Could democratic socialism become the brand of a new generation of political actors — not just on the fringe, not just in New York City, but across the country?
There isn’t a “real” socialist or a “fake” socialist. Socialism has a definition: public ownership of the means of production. That’s the defining characteristic. Everything else, whether it’s democratic socialism, Marxism-Leninism, libertarian socialism, or anything else, is a modifier that describes how someone thinks that goal should be achieved or what political system should accompany it.
My point wasn’t about which branch of socialism is better or more democratic. It was that people routinely use the terms socialist, social democrat, and democratic socialist interchangeably when they are not the same thing.
So how does your comment address that? My original point was about people misusing basic political terminology, not about whether one type of socialist is preferable to another.
There’s also a recurring pattern on this platform where people simply don’t know what these terms mean. “Socialism,” “social democracy,” “democratic socialism,” and even “capitalism” all get thrown around as interchangeable labels, when they describe different concepts. That’s the misconception I’m pushing back against, and it’s one I run into constantly. You and I seem to be the exception here, we at least understand the terminology well enough to have a discussion about the ideas instead of arguing over incorrect definitions.
I think you’re missing the point I was making.
There isn’t a “real” socialist or a “fake” socialist. Socialism has a definition: public ownership of the means of production. That’s the defining characteristic. Everything else, whether it’s democratic socialism, Marxism-Leninism, libertarian socialism, or anything else, is a modifier that describes how someone thinks that goal should be achieved or what political system should accompany it.
My point wasn’t about which branch of socialism is better or more democratic. It was that people routinely use the terms socialist, social democrat, and democratic socialist interchangeably when they are not the same thing.
So how does your comment address that? My original point was about people misusing basic political terminology, not about whether one type of socialist is preferable to another.
There’s also a recurring pattern on this platform where people simply don’t know what these terms mean. “Socialism,” “social democracy,” “democratic socialism,” and even “capitalism” all get thrown around as interchangeable labels, when they describe different concepts. That’s the misconception I’m pushing back against, and it’s one I run into constantly. You and I seem to be the exception here, we at least understand the terminology well enough to have a discussion about the ideas instead of arguing over incorrect definitions.
I guess I’m helping by articulating my understanding?
Otherwise, yes we seem to not be disagreeing.