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Democratic socialism is having a moment.

The recent wave of democratic socialist victories in New York has made that clear. A new generation of candidates is tapping into real frustration over housing costs, healthcare, student debt, inequality, corporate power, and the growing sense that the American economy no longer works for ordinary people. In New York, democratic socialists are no longer just protesting from the outside. They are winning primaries, defeating establishment candidates, and reshaping the Democratic Party from within.

That should not be dismissed.

The rise of democratic socialism reflects something real. Millions of Americans are tired of being told that the economy is strong while they cannot afford rent, childcare, healthcare, or a down payment on a home. They see billionaires getting richer, artificial intelligence threatening jobs, and giant corporations gaining more power over daily life. They want a system that provides dignity, fairness, and security.

On those concerns, democratic socialists are asking some of the right questions.

But they are offering the wrong answer.

The movement that will ultimately define this century will not be democratic socialism. It will be Libercareanism.

Libercareanism starts with the same basic reality: the modern economy is changing too quickly, and too many people are being left economically insecure. Artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, and global platforms are creating enormous wealth, but that wealth is increasingly concentrated among those who own the technology, capital, data, and infrastructure of the new economy. If ordinary Americans do not have a meaningful stake in these systems, the political backlash will only grow.

But unlike democratic socialism, Libercareanism does not respond by trying to put government in control of more of the economy.

That is the key difference.

Democratic socialism tends to look at inequality and conclude that markets have failed. Therefore, government must step in, take greater control, expand public programs, regulate more aggressively, tax more heavily, and redistribute more directly. In theory, this sounds compassionate. In practice, it often leads to bureaucracy, inefficiency, fraud, political favoritism, dependency, distorted incentives, and reduced innovation.

Government programs can provide help, but they rarely create abundance. They rarely move fast. They rarely innovate well. They often become captured by interest groups. They require layers of administration. They create eligibility rules, compliance systems, paperwork, enforcement mechanisms, and political fights over who qualifies and who pays.

And when government becomes too deeply involved in directing markets, it can distort the very system that creates the wealth in the first place.

Libercareanism offers a better path.

Rise of the Libercareans

By B E Price

5/29/2026

We are observing the rise of the Libercareans! And no, I don’t mean librarians or libertarians. I mean Libercareans — those people concerned with promoting free markets while also ensuring all Americans are provided with a stake in them and a basic level of support.

This shift is happening at a pivotal moment in American history.

For decades, America’s economic debate has often been framed as a rigid binary: capitalism versus compassion, markets versus fairness, growth versus equity. But a new coalition of entrepreneurs, investors, technologists, and business leaders appears to be challenging that outdated divide. Increasingly, some of the most pro-market voices in America are also advocating for policies designed to spread ownership, expand opportunity, and soften the disruptions caused by technological change. The idea is simple but profound: capitalism survives and thrives when ordinary people believe they have a meaningful stake in it. Rather than abandoning markets, Libercareans want to broaden participation in them, often by utilizing MPERI’s (Market Promoting – Equity Reinforcing Initiatives).

One of the clearest examples is the movement behind “Invest America,” championed by investor Brad Gerstner. The initiative is built around a deceptively powerful concept: give every American child an investment account seeded with capital and tied to long-term market growth. According to Invest America, the goal is to reduce income and opportunity gaps by helping families participate in the financial system and build wealth through ownership.

Gerstner has framed the initiative not as an attack on capitalism, but as a reinforcement of it. In support of the Invest America Act, he argued that “when everyone realizes they can be an owner, it unites our country around free-market principles.”

That sentence captures a core Libercarean insight: ownership changes psychology. People who own assets think differently about growth, innovation, stability, and the future. They become participants in capitalism rather than … more.

Find additional Libercarean blogs here