The majority of people are very willing to be critical of problems in the American project, that's why you see so much mistrust and displeasure with our institutions. The problem is that things are working out very well for the people at the top of the capitalist pyramid. If you're wealthy, receiving income from your income, if you own things that allow you to sit back and receive passive income - you're doing great. The only thing you'd be interested in is maintaining business as usual. Unfortunately, those people have a lot of control over our politics.

Columnist Elizabeth Bruenig explains why Americans are way more ready for socialism than the ideology-shackled political class consensus can imagine, as the contradictions within capitalism become clearer and individuals pitted in competition against each other become more precarious, a way beyond the status quo is building momentum.



Elizabeth wrote the op-ed It’s time to give socialism a try at the Washington Post.