Voters Overwhelmingly Prefer Free Market to Socialism

[Terraceth]

I don't even know what "socialism" is supposed to mean anymore, because everyone has their own definition and they all contradict. So when people argue about socialism, they're frequently using different definitions and thus the whole argument is basically pointless because they're debating different things. Reminds me of the word "feminism."

[shunyadragon]

So why do you think that Democrats such as Debbie Wasserman Schultz, while Chair of the DNC, and Hillary Clinton not be able to express this distinction? Do they disagree?

They could very likely disagree since the definition of 'socialism' is vague and subject to varied interpretations as to what it is, and what role it has in government.

[JimL]

Moot point! Sanders is not a socialist, nor does he define himself as such.

[JimL]

So why do you think that Democrats such as Debbie Wasserman Schultz, while Chair of the DNC, and Hillary Clinton not be able to express this distinction? Do they disagree?

So. why do you think that conservatives such as CP, Sparko, and yourself, are not able to express the distinction between Democrat and Socialist? Are you trolling or are you just ignorant?

[seer]

Moot point! Sanders is not a socialist, nor does he define himself as such.

No Sanders and his ilk are totalitarian in nature, in that they believe in top down government control of the population.

[JimL]

No Sanders and his ilk are totalitarian in nature, in that they believe in top down government control of the population.

Wrong! Sanders believes in democratic socialism which is just the opposite of your description.

[seer]

Wrong! Sanders believes in democratic socialism which is just the opposite of your description.

When the government Jim controls your health care, your food, over regulates most aspects of your life, using confiscatory tax rates that is anti-freedom. You are more and more dependent on a central government.

[JimL]

When the government Jim controls your health care, your food, over regulates most aspects of your life, using confiscatory tax rates that is anti-freedom. You are more and more dependent on a central government.

This is a democracy seer, what the central government does is up to us. If we want affordable healthcare, then we put people in office that will work to that end. Government "Of, by, and for, the people, remember."

[Cow Poke]

Moot point! Sanders is not a socialist, nor does he define himself as such.

Rongggg!

That right wing extremist 'news' source NPR identifies him as a socialist, to which he responds "guilty as charged".

Exactly What Kind Of Socialist Is Bernie Sanders?

[seer]

This is a democracy seer, what the central government does is up to us. If we want affordable healthcare, then we put people in office that will work to that end. Government "Of, by, and for, the people, remember."

Right, we may be willing to give up our freedom and independence to a central controlling government.

[Cow Poke]

So. why do you think that conservatives such as CP, Sparko, and yourself, are not able to express the distinction between Democrat and Socialist? Are you trolling or are you just ignorant?

You are RONNNGGGGGG yet again. I'm quite able to 'express the distinction' between Democrat and Socialist.

[Sparko]

Moot point! Sanders is not a socialist, nor does he define himself as such.

[Sparko]

So. why do you think that conservatives such as CP, Sparko, and yourself, are not able to express the distinction between Democrat and Socialist? Are you trolling or are you just ignorant?

What is the difference between a socialist and a democrat?

As a democrat you should be able to tell us ignorant Republicans.

[rogue06]

[Starlight]

What is the difference between a socialist and a democrat?

As a democrat you should be able to tell us ignorant Republicans.

The textbook definition is that socialists want "social control [by the workers, the local residents, through democracy, or through the state] of the means of production [factories, farms, businesses]" over and against capitalism where industry is controlled and run by private owners for their own profit.

A democrat is a person who supports the democratic party, and the democratic party advocates for capitialistic policies not socialistic ones.

However in common American discourse, "socialism" can refer to any tax and spend or "big government" policies (e.g. "socialized medicine" etc), and in that sense the democratic party's policies sometimes get labelled socialist.

And you might find this interesting:

It is somewhat interesting, and I missed it first time around. My thoughts are:

1. Perhaps Mondragon is getting too big and needs to split up into multiple smaller entities. I've seen a lot of general social research showing that humans in general have maximum number of people they can talk to frequently / form friendships with / maintain relationships with, and so once any company grows beyond a certain size it starts to suffer from the fact that people in one part of the company don't know anyone in another part of the company and so communication breaks down and the company starts to have internal inefficiency issues etc. It's not surprising to see a large and successful coop suffering from the same sorts of problems, and that suggests to me it probably needs to split itself into smaller coops.

2. I have repeatedly stated my rejection of the idea that "socialism" is defined by or limited to the ideas that some guys centuries ago happened to have. I am not overly interested in what Marx thought about socialism anymore than I am interested in what Aristotle thought about Democracy. Nobody would say that as an America you can't know anything about democracy unless you're well-read in the ancient Greek sources because democracy was invented by them. Likewise it is silly to say socialists should or need to be interested or well-read in Marx or Engels or any other centuries-old writer.

3. This is an example where I totally disagree with Marx. I think cooperatives are probably the way forward, and insofar as I am a "socialist" that is the kind of socialism I support. I don't at all agree with his analysis that socialism needs to conquer the world, etc.