Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Teresa Ghilarducci Ph.D. is an Economics Professor. Some Democratic candidates are running (and occasionally winning) as Democratic Socialists.

Democratic socialism has been much in the news lately as the democratic candidates for president debate the future of their party. Bernie Sanders proudly calls himself a democratic socialist.

As a result, two presidential cycles on, democratic socialists have now run and won races all the way up to the U.S. House, and democratic socialism has now become a “thing” in American politics.

Jimmy Carter Was No Friend of the U.S. Navy An Alternative to Buying Greenland That Could Actually Work A Sorry President ‘Socialist’ is a more accurate description of today’s Democratic base.

Wonder Land: Biden has said, ‘I am a capitalist’ and ‘I am not a socialist ... whether the subject is Trump, the Democratic “resistance” or America’s turbulent culture.