I am a socialist because I believe in freedom for all, not just for the few and the privileged. And I am a socialist because I believe in democracy, not the rule of the few and the privileged.

Capitalism has figured out ways to generate previously unimaginable levels of wealth, creating freedom and prosperity for some. The problem is that this freedom and prosperity has been at the expense of the many. This undermines democracy and impedes social cooperation.

Of course, prosperity and democracy have expanded over the past few centuries. But this is in spite of capitalism, not because of it. It happened because people fought to rein in capitalism. Many did so in the name of building a better world beyond capitalism. Some called that socialism, and even those who didn’t were often accused of being socialists.