Assesses 20th century ideas about socialism and that it cannot work because of historical “proof” that people are selfish and that governments abuse power. However, he states that the concept “is too simple”. Furthermore, he asks whether common sense comes from the “utopian dreams of the past,” and then why the ideas of Lincoln, Roosevelt or Johnson can be reevaluated in the present day. In fact, he states that the idea that markets safeguard the democracy and freedom so dear to the citizens of the United States is more utopian than those mentioned above. Concluding, he reiterates that by ignoring “socialist” ideas, the current government is doing a great “disservice” to the United States. After reading Socialism Coheres with American Values, I realized the huge number of socialist ideologies that exist within the current framework of our government. There are extensive programs that large numbers of people rely on for their well-being. As Purdy suggested in his article, some of the presidents who many would credit as our greatest based their platform and administration on what today's society would call socialism. This situation is perplexing when analyzing whether socialist ideas truly benefit the United States’