Meanings
- USuncountablegovernmentA form of socialism that prioritises provision of public services and infrastructure, primarily associated with Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The late Morris Hillquit of New York City scoffingly called Hoan’s politics sewer socialism.
[1938, Forum and Column Review, volume 100, page 1922 more examples
Otherwise, just as surely as sewer socialism has been obliterated from our social scene and merged with tepid liberalism, so will sewer liberalism be blended into “middle-of-the-road” conservatism.
1956, The Progressive, volume 20, page 24“Sewer socialism”, he said, means “that we want to showcase our ideals, not by lecturing people about how correct we are, but rather by delivering and letting that delivery be the argument itself.”
2025 October 11, Jonathan Derbyshire, quoting Zohran Mamdani, “Bringing back the S-word”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19
Origin
From sewer + socialism. Originally coined by Riga-born American lawyer, politician and art collector Morris Hillquit in 1932 as a derogatory nickname.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
sewer socialism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sewer%20socialism
“sewer socialism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sewer%20socialism. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sewer socialism,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sewer%20socialism.
Source: sewer socialism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.