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- Not too long ago advocatingfor socialist policies

meant certain political suicide,

but today socialism isspreading through the halls

of Congress as Democratsrunning for president

race to embrace it.

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For 170 years, socialismin its various forms

has been tried around the world,

often followed by oppression,poverty, and failure.

Experts are closely monitoring

this new embrace of socialism.

- They do want to turn America,as crazy as it may sound,

into a socialist country.

- [Jennifer] Democrats callit a bold, progressive step.

- I am gonna go forwardwith a Medicare for all

single payer program.

- So for people out therewho like their insurance,

they don't get to keep it?- Let's eliminate all of that.

- We need to be bold.

One of the reasons why Isigned onto the resolution,

a cosponsored resolutionfor the Green New Deal.

- [Jennifer] Republicans argueit's completely out of touch.

- America was founded onliberty and independence

and not government coercion,domination, and control.

We are born free and we will stay free.

- [Jennifer] And whilepromises of free stuff

like college tuition sound great,

for many voters thedevil is in the details,

and socialist policyproposals are top issues

for the six millionmembers of FreedomWorks.

- Americans don't support it

when they understand who'spaying for all of this.

Middle America isn't socialist.

Middle America, they valuefreedom and individual liberty.

These are the things thatAmericans have always held dear.

They're our founding principles.

- [Jennifer] Webster definessocialism as a system

or society in which there'sno private property,

where the means of productionare owned and controlled

by the state, a transitionbetween capitalism and communism.

Here in Washington there's a memorial

to the victims of communism,the Goddess of Democracy

holds a flame over an inscription,

to the more than 100million victims of communism

and those who love liberty.

Still, this political theoryresonates with young people.

In its annual survey,

the Victims of CommunismMemorial Foundation found

52% of American millennials prefer to live

in a socialist or communist country.

40% prefer capitalism,although a lot of them

aren't sure what it is.

The survey also founda quarter of Americans

say they never learnedabout communism in school.

Here's what happened when Campus Reform

asked college students about socialism.

- It could really benefitour country in the future.

- I think it's a good idea.

- Socialism as a concept,as a philosophy is good.

I think that it's got a bad rep.

- How would you viewwhat socialism is though?

- Um...

- Economically, what is socialism?

- Economically, hm.

So, hm, I'm gonna have tothink about that for a second.

- [Jennifer] Since propertyis owned collectively

under socialism, Edwards says supporters

should get ready to handover their smartphones

and kiss religious freedom goodbye.

- The first they do is toclose down the churches.

Close them up, and go beyondthat as a matter of fact

to eliminate, if you will, eradicate,

execute priests, pastors,sisters, nuns, people of faith.

- [Jennifer] The absence offaith is why Joshua Muravchik

thinks socialism has been so deadly.

- There is no moral law,there's no concept of sin.

There's no concept of righteousness.

The only righteousness is political.

- [Jennifer] For Muravchikloving and losing socialism

has been a life journey.

He grew up longing forit, serving five years

as national chairman of theYoung People's Socialist League,

the same organization countinga young Bernie Sanders

as a member, but todayMuravchik warns against it.

He's the author of "Heaven on Earth:

"The Rise and Fall of Socialism"

and using history as his guideMuravchik is disappointed

to see socialism risingin popularity in the US.

- I understand why I once believed in it,

and I understand why otherpeople once believed in it,

but why people would goback to that idea, to me,

200 years this idea hasbeen tried in every way

people could dream up andit failed in every way.

- [Jennifer] UltimatelyMuravchik doesn't think America

will ever become a socialist nation,

but Edwards believes we'reseeing the culmination

of what Democrats have beenstriving to achieve for decades.

- We're talking about the New Deal,

they're talking about the GreatSociety of Lyndon Johnson,

we're talking aboutBarack Obama, Obamacare

and what he called bringingabout a transformation

of America, so they've beenworking at it for 90 years.

- You know, candidatesoften tell us theirs

is the most importantelection of our time,

but in 2020 Americans may get to choose

between capitalism and socialism.

Jennifer Wishon, CBN News, Capitol Hill.

- The best definition of socialism

is the state owns the means of production.

So start imagining a UnitedStates where the state

owns every automobile company,

every telecommunications company,

everything is owned by the state.

The state owns the means of production.

The problem with thatis of basic economics,

that if the state owns themeans of production then

this primary means nowto continue things is

to protect the worker, andso instead of efficient

allocation of capital into new industry,

into worker efficiency,you have an allocation

of capital to perpetuate jobs.

Now the common phrase inRussia 20 years ago was,

we have full employment.

When people wouldcomplain about efficiency

or the quality of goods theresponse always came back,

well, we have full employment.

The problem with that is that you'd need

to be able to fire people,you need to be able

to allocate your capitalinto new, growing businesses

as opposed to dying businesses.

And when you put all ofthat in the government

you are guaranteed to have inefficiency.

That's the fundamental problem with it,

and it always collapses when you run out

of other people's money,when there are no longer

any new businesses to acquiremore property to acquire,

and all you've done is fuel

the inefficient allocation of capital.

That's the problem, so tohear it come back in America

and to still be popularon our college campuses,

they're just not teaching the history

of what has happenedto every single country

that has tried thesesocialist experiments.

Just look to GreatBritain, back in the 1950s

when they were comingout of World War Two,

all the rationing, the tremendous poverty

that the war inflicted on that nation,

they turned to socialismand they tried that

throughout the '50s, throughout the '60s,

throughout the '70s and thenMargaret Thatcher came in

and said, we gotta get rid of all of this.

We have to return the means

of production to privateenterprise to free up capital,

to have efficient allocation,to create new jobs,

create new productivity.

Look to Britain if you think it works.

Britain is a prime example, it doesn't.