I'm a little afraid of socialism.

That belief or feeling exists in me and I wonder why. I'm a product of the cold war. The USSR and Communism were things to be feared from my earliest days. We practiced nuclear bomb drills in my elementary school in 1969 and 1970. Thunder and sonic booms would make my young mind conjure up images of mushroom clouds over the hill.

But socialism isn't communism and capitalism isn't democracy though I was well into my twenties before I really began to distinguish the latter two. Still, I have memories of seeing British people in the 70s and 80s with bad teeth and being told that was a result of socialized medicine. In college I learned that Capitalism was about the inequitable distribution of wealth and that socialism/communism was about the equitable distribution of suffering. Yet what is it about socialism that scares Americans so much? Why do we cling to capitalism like a religion?

Growing up a protestant, white male, even in an area that could be considered "poor" Appalachia, I believed in my ability to rise to the highest ranks of power and wealth. I don't know why that is. Perhaps it was from messages my parents gave me. Perhaps I picked it up from the ideas I picked up from American history or images I saw on TV. The source of those beliefs are not as important as the fact that I had them. Because I believed I could be come one of the privileged class, I did not want to limit my future by adopting socialist beliefs. It was against my perceived future self-interest.

Since power can be defined in many ways, I won't focus on that so much; however, I have been, by most accounts, financially successful. By most accounts, I should be a staunch Republican or Libertarian -- and to some degree, I harbor compatible beliefs with those groups. However, I have a much broader view of the world than ensuring my singular ability to amass and retain wealth unencumbered by the state. I look around my world and I see value in many things and I'm willing to pay for them.

I'm discussing this because current events have made me think about capitalism and socialism in more detail. It almost seems like our national foreign policy wants to force unbridled capitalism on the rest of the world. Personally, I believe free markets (as well as the free flow of information and ideas) is good for a society but only when the markets are truly free, power is broadly distributed and the general population has access to information. What we seem to be observing in the newly-minted democracies of the last 2 decades is nearly the opposite. Power is consolidated in a few powerful individuals or corporations and the average citizen has limited means by which he or she can make informed decisions.

I could get into the societal issues of why this happens, e.g. the lack of education or a truly free press, but the important issue is that the average person is seeing the ugly side of capitalism. Capitalism is neither inherently good or bad and while we think democracy is, by definition, "a good thing" it can be co-opted when power is consolidated and information withheld. Interestingly enough, I believe this very co-opting is happening in our own country but that is a topic for another post. What is important here, is that we -- the US -- are failing capitalism and democracy in a global way and this is why I think we're seeing a resurgence of socialism and religious-based governance.

When we focus so narrowly on the corporate side of capitalism and the mere mechanics of democracy we are building a table without enough legs for it stand. When people feel left out, marginalized and even exploited, they become ripe for despotic leaders, populist rhetoric and the promise of social reform. I think this is why we are having a resurgence of the left in South America and why I think we are failing in rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan. The trickle down effect of the prosperity that some experience in these new economic and political environments doesn't happen fast enough for it to build mass appeal.

I enjoy my wealth but I also realize that if my wealth comes at the expense of the broader population or, to put it another way, if all boats aren't rising with the tide, then discontent is a likely result. However, even beyond that, I believe that if all parties can come to the table, then there is greater opportunity for us to all win. To me it's not about handouts but investment in infrastructure and opportunity. Education, access to basic services like clean water, dependable electricity, safe shelter and a free press are vital elements for a truly functional free market and effective democracy.

Where I think we have failed as a nation is that we have become a country who views the world through the exercise of force. Yes the world is a violent place and it is important that we have a vital national defense and that we can project our forces where necessary. However, I wonder if we haven't become the boy with the hammer who sees the world as a nail. Wouldn't the world be better off if, rather than being perceived as an imperial force imposing our will on the world, we were seen as the agent who builds the foundations of democracy and functional capitalism from the ground up rather from the top down? Then wouldn't we be less prone to losing the hearts and minds of those we are trying to "save" even if it is out of our own self interest?

Isn't it time we rethink our role in the world and the role of military might in our society and it's foreign policy? I hope so.