Socialism

My youngest nephew inspired this post. He mentioned he was not a socialist, had voted for Trump. He said something too about not waving the blue flag that I did not understand. The word socialism has gotten kicked around a lot of people without me noticing they knew what they were talking about.

First, the dictionary definition.

Second, how the Socialist Party USA describes socialism:

Socialism is not mere government ownership, a welfare state, or a repressive bureaucracy. Socialism is a new social and economic order in which workers and consumers control production and community residents control their neighborhoods, homes, and schools.  The production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. Socialism produces a constantly renewed future by not plundering the resources of the earth. 

 And how The Democratic Socialists of America describes its purpose as:

Capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit. We must replace it with democratic socialism, a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society.

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We want a democracy that creates space for us all to flourish not just survive and answers the fundamental questions of our lives with the input of all. We want to collectively own the key economic drivers that dominate our lives, such as energy production and transportation. We want the multiracial working class united in solidarity instead of divided by fear. We want to win “radical” reforms like single-payer Medicare for All, defunding the police/refunding communities, the Green New Deal, and more as a transition to a freer, more just life. 

Third, the Socialist Party USA's platform is here, the DSA's platform is here and the Democratic Party platform is here. Anyone paying attention will notice the Democratic Party does not advocate the demise of capitalism. 

Fourth, all governments serve to protect its society. Society being the collection of individuals into a community; community being the space in which individuals may flourish. Such is my take on Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan and John Locke's Two Treatises Of Government. Books I read before college. Books known to the Founders of country.  Since it is unlikely anyone reading this will use the internet for furthering their education as opposed, say, to watching cat videos, I found these videos to explain Hobbes and Locke:

 

Without a government creating law, there is no property. Without a government protecting property, there is no security for commerce. Without commerce, the country lacks an economic system.

A country's economic system has only one purpose: serving the good of society. 

Those who would elevate themselves above and at the expense of society are sociopaths.

sch 3/13/22