U.S. IS NOT THE BEST COUNTRY

By Peter Dreier with edits by Bill Spriggs

U.S. should learn from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark -- countries with greater equality, a higher standard of living for working families, better schools, free universities, less poverty, a cleaner environment, higher voter turnout, stronger unions, universal health insurance, and a much wider safety net.

Sounds anti-business? Forbes magazine ranked Denmark as the #1 country for business. The United States ranked #18. European social democracies emphasize government enterprise, but even most Americans favor government-run police departments, fire departments, national parks, and municipally-owned utilities.

Today's democratic socialists believe in private enterprise but think it should be subject to rules that guarantee businesses act responsibly. Banks shouldn't engage in reckless predatory lending. Energy corporations shouldn't endanger the planet and public health by emitting too much pollution. Companies should be required to guarantee that consumer products (like cars and toys) are safe and that companies pay decent wages and provide safe workplaces.

Democratic socialism also means 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 business to require them to be more socially responsible in terms of their employees, consumers, and the environment. That means a higher minimum wage, paid sick days and vacations, and safer workplaces.

A poll earlier this year found that among Americans under 50, a majority are critical of capitalism. Although the word "socialism" has often been demonized, public opinion polls show that a vast majority of Americans agree with these ideas. For example, 74% think corporations have too much influence; 73% favor stricter regulation of Wall Street; 60% believe that "our economic system unfairly favors the wealthy;" 85% want an overhaul of our campaign finance system to reduce the influence of money in politics; 58% support breaking up big banks; 79% think the wealthy don't pay their fair share of taxes; 85% favor paid family leave; 80% of Democrats and half the public support single-payer Medicare for all; 75% of Americans (including 53% of Republicans) support an increase in the federal minimum wage to $12.50, while 63% favor a $15 minimum wage; well over 70% support workers' rights to unionize; and 92% want a society with far less income disparity.

There's a great deal of pent-up demand for a candidate who articulates Americans' frustrations with the status quo. Trump exploited those frustrations with a campaign based on racism, intolerance, and xenophobia. But a candidate who can channel those frustrations to inspire hope rather than fear can build on the long tradition of Christian socialism and social democracy.