Yeah, it is socialism. Socialism is when the people own the means of production. In a democracy, the people own the government, hence why government services are referred to as “publicly owned”.
Any and all problems with this, either present or past, have nothing to do with socialism, and everything to do with a lack of democracy. The well being of the working class is inextricably tied to the amount and quality of democracy in their country.
Every single country they’re referencing - Venezuela, USSR, China, North Korea - the problems with these countries aren’t because they were socialist or communist. It’s because they were dictatorships. Absolute power always corrupts.
And the same dictatorships currently branding themselves as “socialist” don’t want western leftists to recognize the fact that Europe is actually doing socialism for the working class, and they try to discredit it by claiming they are only enriching their working class off the backs of the global south. But you can’t claim that for countries like Ireland or Finland. They’re examples of socialism working, examples of socialism we should follow.
And it’s for the exact same reasons the American Republicans don’t want you to think of Europe when you think of socialism. Because it threatens hypercapitalism, whether in the form of America, or China.
Yeah, it is socialism. Socialism is when the people own the means of production. In a democracy, the people own the government, hence why government services are referred to as “publicly owned”.
Any and all problems with this, either present or past, have nothing to do with socialism, and everything to do with a lack of democracy. The well being of the working class is inextricably tied to the amount and quality of democracy in their country.
Every single country they’re referencing - Venezuela, USSR, China, North Korea - the problems with these countries aren’t because they were socialist or communist. It’s because they were dictatorships. Absolute power always corrupts.
And the same dictatorships currently branding themselves as “socialist” don’t want western leftists to recognize the fact that Europe is actually doing socialism for the working class, and they try to discredit it by claiming they are only enriching their working class off the backs of the global south. But you can’t claim that for countries like Ireland or Finland. They’re examples of socialism working, examples of socialism we should follow.
And it’s for the exact same reasons the American Republicans don’t want you to think of Europe when you think of socialism. Because it threatens hypercapitalism, whether in the form of America, or China.