The author treats communism, socialism, democratic socialism, and progressivism as forms of collectivism that put the state over the individual, and says groups such as the DSA aim to dismantle the U.S. constitutional system.

The piece argues younger Americans are under-taught the record of 20th-century communist regimes and cites mass deaths and repression under Stalin, Mao, Castro, Pol Pot, and later cases such as North Korea and Venezuela.

It rejects the claim that “real socialism has never been tried,” saying past outcomes are the best guide and that collectivism should not be allowed to gain ground in a free country.

Call it what you want: communism, socialism, democratic socialism, progressivism. Distinguishing among the various strains of far-left extremism is merely a matter of posturing and splitting hairs. These descriptors all fit neatly under the common umbrella of collectivism, meaning the superiority of the state over the individual. What matters is not how these extremists label themselves, but rather the genuinely radical agenda about which they all essentially agree. Put simply, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and those who embrace their ideas seek to deconstruct our constitutional republic brick by brick. 

The challenge in pinning down exactly what socialism is and has been over more than a century is whether to start with its horrifying history or its current portfolio of radioactive policy proposals. The latest doozies came at the socialist convention over the weekend in Chicago, where new expressions such as “body fascism” and “health fascism” were introduced into the political lexicon, decrying the call to eat healthy and exercise, of all things. And of course, thinly veiled antisemitism continues to course through their veins.

But we digress. In the rush to condemn the preposterous ideas currently being peddled by American socialists, it is no longer particularly useful to issue blanket condemnations of socialism without providing enough specific historical information or a knowledge base to the untold millions of Americans who are ignorant about the true nature of socialism. Those under 40 years old never lived through the Cold War or the global threat posed by........

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