Socialism As It Really Is: Daily Show Holds Mirror up to Sweden

Part I of the Stockholm Syndrome; link to Part II

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Chad Rubel

The beauty of children is that they will call one of their peers a name, and later ask, "What does that word mean." They use the word because they think it's funny or mean, not because they know what that really means.

Republicans -- still in their childish, not child-like, phase -- are in their name-calling phase, but unlike children, aren't asking what these words mean.

"Obama is a socialist."

Really? You might as well say "Obama is a doodyhead."

We can rationally wonder why an increase from a 36 percent tax rate to 39 percent is socialism, or wonder why people would come out in the cold and rain and protest "socialism" when their taxes are going down, not up. But "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" had a different plan: send Wyatt Cenac to Sweden.

We react well to visuals, and it's difficult to not miss an African-American with a camera crew walking down the streets of Stockholm. But it was also a chance to show visually that real socialism is not what is at stake here in the U.S., and that socialism isn't so bad.

"Let's put socialism into terms we can all understand," says Cenac. The illustration he picks -- in the recurring theme throughout his stay of spotlighting young beautiful Swedish women -- is five young Swedish women representing his income. "Now, as the government, you want to take 60% of my income."

Three of the women go over to the other side. But as the professor with Cenac observes, the government doesn't take the income and put it in its pocket. The example is health care, so one of the three goes back over to Cenac's side, proceeding to give him a neck rub (representing health care). Child-like, and yes, sexist -- but it does prove that people get back something for their taxes.

Want more proof? Cenac tours an assembly plant, and goes through the rigors of the perks -- 16 months of paid maternity leave, 10 weeks paid vacation, free gym membership, and a company spa, complete with massage.

Where do we sign up?

But before we fall into the caverns of socialism, Cenac contrasts this socialist paradise with "the possibilities of capitalism." His proof: rapper 50 Cent on MTV "Cribs," a program where the over-the-top lifestyles of rich celebrities are showcased.

Even if you have some talent in the rap arena, you still have a .001% chance of being like 50 Cent. But as a citizen of Sweden, you have a 100% chance of having that lifestyle.

The teabaggers in the park last week were complaining about how their tax dollars are being spent. But as a society, and Republicans in particular, have done a "great job" in spending our tax money on things we can't see. Health care is something we can see, especially if it's getting a neck rub from a young Swedish woman.

Many of the progressive positions for how to spend our tax dollars sound great in theory but are difficult to visually express. Even when it comes to the legalization of marijuana reducing incarcerations, visually, it's difficult to show the improvement to society.

One person who should have been watching the Daily Show's introduction to socialism is Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), who claims there are 17 socialists in the House. Bachus did mention the lone socialist in the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is a socialist, the only one Bachus identified by name.

Since Bachus, born in 1947, was a small child when Joseph McCarthy flashed around his imaginary list of communists, he might not be aware that waving an imaginary list is seen as both dangerous and desperate. McCarthy had his own definition of communism, but it's not clear whether Bachus has a clearly defined vision of what socialism is, except to know it when he sees it.

We normally don't recommend Congressmen take lavish junkets, but Bachus might want to take a trip to Sweden, or at least, visit the country via video from "The Daily Show." If nothing else, he might reduce his imaginary list to one.

Sanders, friend of BuzzFlash, says "this country could use a good debate about what goes on here compared to places with a long social-democratic tradition such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland, where, by and large, the middle class has a far higher standard of living than we do."

And this would be middle-class before the depressive recession of 2008. If you're middle class, you should be at least taking notes or even booking a flight.

There is this purveying vision, mostly in conservative circles, that the way America goes is the best way to go, that we can't learn anything from other countries, that our way is the best way not just for us but for every other country. You might have been able to argue that point 30-40 years ago, but in 2009, we know we can learn many things from many countries. The first thing we can do is to learn more about these words that are thrown around -- such as socialism -- so we stop coming across as the world's doodyhead.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS