What lies at the center of what it means to be a socialist in the United States? According to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the answer lies in the principle of democracy. 

To conservatives, that claim may sound almost laughable. But it is important to understand the appeal driving the DSA’s rise. It draws on real economic frustration, but it also offers something larger: a promise to make America “more democratic” by giving everyone a voice not only in political decisions, but in economic ones as well.

In the socialist mind, democracy is no longer merely a means of choosing representatives, it becomes a justification for collective control over private enterprise, the workplace, housing, energy, healthcare, and the major institutions of private life. 

Socialism takes a simplified, and historically inaccurate, version of the American Revolution’s ideals and extends it into every sphere of society. To a socialist, Elon Musk is not merely an entrepreneur who built companies, took on risks, and employed thousands. He is a kind of industrial monarch, a private “king” whose employees must be empowered to rise and collectively direct the company. That is the logic of “economic democracy,” the belief that working people should democratically run the economy and society rather than leave control with private owners.

"What, in your mind, is the difference between socialism and communism?" ABC's Jonathan Karl asked.

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"I think, to me, the fundamental difference is... I mean, there's many. One, prevailing one, is democracy," the New York Congresswoman said. "And I believe that democratic socialists are fundamentally pro-democracy. And we believe in the ballot box. We believe in respecting the outcomes of elections."

How does the DSA intend to pursue its vision of “democracy”? Look at its platform. Beyond demands such as abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the group wants to abolish the Senate and replace both the presidency and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by, and subordinate to Congress.

In other words, the DSA and American socialists do not merely rely on the principle of democracy. They rely on the principle of direct democracy, a system that elevates the will of the majority over the safeguards designed to protect individual liberty.

That distinction is too rarely made clear in public education, leaving many young activists unaware of the principle at the heart of the American system, that the United States was designed as a constitutional republic, not a pure democracy. The Founders resoundingly understood that majority rule, without any limits, can become another form of tyranny. 

So when a DSA member insists that democratic socialism differs from the socialism of the 20th century, listen. They mean it. 

The difference, however, does not make the ideology less dangerous. It makes it more politically seductive. Twentieth-century socialism had little trouble relying on naked authoritarianism. The socialism of today is more subtle: it presents collective control as democracy. It does not initially promise a dictator, a secret police, or a central committee. It promises ordinary Americans a voice in the workplace, the housing market, and the economy itself. That is precisely what makes it so alluring to people unfamiliar with the system of government the Founders created.