Long before the 1917 Russian Revolution, socialists in the United States were winning hundreds of local and national contests.

In Manhattan, a socialist immigrant from Lithuania was elected to Congress in 1915. Milwaukee elected three socialist mayors — a tradition often called "sewer socialism" for its focus on practical, good-government reform rather than revolution. And in the 1912 presidential election, socialist candidate Eugene Debs won 6% of the popular vote — roughly 900,000 votes — one of the strongest third-party showings of the era.

Yet socialists failed to capitalize on these victories. First, an internal split between revolutionaries and moderates prevented the movement from forming a united front. Then the increasingly violent character of the Bolsheviks frightened many supporters away. As Fox Business has reported, America reached a political tipping point for socialism. Government pressure added to the movement's decline: Debs himself was imprisoned in 1918 under the Espionage Act for an anti-war speech, and the post-World War I Red Scare brought arrests and deportations targeting radicals.

More decisive than either factor was America's expanding middle class, whose investments in private housing and small businesses stood in direct opposition to socialist ideals.

The Great Depression of the 1930s revived interest in socialism and spurred some of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's public projects. "This Social Security measure gives at least some protection to 30 millions of our citizens," Roosevelt said when he signed the Social Security Act into law on Aug. 14, 1935, according to the Social Security Administration's historical record.

Even so, these measures fell far short of full-blown socialism. The New Deal preserved private ownership and market capitalism while adding a federal safety net — a compromise that historian often credit with blunting socialism's broader appeal.

Then came the Cold War, during which any hint of socialism was denounced as a direct threat from the Soviets and Communist China.

The 1960s brought a revival of radical socialism within the anti-war movement. But as the Vietnam War wound down, and later as the Soviet Union collapsed, the socialist left again appeared to be on the wrong side of history.

Today, another wave of American socialism has emerged. But as in the past, radicals within the movement have proven far more extreme than America's middle class is willing to accept. Once again, Middle America's vested interests serve as tough barriers against socialist attempts to undo the foundations of the American dream.

Consider the numbers: 65% of Americans own their homes, 62% own stock, and 36 million small businesses employ nearly half the U.S. workforce. Against that backdrop, socialist promises to nationalize private property remain a tough sell.

Source: Fox Business