Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was the latest 2020 presidential candidate to take part in a CNN town hall on Monday, February 25. Sanders, an independent seeking the Democratic nomination in a crowded field, officially entered the race February 19.

The CNN town hall gave the senator a chance to answer the tough questions he’s facing from critics, but it also was an opportunity to set himself apart from his fellow candidates who, as Errol Louis notes for CNN, have platforms more similar to his than his opponent for the 2016 Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton, did. If there is a single thing that sets Sanders apart at this point, it may be his willingness to support democratic socialism.

“Can you make a simple, persuasive case as to why socialism is preferable to capitalism?” asked Nikita Kachroo, a nonprofit organization employee. Sanders asked her to clarify whether she meant democratic socialism, and when she said yes, he laid out his case along two main planks: economic rights and political rights.

“Right now, we have a nation which prides itself on a lot of political rights,” Sanders said. “In other words, under the Constitution, thank God you have freedom of speech; media can do its thing even though Trump calls you an enemy of the people.”

“We have political rights [like] freedom of religion, and all of that is enormously important,” Sanders continued. “But you know what we don’t have? We don’t have guarantees regarding economic rights.”

Sanders went on to cite President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1944 State of the Union address, when Roosevelt argued in favor of an Economic Bill of Rights that included the rights to work, housing, medical care, education, and support for the elderly, the sick, and the unemployed. It’s not the first time Sanders has tied democratic socialism to FDR — he did so on the 2016 campaign trail, too.

“All over the world, these ideas are taking place,” Sanders said. “These are not radical ideas.”

“What democratic socialism means to me is having, in a civilized society, the understanding that we can make sure that all of our people live in security and in dignity,” he said. “All people should have health care. You can’t get ahead in this country, in this world, unless you have a decent education.”

"We have got to, as a right, end the kinds of discrimination — the racism, the sexism, and the homophobia — that exists," Sanders continued. "To me, when I talk about democratic socialism, what I talk about are human rights and economic rights."