Americans Are Still Confused About Socialism
At a recent rally, Bernie Sanders touted FDR as a Socialist icon. The only problem: the 32nd president was an unabashed capitalist.
Did Franklin Delano Roosevelt play an important role in the history of socialism in the country? According to Bernie Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist who’s running for the Democratic presidential nomination, the answer is a resounding yes. The Vermont Senator spoke glowingly about FDR at a rally earlier this month at George Washington University, claiming his own brand of politics is deeply indebted to the 32nd president of the United States. “It builds on what Franklin Delano Roosevelt said when he fought for guaranteed economic rights for all Americans,” Sanders told the crowd. Sanders also quoted a 1936 FDR campaign speech that night, saying “[Bankers] are unanimous in their hate for me, and I welcome their hatred.”
But Sanders’ characterization of FDR fails to demonstrate an accurate depiction of the former president, or for that matter, democratic socialism itself.
“FDR did not call himself socialist,” says Adam Quinn, an independent historian of anti-radicalism in the U.S. Nor did FDR’s policies reflect the aims of socialism. Roosevelt “framed the New Deal as a safety net to save…
