{"id":3149,"date":"2026-06-15T14:02:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T18:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjmaclean.com\/wordpress\/?p=3149"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:08:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:08:53","slug":"socialism-in-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjmaclean.com\/wordpress\/socialism-in-the-united-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Socialism in the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two U.S. cities \u2013 Chicago and New York \u2013 are attempting to apply socialist economic planning principles to millions of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the US, we have to distinguish between democratic socialism and the more radical Democratic Socialists of America. Democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders favor a European style welfare state with high taxes, on top of capitalism (although Bernie was a great admirer of the Soviet Union). The DSA is a more radical group that favors the establishment of a more traditional socialist\/communist state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York is a member of the DSA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Brandon Johnson in Chicago is not a formal member of the DSA but is closely aligned. He was strongly supported by the Chicago DSA chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: It may not be possible to adopt a true socialist centrally planned economy anywhere in the United States. But I want to show the reader what such an economy looks like. There have been many major (and minor) socialist\/communist nations over the past 100 years, and a few, like China, still exist today. If America decides to embrace socialism, we should know what\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the likelihood of success for a socialist economic system?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In order to determine that we have to go back to Lenin, because Lenin was instrumental in setting up the Soviet economic system. The Soviet Union was the first socialist state in the modern Marxist-Leninist framework, and succeeding socialist states over the past century (including China) have used the Soviet model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We examine a document titled \u201cPlanning in the USSR\u201d by the Soviet economist L. Yevenko, issued in 1960, which outlines precisely how a socialist economic system is designed and operated. Yevenko offered his outline with the approval of Lenin, so \u201cPlanning in the USSR\u201d can be considered an official document for the establishment of a socialist economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information here is provided from the document itself using the outline provided by  Escapekey, in an article of the same name, at escapekey.substack.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us see how a socialist economy should be set up by examining the technical manual, \u201cPlanning in the USSR.\u201d This document is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c252 pages of organizational charts, production tables, and chapter after chapter explaining how the Soviet state managed its economy from the center.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The most important feature of a socialist economy is that it is managed from the top down. In U.S. cities like New York, a small democratic socialist bureaucracy will plan the economic life of 10 million people. How would this work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing the socialist state<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yevenko begins in the first chapter, outlining the primary function of the socialist state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2026 to organize socialist production with the broad participation of the masses, to manage the economy, to arrange an extremely intricate and delicate system of new organizational relationships extending to the planned production and distribution of goods.\u201d
\u2014 L. Yevenko, p.7<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In a socialist state, the central authority plans the production and distribution of all goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2018The socialist state manages the national economy in accordance with a single long-term plan\u2019<\/em>. The plan covers \u2018production, distribution, circulation and consumption of the social product \u2014 in all the diversity of their interconnections\u2019. At each stage,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026 the socialist state determines the concrete tasks of national economic development<\/em>, the volume of production, sets the directions, rates and proportions of economic growth, allocates the material, labor and financial resources, establishes the volume of home and foreign trade, sets prices, wages, etc.\u201d
\u2014 L. Yevenko, p.8<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The entire socialist economy is managed by a small group of persons who write a \u201csingle long-term plan\u201d and then micromanage it in every detail, from setting wages and prices to allocating resources and labor to specific industries or areas of the economy. Everything is controlled and planned from the central source, which exists to \u201cguide the masses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizing \u201csocialist production with the broad participation of the masses\u201d is a very good idea and a description of a free economy. The centrally planned economy does the opposite, relegating decision making not to consumers who will choose the products and services they want, but to a small clique of planners. The centralized system automatically limits choice, but it also (theoretically) limits corruption and fraud. That is one of its attractions to socialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The socialist state<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2018also guides the economic activities of co-operative organizations through the system of their elected bodies and its leading agencies.\u2019\u201d
\u2014 L. Yevenko, p.9<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The socialist state manages elections to ensure that the correct people advance to positions of authority in organizations. Every socialist state over the past 100 years has done this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am fascinated to see how far Mamdani and his group of social planners will \u201cguide\u201d the economic activities of labor unions, city contractors, NGOs, and city employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will a centrally planned economy work better?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re about to find out through a fascinating social experiment in the Big Apple.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Chicago, DSA Mayor Brandon Johnson was elected in 2023. The socialist aspects of Johnson\u2019s policies \u2013 heavy progressive taxation, focus on redistribution and public services, reduced emphasis on traditional policing \u2013 have delivered mixed-to-negative results on the economic front. Crime rates improved substantially in 2025 (a national trend helped by other factors), but the city’s structural budget problems have worsened. Ongoing pressure for higher taxes have resulted in some business and resident flight. Johnson has not instituted a strict socialist economy in Chicago, mainly due to objections from City Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central control and the local levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The socialist state\u2019s planning function has<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019\u2018an apparatus set up for this purpose, which is part of the state administration and economic management both in the center and in the localities.\u2019\u201d The author of the planning document calls it \u201c\u2018a major instrument of the socialist state.\u2019\u201d (p.9)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The socialist state makes sure that cities, towns, and villages outside the central planning authority adhere to the \u2018single long-term plan.\u2019 This could be a five-year plan or a fifteen-year plan divided into three five year periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The socialist state will inevitably grow in power and influence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018\u2019\u2026 the functions of the state<\/em> in economic management and planning, far from withering away, steadily grow in scale and importance.\u2019\u201d
\u2014L. Yevenko, p.15<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Have we not seen our own federal government grow monstrously in power and authority over the past four decades? I believe that this is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a socialist state, the central government continually grows, squeezing more and more productivity out of the private sector, in which goods and services flow freely. As national productivity declines, the central government prints more and more money to keep the economy afloat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the national debt now? $38 trillion and growing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in the US we are resolutely following Yevenko\u2019s socialist planning outline at the federal level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the economy better now than it was 40 years ago? Does the public have more or less choice of goods and services?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is the responsibility of the individual manager in a socialist system? According to the planning document, \u201c\u2018one-man management of production\u2019\u201d is the goal. It<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2018implies the subordination of the personnel to the will of the manager<\/em> who is vested with the necessary rights and bears full responsibility<\/em> for the work of the section entrusted to him.\u2019\u201d  
\u2014 L. Yevenko, p.<\/em> 13<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This wouldn\u2019t be so bad if the manager had some say in how his section is run. But we find out that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2019The state plan assignments are law<\/em> and must be undeviatingly carried out<\/em> by all enterprises and economic organizations.\u2019\u201d
\u2014 L. Yevenko, p.77<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What this says is simple: a directive comes forth from the center \u2013 based on the single long-term plan. Individual managers are not only required to follow it, but also bear total responsibility if the policy fails. In a socialist system those at the center of power bear no responsibility for the outcome of their directives. Socialist managers are left hanging out to dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see this in China as CCP officials are removed from positions of power and never heard from again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controlling people<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yevenko quotes Lenin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2019To control people<\/em> and control the actual fulfillment of tasks \u2014 in this, once again in this, and only in this, is now the crux of all our work, all our policies<\/em>\u2026 <\/strong>Systematic control of plan fulfillment is the main way of improving the plans themselves. Control must not be separated from planning work, it precedes the work of drafting the plan, accompanies its elaboration and is the hub of planned guidance of the economy in the process of carrying out the plans.\u2019\u201d
\u2014 L. Yevenko, p.203<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It appears that the primary objective of the socialist state is control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peoples Republic of China vs. Soviet Union \u2013 the battle of the socialist states<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia occurred in 1917. The communist party in China took power in 1949, 32 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main difference between socialism in Russia and in China is that the Chinese learned from the failure of socialism in the Soviet Union. In the 1980s Deng Xiaoping saw the handwriting on the wall for China\u2019s centrally planned economy and developed the theory of \u2018socialism with Chinese characteristics.\u2019 In 1989 the 13th<\/sup> Party Congress praised this theory and China gradually allowed a limited free exchange of goods and services, carefully monitored by the center of power. This limited capitalist system has mitigated the extreme rigidity of the Soviet system and has saved socialism in China (so far), even though it is not really socialism at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socialism and Communism vs Democratic Socialism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For those who say that this article fails to distinguish between socialism and communism, I say nonsense. Socialism is almost synonymous with communism. All of the elements of control in a communist state are found in a socialist state, for a communist dictatorship is but a small step from socialism. Marx and Engels often used \u201csocialism\u201d and \u201ccommunism\u201d interchangeably. Lenin popularized the idea that socialism is the first, lower stage of communism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Europe today\u00b8 democratic socialism is morphing into full socialism as the governments there crack down on free speech and establish digital currencies controlled by the central authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the US the jury is out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why would a group of people think they could plan out an economy that involves millions of people and be successful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can think of only two reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) The group intends to seize power absolutely. Therefore, it doesn\u2019t matter whether the economy is prosperous or not. Example: the Soviet Union.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) The group is composed of idealistic, well-intentioned persons like Zohran Mamdani and his crew in New York, who see economic injustice and believe they can do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first group are simply anti-social personalities whose desire is power over others. These are the people who set up the secret police, who send thugs out on the street to bash heads, who fail to fill firefighting reservoirs, and who persecute anyone who disagrees with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second group are idealistic persons genuinely interested in making the world a better place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Mamdani find a way to make socialism work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why have centrally planned economies failed in the past?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

a) For the obvious reason that no group of persons is smart enough to successfully predict the economic decisions of the masses in their millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) The planning authorities are isolated at the center, unaware of the situation in localities. Complete accountability is given to the managers for success or failure, even if the central directives are flawed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c) The control-from-above principles used in the socialist central planning system go against human nature. People like to control their own lives, thank you! This is a divine impulse and is present in every human being, and life form, on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d) The group in 2) has always, in the past, devolved to the group in 1). Centrally planned economies have always devolved into totalitarian systems of control (fascism or communism\/socialism) to enforce planning decisions that don\u2019t work as planned. It\u2019s why, comrades, the Secret Police and the Interior Ministry in communist countries are always, by far, the most important elements of the socialist\/communist state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e) Supporters of the socialist state are activists who know that within the masses are far too many who believe in dangerous ideas like free will and unfettered free speech. Therefore, these independent thinkers must be constantly monitored and surveilled (the function of the secret police) lest they disrupt social planning. These workers are often independent contractors and those who work for them; workers who must have the intelligence and independence of mind to keep their skills updated in order to repair the vital machinery of society.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who you gonna call when your car breaks down? When your furnace stops working? When your roof starts leaking? Well, you aint callin\u2019 the graduate from the local university with a liberal arts degree. No, it\u2019s the \u201cundereducated\u201d graduate from a trade school or family business who has the skills necessary to maintain a successful economy and its machinery. In the real world economy, practicality and common sense, not ideology, is primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will socialism work in cities like New York?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zohran Mamdani and his crew have loudly proclaimed their intentions to \u201cseize the means of production,\u201d as per the planning document above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Minister for Housing, Cae Weaver, famously tweeted that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPrivate property, including and kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of White Supremacy masquerading as \u2018wealth building\u2019 public policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Private property ownership is anathema in a socialist state, for private ownership of wealth-producing assets results in unpredictable activities and hinders socialist control of the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socialists refer to the transfer of property ownership as \u201credistribution of wealth\u201d under the banner of \u201cequality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mamdani has already planned his first government owned and managed store \u00ad\u2013 just like the ones in the old Soviet Union:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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