“Hasn’t socialism been discredited by the collapse of
Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe?
Socialists have been among the harshest critics of authoritarian Communist states. Just because their
bureaucratic elites called them “socialist” did not make it so; they also called their regimes “democratic.”
Democratic socialists always opposed the ruling party-states of those societies, just as we oppose the ruling
classes of capitalist societies. We applaud the democratic revolutions that have transformed the former
Communist bloc. However, the improvement of people’s lives requires real democracy without ethnic
rivalries and/or new forms of authoritarianism. Democratic socialists will continue to play a key role in that
struggle throughout the world.
Moreover, the fall of Communism should not blind us to injustices at home. We cannot allow all
radicalism to be dismissed as “Communist.” That suppression of dissent and diversity undermines America’s
ability to live up to its promise of equality of opportunity, not to mention the freedoms of speech and
assembly.”
“Socialism /ˈsoʊʃəlɪzəm/ is an economic system characterized by social ownership or control of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy,[1] and a political philosophy advocating such a system. “Social ownership” may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises, common ownership, direct public ownership or autonomous state enterprises.[2] There are many variations of socialism and as such there is no single definition encapsulating all of socialism.[3] They differ in the type of social ownership they advocate, the degree to which they rely on markets versus planning, how management is to be organized within economic enterprises, and the role of the state in constructing socialism.[4]”
This article is instructive WRT how some view capitalism, socialism, and communism. It explains why many/most modern socialists disavow communism every bit as much as they disavow “capitalism.” It’s the concentration of wealth that causes corruption, and it is corruption that causes economies to fail. Whether the elite wear “communist” hats or “capitalist” hats, the actors are invariably the same — they are the sociopathic megalomaniacs whose sole purpose in life is to amass ever-increasing amounts of wealth and power. Socialism (as many “socialists” view it, including myself), seeks to distribute power among as many citizens as possible, preventing the concentration of wealth/power that corrupts and destroys entire economies and societies.
Socialism and communism are not at all the same. My entire family on my mother’s side is from a socialist country in Europe (one of the countries you would call “capitalist”), and I have relatives who have been in high-level positions in government (Socialist Party). My mother was a card-carrying communist who later became a socialist. I know the difference between the two. You are terribly misinformed regarding this topic.
