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BackStory · February 19, 2016 · 54m
Red in the Stars and Stripes: A History of Socialism in America
The hidden history of socialism in America. The hosts reveal that socialist ideas shaped American labor law, social security, public education, and the progressive movement — even as America remained the Western world's most anti-socialist nation.
Canon
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Americans simultaneously support socialist policies (Social Security, public schools) and capitalist ideology (free markets, individual responsibility). The apparent contradiction dissolves when you see that different environments activate different ideological responses.
Highlights
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America's most popular policies are socialist in origin — but nobody calls them that
Social Security, Medicare, public schools, the interstate highway system, and the GI Bill were all called 'socialist' by opponents when first proposed. They became so popular that their socialist origins were forgotten.