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> a millionaire who thinks that socialism is full blown communism The distinction between the two is not as clear-cut as you make it sound, and depends a lot o

> a millionaire who thinks that socialism is full blown communism The distinction between the two is not as clear-cut as you make it sound, and depends a lot on which kind of socialist you ask. For example, "Marx and Engels used the terms Communism and Socialism to mean precisely the same thing", whereas Lenin implied it meant "the first phase of Communism"[1]. Non-marxist socialists tended to have different definitions of the word, of course, but appropriation of the means of production by the working class is an often agreed component of the concept. I don't mean to imply it's necessarily correct to conflate the two, but there's a real, serious precedent, it's not just ignorance. Arguably, a better name for "capitalism with its edge blunted by a safety net" is social democracy, rather than socialism. [1] https://www.marxists.org/archive/hardcastle/1936/socialist_equality.htm https://www.marxists.org/archive/hardcastle/1936/socialist_e...

lm28469 8y ago
Idk, socialism ideologies brought 35 hours work weeks, decriminalization of homosexuality, worker rights, unions, social welfare, mandatory paid vacations, job security, decent minimum wage, pensions, public telco / electricity / gas companies, public health system, public and affordable transport systems, &c. to France. Some of these things are still lacking in countries like Germany, or the US. I don't understand how socialism is perceived so differently between Europe and the US. When the current US gov talks about socialism it just sounds like they're addressing authoritarian communism. Maybe we're just using the same word for vastly different things. For example the french definition goes something like that, according to wikipedia : "The word socialism covers a very diverse set of currents of thought and political movements, the common point of which is to seek a more just social and economic organization. The original goal of socialism is to achieve social equality, or at least a reduction of inequalities". While the english version says "Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers' self-management,[10] as well as the political theories and movements associated with them.[11] Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative ownership, or citizen ownership of equity." Not so long ago we all witnessed an artifact of earlier social movements when the so called yellow vests went in the streets to protest for better wages and pensions (as well as other things). Now if you listen to the news, these people are just lazy, uneducated, violent and should be sent to jail. Well, guess what, when people were fed up of sending their 12 years old kids to the coal mine 80 hours a week they didn't wait for the elite to care, they took what they deserved, through social movements deeply influenced by socialism. (just like it happened for black people in the 60s-70s in the us) So again, when Trumps says "America Will Never Be A Socialist Country"; "We Were Born Free And We Will Stay Free", I don't see what socialism has to do with that. We're talking about the #1 world economy, telling the world that socialism is bad, while at the same time his people die of diabetes because they can't afford insulin due to a heavily privatized health industry. Where is the "we the people" in that ? I stand by what I said, a healthy dose of socialism wouldn't harm the US a bit, quite the opposite.

lm28469 8y ago

Idk, socialism ideologies brought 35 hours work weeks, decriminalization of homosexuality, worker rights, unions, social welfare, mandatory paid vacations, job security, decent minimum wage, pensions, public telco / electricity / gas companies, public health system, public and affordable transport systems, &c. to France. Some of these things are still lacking in countries like Germany, or the US. I don't understand how socialism is perceived so differently between Europe and the US. When the current US gov talks about socialism it just sounds like they're addressing authoritarian communism. Maybe we're just using the same word for vastly different things. For example the french definition goes something like that, according to wikipedia : "The word socialism covers a very diverse set of currents of thought and political movements, the common point of which is to seek a more just social and economic organization. The original goal of socialism is to achieve social equality, or at least a reduction of inequalities". While the english version says "Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers' self-management,[10] as well as the political theories and movements associated with them.[11] Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative ownership, or citizen ownership of equity." Not so long ago we all witnessed an artifact of earlier social movements when the so called yellow vests went in the streets to protest for better wages and pensions (as well as other things). Now if you listen to the news, these people are just lazy, uneducated, violent and should be sent to jail. Well, guess what, when people were fed up of sending their 12 years old kids to the coal mine 80 hours a week they didn't wait for the elite to care, they took what they deserved, through social movements deeply influenced by socialism. (just like it happened for black people in the 60s-70s in the us) So again, when Trumps says "America Will Never Be A Socialist Country"; "We Were Born Free And We Will Stay Free", I don't see what socialism has to do with that. We're talking about the #1 world economy, telling the world that socialism is bad, while at the same time his people die of diabetes because they can't afford insulin due to a heavily privatized health industry. Where is the "we the people" in that ? I stand by what I said, a healthy dose of socialism wouldn't harm the US a bit, quite the opposite.