Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders plans to deliver a speech before the next Democratic debate on Nov. 6 in which he will define his much-publicized political philosophy of “democratic socialism.”

Since the days of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, socialism – and its more notorious cousin communism – has been painted as an anti-American ideology that threatens the very fabric of American society. Not too long ago, outing yourself as a socialist or communist in the U.S., or even associating with a known socialist or communist, was considered akin to treason by many.

Socialism, particularly the brand of democratic socialism ostensibly endorsed by Bernie Sanders no longer deserves the overwhelmingly negative reputation it carries from years of demonization and fear-mongering.

American voters shouldn’t dismiss the idea of a socialist president without first critically examining the ideas behind the political philosophy of socialism and how those ideas would be applied in practice.

Had I written this column in the 1960s, I would surely be branded a communist sympathizer and an ideological enemy of the U.S. intent on polluting American minds with radical, far left-wing ideas.

While this kind of extreme rhetorical opposition has subsided over the years, socialism remains a contentious topic for many Americans.

In a recent Gallup poll, fifty percent of respondents said they would not vote for an otherwise well-qualified candidate who happened to be a socialist. Respondents opposed voting for a socialist more than for an atheist (40 percent), for a Muslim (38 percent) or for an evangelical Christian (25 percent).

The poll also found that a candidate’s identification as a socialist caused the largest disparity in support between Republicans and Democrats, with only 26 percent of Republicans willing to vote for a socialist versus 59 percent of Democrats; even among Democrats this was the lowest percentage recorded of any of the listed characteristics.

So what exactly does democratic socialism mean?

In a CNN article, Peter Dreier, a professor of politics at Occidental College, characterized Sanders’ ostensible vision of democratic socialism as one that entails “reducing the political influence of the super-rich and big corporations; increasing taxes of the wealthy to help pay for expanded public services like child care, public transit and higher education; reducing barriers to voting; and strengthening regulations of businesses to require them to be more socially responsible.”

Dreier asserts that public opinion polls show that “a vast majority of Americans agree with what Sanders actually stands for, (even though) the word ‘socialism’ has been demonized (and) few Americans call themselves socialists or even social democrats.”

Part of the problem may be that young people, particularly millennials, are not knowledgeable or well-informed about what socialism actually means. The Library of Economics and Liberty defines socialism as “a centrally planned economy in which the government controls all means of production.”

A 2010 CBS/New York Times survey found that millennials were the least likely to be able to accurately define socialism in their own words; only 16 percent of millennials could define socialism as government ownership or some variation thereof.

A 2014 Reason-Rupe poll found that when asked whether socialism or capitalism was the better system, 42 percent of millennials picked socialism. However, when the question was rephrased, instead asking whether a government-managed economy or a free market economy was the better system, only 32 percent of millennials picked the former.

The taboo status of socialism over the last few decades likely contributed to this widespread misunderstanding, as a generation of Americans was discouraged from entertaining the ideas behind socialism and encouraged to inherently distrust those who espoused socialism or any other anti-capitalistic political ideology.

Sanders’ upcoming speech should provide a clearer picture of exactly how he would implement his philosophy of democratic socialism as president, and voters should hear him out before casting him aside due solely to his socialist label. At the very least, they should critically consider whether their opposition to socialism rests on a rational foundation rather than a reactionary one.

Russell Behrmann is a senior communication major from Bellevue. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.