The liberal and the socialist can be friends!
I wrote about Teen Vogue's "Bread and Roses" series, and how this is not your grandpa's socialism. Socialists today are concerned more about freedom for the poor, the sick, immigrants, & prisoners than about central planning. THREAD https://twitter.com/LiberalCurrents/status/1264875369724772352

2. Nothing in the socialism that Samuel Arnold describes is off limits for liberal democracy, and as such liberals should embrace socialists (of this kind) as legitimate political rivals and valuable potential coalition partners.

3. As such, the connective tissue between socialism and liberalism is more visible. Socialism was seen by revisionists like Eduard Bernstein and Carlo Rosselli as the legitimate heir of liberalism and the fullest expression of its values.

4. This didn't make it into the essay, but Helena Rosenblatt points out that socialism was not initially seen as incompatible with liberalism. One could be both. Arguably socialism only arose because liberals turned their backs on workers once they held actual power.

5. Just as there have always been liberal strains of socialism, there have always been liberals concerned with the plight of the most vulnerable, and hostile to the unjust privileges and modes of oppression that maintain hierarchy.

6. The social dimension of liberalism has only grown in scope and power as liberals have adapted to withering critiques from feminists, antiracists, and indeed even Marxists. Whiffs of Marx's vision of human flourishing are apparent, for example, in the capabilities approach.

7. The ideas of cutting edge liberal philosophy are gradually making their way into liberal politics. There are a host of issues on which socialists and liberals can form an enduring coalition. To name a few: open borders, prison abolition, and housing.

8. Finally, do read the whole #BreadAndRoses series, curated by @allegrakirkland. https://twitter.com/allegrakirkland/status/1256190859374100486

Including especially the essay on socialist feminism by @sarahrlnrd. I regret I didn't discuss it in the piece, but its ideas are necessary for every social liberal to understand and incorporate. 9/9 https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-socialist-feminism