He claims that the ideas of 20th century socialism cannot work because of historical "proof" that people are selfish and governments abuse power. However, he states that this notion “is too simple”. Furthermore, he questions if common sense comes from the "utopian dreams of the past", then why can the ideas of Lincoln, Roosevelt or Johnson be reevaluated for the present. In fact, he argues 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. In conclusion, he reiterates that by ignoring “socialist” ideas, the current government is doing a “disservice” to the United States. After reading Socialism Coincides with American Values, I realized the overwhelming number of socialist ideologies that exist within the current framework of our government. There are extensive programs that many people rely on for their well-being. As Purdy suggested in his article, some of the presidents most consider our greatest based their agenda and administration on what today's society would call socialism. This situation is puzzling when it comes to determining whether socialist ideas actually benefit the United States..’