" is a term often used to discredit any real-world example by comparing it to a theoretical ideal. But the truth is, there’s no single, universally agreed-upon definition.
Most socialists agree it's a system where the workers control the means of production, and where people have real democratic control over their government and economy, but beyond that, socialism is a broad tradition with many interpretations, from democratic socialism and social democracy to worker cooperatives and public ownership of key services.
At its core, true socialism is about applying democracy to the economy—giving people collective control over the institutions and resources that shape their lives. It’s not about perfection or utopia. It’s about moving toward a more just, participatory, and humane society.
Just as “true capitalism” doesn’t exist in pure form—every capitalist country has regulations, taxes, and public infrastructure—“true socialism” isn’t about purity. It’s about values: equity, solidarity, and democratic control.
Q: Was the USSR truly socialist?
Not by any meaningful definition of socialism. While the Soviet Union called itself socialist, in practice it was a centralized authoritarian state where the government—not the workers—controlled the economy.
As Noam Chomsky and others have noted, this model is more accurately described as state capitalism. The state replaced private capitalists, but the structure remained top-down and hierarchical. Workers had no democratic control over their workplaces or the broader economy. Decisions were made by party elites, not by the people doing the work.
That’s not socialism—it’s just capitalism with a different boss.
Tim Hjersted is the director and co-founder of Films For Action, an online library for people who want to change the world. He lives in Lawrence, KS.