The influencing power of political labels, whether they are accurate or not

In the weeks and months ahead, as we approach the midterm elections, we will hear a lot of political labels used to frame, define, categorize and box in candidates and their affiliated political groups — positively and negatively.

What label defines you?

Are you a Democrat, Republican, independent, Libertarian, Green, progressive, socialist, liberal, conservative, leftist, rightist, extreme leftist, extreme rightist, closet communist or some combination thereof?

Such labeling is no small affair. The effects can be powerful and defining.

I propose there is a better one we can aspire to as Americans.

But the latest combination label, and the one that seems to be taking on a life of its own, is democratic socialist. It has gained currency for two main reasons: as the Democratic Party tries to find its footing and a path forward this election season, and as candidates who openly identify as democratic socialists — or who have been defined that way by their opponents — win races or come close to winning them.

Most notable are the 2025 election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the Michigan U.S. Senate primary victory of Abdul El-Sayed and the near win of Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary.

Being a democratic socialist has become all the rage — both positively and negatively, depending on which side of the political contest you are on.

All the more reason for us, as decision-makers, to have a clear understanding of what these labels mean and what we can expect if we elect someone who identifies with or embraces one or the other.

Major initiatives that have defined, put at risk or killed policies and programs affecting the quality of life in America have come from someone we elected who represented and epitomized one of those labels.

What labels identified the leaders who created Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, managed health care (HMOs, PPOs), voting rights and equal rights?

So, what labels define the candidates seeking your vote, and do you understand the differences?

For example, there are real differences among a democratic socialist, a socialist and a communist, whatever an opponent might lead you to believe.

What does it mean to be a democratic socialist? For the democratic socialist, democracy is non-negotiable. Democratic socialists support free and fair elections, separation of powers, freedom of the press and the right to protest. They do not seek to abolish capitalism but to regulate and correct its excesses so that it serves the broader public rather than a privileged few.

What does it mean to be a socialist? A socialist, on the other hand, holds that sharing ownership of the means of production across society would raise people’s quality of life. Socialists favor free access to basic necessities such as food, housing and health care, and some regard guaranteed employment as a human right. They differ among themselves over how to prevent the harms they attribute to unchecked capitalism, including poor treatment of workers and inequality.

What does it mean to be a communist? A communist believes wealth should be shared so that no one is too poor, no one is too rich and everyone has enough to survive and live well. Under communism, people work together to produce and distribute what they need, such as food, clothing and entertainment. Communists support some form of collective ownership, on the theory that if everyone is a part owner of the factories and farms, everyone holds equal rights to what those enterprises produce — and equal political rights in governing.

In this current political climate, it is important that we clearly understand what each of these labels means and not be confused by them. Depending on who is using them and how, the meaning can be negative, positive or altogether misrepresented and misused.

Most important, we need to understand which label accurately defines the candidates seeking our support and our vote in the upcoming midterm elections.

There is another overarching label that we as Missourians and Americans should be very concerned about: the autocrat.

What does the autocrat believe? An autocrat gains and maintains power through political repression of any opposition and co-optation of other influential or powerful members of society. The general public is controlled through indoctrination and propaganda, and an autocracy may attempt to legitimize itself in the eyes of the public through appeals to political ideology, religion, birthright or foreign hostility. Some autocracies establish legislatures, unfair elections or show trials to further exercise control while presenting the appearance of democracy.

Do such actions and behavior sound familiar when you think about how ballot measures have been presented for passage in our state? What about the executive orders and other measures to restrict citizen participation, and to change and defy laws, institutions and traditions, that are playing out on the national stage?

Aside from the labels that will be deployed in elections across the country in the coming weeks and months, one demands that we understand it and develop a defense against it, because it is the most destructive and lasting of all. It is the autocrat that poses the greatest threat to an America whose democratic governing structure, laws, values and principles have been the envy of societies across the world.

Given the negative direction and baggage associated with some of the prevailing labels commanding our attention today, why not give serious consideration to a new one that could be more fitting and inclusive, and that would bode well for a future America: the democratic independent.

What does the democratic independent believe? As I see it, a democratic independent is neither a Democrat nor a Republican — and does not adhere to any of their derivatives or bastardizations — but believes fervently in democracy and supports and votes for people and policies consistent with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which formed and sustain this nation and all of its citizens.

To be labeled or not to be labeled?

Which label accurately describes where we are headed, and who is trying to take us there?

These are the paramount questions.

Our answers — and the actions that follow — will be defining.

This article was originally published by Missouri Independent and is republished by MetroSTL under a Creative Commons license. The reporting is the outlet’s; please support them.