“You know what the biggest threat to America is? Not socialism in Moscow, socialism here in America.” — Sebastian Gorka, CPAC 2019
I love it when right-wingers advance this argument, because it is so easy to refute.
Time and time again, throughout our history, it has been demonstrably proven that unfettered Capitalism is the greatest threat to what we call America. The most obvious example of this would be southern slavery, where the exploitation of free labor, unchecked by government, eventually led to a civil war that almost saw the death of the republic. In the early 20th century, laissez-faire economic policies pushed by ardent “Capitalists” saw the rise of vast monopolies powered by hoards of subjugated workers. The same era brought about freewheeling financial markets that eventually led to The Great Depression. And… lets not forget that the whittling down of post-Depression financial regulations contributed mightily to the 2008 financial crisis.
In fact, the only reason we have programs today that bear any resemblance to socialist policies (Medicare, Social Security, the VA), is because the private sector failed to deliver a service where it was obviously needed. The only reason government becomes involved in things like food/worker/product safety is because the private sector is bad at policing itself. And the only reason Democrats like AOC are proposing a massive effort to address the threat of climate change is because the private sector is moving way too slowly toward a carbon-free economy. If you listen to Seb and his ilk however, they ascribe a much more sinister motive...
"That is why Ocasio-Cortez has introduced the Green New Deal, which is, which is — remember this one, use it — it's a watermelon, green on the outside, deep, deep red communist on the inside." — Sebastion Gorka, CPAC 2019
See… its all about undermining American Capitalism according to the right. The irony of course, is that policy efforts to respond to capitalism’s failings are one of the main reasons we have a semi-capitalist system at all. If Seb Gorka is scared now, just imagine how he’ll react when encroaching seas, constant weather emergencies and mass displacement forces governments across the world to take even more draconian steps to maintain peace and stability.