This article was originally published by Connor O’Keeffe at The Mises Institute.
Lately, Donald Trump and his team have taken to labeling their opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, as a far-left socialist—even a full-on communist. The strategy comes after an uncharacteristic lull in messaging from the former president and his team as they worked out how to prudently attack the vice president.
It’s the job of a presidential campaign to make people terrified about what’s in store for the country if the other side were to win. But there are several problems with labeling Kamala Harris a communist.
First, strategically, this approach risks taking steam out of the best parts of the Trump movement. As Dave Smith argued on Part of the Problem last week, much of Trump’s appeal has come from his opposition to the political establishment. By framing Harris as an extremist, Trump is implicitly placing his campaign on the side of the status quo.
But beyond being a bad campaign strategy, the claim that Harris is a radical communist is just not true. And that’s important for her critics to understand because the threat she poses is actually far more dangerous.
Before continuing with what could easily be derailed into a semantics debate, it’s important to define some terms.
Socialism is an economic system where private property has been abolished as it relates to the production of goods and services. All production decisions are determined by the commands of state or cooperative managers in a non-market environment—meaning without prices.
Communism is a more extreme form of socialism where private property, hierarchy, and social class are abolished in all parts of life. While parts of a mixed economy can and do have socialist qualities, communism is a totalitarian system that encompasses everything.
Neither of these terms describe the current political-economic system of the United
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