Socialism in America

I have an explanation for why Bernie Sanders' form of Democratic Socialism is catching on.

Many Americans have enjoyed the benefits of Socialism -- nearly free health care, pensions, paid vacations, etc. In post-World War II America, most people have received these benefits not from the government but through their employers. Until recently there wasn't a lot of political pressure for the government to provide such benefits because most of the people politicians care about were getting these benefits through work.

These benefits may not have equaled what people in other advanced countries received, and many, especially low-income workerss were left out of this system, but for the most part it worked for the majority.

Until 2008. When the great recession hit, many Americans lost their jobs, and many more felt their employement threatened in a way they never had before. And when Americans' jobs are threatened, so are their health care, their retirement, and their kids' higher education.

Our coporate social safety net is no longer big enough and strong enough to stave off the demand for government to step in.

Not the full explanation for the rise of democratic socialism, but a big part of it, I think.