What is Socialism?

[PaxNurgle]

I know I'm not alone in getting fed up with how often this term has been misused on this forum and elsewhere. It's become a catch word that can be tagged to just about anything that the far-right disagrees with, to the point where it has lost all meaning.

So, with that said, Socialism means:
"A social and economic system where the government, which rules in the name of the working class, owns all factories, utilities, buisnesses and property, including both dwellings, farms, and land." Simply that.

And with that, here are some examples:

Government regulates buisnesses to prevent envionmental degredation and unfair competition. NOT SOCIALISM.
Buisnesses are still privately run and controlled, merely regulated to a reasonable extent.

Government takes over privatly operated railroads, utilities and airlines. SOCIALISM. These were formerly private companies that the government monopolized.

Government owns tracts of public land- NOT SOCIALISM. Public land belongs to the public with reasonable private use implied with certain regulations. Not at all unreasonable in a capitalist society

Government operates schools and roads. NOT SOCIALISM. Operation of public infrastructure is the function of every government.

Anti-racism, and striving for a more fair, equitable and just society regardless of race or gender- NOT SOCIALISM. This should be obvious and self explanatory to all but the most rabidly hateful and paranoid individuals, but yet...people have actually equated this to socialism, so I had to bring it up. This has fuck-all-zero to do with marxism or socialism.

Government owns all liquor stores- SOCIALISM. In most states, liquor sales are privatized and in a free and capitalist society, they rightfully should be. Oddly, in states like Idaho or Utah where this is the case, some of the most ardent anti-communists will actually DEFEND this one.

 

[eomerson]

Nicely stated. My friend Eugene escaped from the USSR in the 1970s and my friend Abe got some of his family out of the crumbling nation of Yugoslavia. Both were socialust nations and a horror. If I had a million dollars for every successful socialist nation, well, I still wouldn't have anything. My worry is all of the people proclaiming how socialism is the way to go. Your very clear statements lay out important facts that manypeople fail to learn about and understand.

 

[Chernosoth]

Socialism, traitor, baby murder, and some others are snarl words:
https://www.thoughtco.com/snarl-words-and-purr-words-1692796

Since private schools exist, public schools can be classified as socialist. Public land is a means of production when it can be used to feed animals or produce crops and timber. Many western farmers and ranchers are pissed about the vast tracts of public land under federal control. The older tradition of a town commons where local farmers could graze their livestock had local control.

 

[KeithD]

With the current Republican propagandists espousing wildly divergent views of individual vs. government rights, depending on what they think owns librals, board Trumpettes have nothing coherent to say about isms.

 

[ll74]

Public ownership of the means of production.

 

[PaxNurgle]

Fairly straightforward, and essentially correct.
So, when I hear the usual suspects re-defining the term to include social and racial justice for minorities (Among other abuses of the term; that one being the most flagrantly egregious) I cringe to the point of vomiting. (Which is, I suppose, exactly why the usual suspect idiot forum trolls do it.)