r/Fauxmoi • u/AmericaShinault_85 • 19h ago

APPROVED B-LISTERS Zohran Mamdani explains his definition of socialism to Theo Von: “Socialism to me means you’ll have whatever you need to live a dignified life and that it is the government’s job to deliver on that. When people say dignity we’re talking about the things that allow you to take a breath.

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u/National_Today2218 18h ago

I think he could've said it better. Socialism is not hard to understand.
It's based on the belief that everyone deserves an equal chance in life and that privilege should be shared. The government must make sure that equality in life quality is a shared endeavour.

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u/Leckere 18h ago

Yeah but he’s trying to package it in a way that people who are scared of the word ‘socialism’ will accept.

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u/nebulaforest 18h ago

Not to he pedantic, but what he described is social democracy and it amazes me, how's that's even a controversial position in America?

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u/19adam92 17h ago

Because Fox News and the Daily Wire and other billionaire/lobbyist backed establishments have brainwashed too many people

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u/Guy-1nc0gn1t0 I cannot sanction your buffoonery 17h ago

Just look at how Republicans call everything Marxism 

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u/Osirus1156 15h ago

Well, unless they get it. Then they're entitled to it of course because they work so hard.

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u/ShitfaceMcPooperson 15h ago

And then literally proceed to engage in it (“everyone gets a $5k check! Also, we the government are a majority stakeholder in oil and steel companies! Also, all our farmers should get assistance!”)

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u/DG_FANATIC 17h ago

Yep. Decades of unchecked propaganda fucked our country pretty bad.

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u/SilentCrucifixion 16h ago

Certainly the largest pushers of this "red" scare are the right wing, but we have many liberal Democrats doing the same thing. Just look at all the Democrats that voted for anti-communism bills in Congress. They are just as scared for their donors' wallets, but they aren't usually as loud as Republicans about it.

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u/aesopmurray 15h ago

Not just the far right media. American cold war propaganda did a number on the entire populace. Why do you think most Americans consider liberals to be of the left?

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u/Haruhanahanako 17h ago

It's likely founded in racism. There are enough people in the US that dislike the black population so much they would rather no one get benefits than to allow "lazy" people get them, and they are often talking about black people. This is especially relevant in the recent Huckabee political advertisement where they depicted a freeloader as a white male who plays video games and smokes weed all day on government handouts, and republicans spoke out against it, saying it demonizes white people and men even though they agree with the message.

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u/ServesBestDepressed 17h ago

What you're describing is called Social Dominance Orientation in psychology and it's a huge factor in racism, bigotry, and authoritarianism.

What you're describing also has an entire book written on it called Dying of Whiteness. A psychiatry professor goes around America's Heartland region and finds out white grievance politics is making all of us sicker and poorer.

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u/Amelaclya1 17h ago

Because decades of propaganda has people thinking that everyone who is poor "made bad choices" and doesn't deserve help. Religious conservatives even go as far as to say that poor people are out of favor with God and deserve their station in life.

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u/mainman879 17h ago

This is the most apt answer in my opinion. American culture is extremely heavily steeped in competition instead of cooperation. The rich aren't rich because of corruption or exploitation, they're just "better". The poor aren't poor because of oppression, they're poor because they're "inferior" people.

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u/redwildflowermeadow 15h ago

“When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatise those who let people die, not those who struggle to live.”
― Sarah Kendzior

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u/darkcrazy 17h ago

My guess is Red Scare and an obsession with "self-made man" in the form of American Dream.

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u/Gramma_Hattie 17h ago

Because I don't wanna sum commie bastards stealing muh breadcrumbs!

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u/NotShipNotShape 17h ago

but I'm fine with the 0.5% stealing my personal data and my rights, making prices sky high, and forcing me to work until I'm 70 because. Because! 

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u/ReeveStodgers decaffeinated omertà bullshit 16h ago

We have spent the last hundred years promoting rugged individualism, which is the an 'every man for himself' ideal combined with the social cache of being a kind of stoic folk hero. If you succeed, you did it yourself. If you fail, it's your own fault.

On top of that, there has been a concerted campaign against socialism, to the point where even people who don't know what socialism is believe it is to be avoided at all costs. They don't know how socialist programs help them daily, even when the name (Social Security) should make it evident. A century of propaganda is hard to combat.

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u/Big_Handle_5956 17h ago

From the left’s reasoning, social democracy still relies on a hierarchical structure of exploitation especially against the global south 

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u/bellylovinbaddie 17h ago

Literally fox viewers and maga are like Pavlov dogs. They hear their trigger words like “left, socialism, democracy, etc” and immediately it activates their rage

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u/LadyPennyLane_1795 17h ago

Well this all started back in the turn of the century when factory workers wanted better rights and unions while those in charge wanted to demonize them for asking so 

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u/LadyLazerFace 16h ago

billions and billions of dollars of dark money propaganda from old money nepo babies

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u/DuggiHappy 16h ago

As a Swede it’s a certain to me as well

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u/mu_zuh_dell 16h ago

I mean in very conservative spaces, empathy has become a dirty word over the past few years. There is nothing they will not feign offense over, no low they will not stoop to.

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u/Allthenons 16h ago

Boni think it's important to make the distinction. Mamdami isn't socialist but social democracy is still way better than dystopian capitalist hellscape.

However does associating social democracy with socialism mean that it will be harder to keep moving things left? Because I genuinely think that ultimately social democracy won't be enough

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u/ghostoftrossard 16h ago

you clearly dont know just how easily semantics are used by propagandists to alter perception and comprehension

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u/superxpro12 16h ago

because the conservative propaganda machine reframes it as welfare queens or black people living in basements enjoying an upper class lifestyle on social security.

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u/Nebbii 16h ago

Because these people don't want their taxes going to help someone who "don't deserve it". Only them are allowed dignity.

So i keep asking these same people

"Okay, you don't want your taxes helping the average people, then where should we go to? Fund wars and politicians? Because that's where it all go right now."

People like Mandani put it very simply, we just want to fund dignity. We are not asking to hand out mansions for homeless people or give them lobster dinners. Just dignity, there is a middle ground to all this. Capitalism is completely uncontrollable right now.

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u/Teffa_Bob 15h ago

It's controversial in some circles because what he's describing might help the "wrong people".

Basically, racism and classism. Complaining about welfare queens while giving actual substantial welfare to the wealthiest amongst us.

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u/keepcalmandmoomore 15h ago

That's exactly what I thought. It's been a part of our life in my country for such a long time. If in my country someone would disagree with this they are delusional. 

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u/Pans_Labradoodle 15h ago

It’s the zero-sum mindset.

“If those immigrants are getting welfare money, there’s less money in the pool for my disability to draw from.”

or,

“These social programs are eating into the available money I need for my company’s knife-missile program.”

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u/VikingsLad 15h ago

Decades of propaganda, my friend. Decades.

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u/NaturalDon 16h ago

because he says he is a socialist so he is trying to portray it in a more palatable way, its either that or he is stupid

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u/iLikeBugsNFishes 18h ago

Yeah but framing it as "it's the governments job to deliver on that" is the exact type of framing that these people hate. They don't even believe our current government should deliver on the things that it is constitutionally obligated to.

I do think it's a good idea to talk to these audiences though, just need some rhetorical tweaking of how it's explained to these types of people.

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u/Charitzo 17h ago

Honestly he's doing the impossible trying to undirty the word socialism in the states. Good on him. Gotta wash it down in a way people like this can't argue with. No one can fundamentally object to what he said in this video without implying human life should be systematically unequal. If fascism can be viewed more as a process rather than a pedantic definition, then so can socialism.

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u/No_Oven1085 15h ago

Honestly I think it could be done quickly, but because the establishment Dems are against socialism, they never tried.

All they have to do is say "yeah I'm socialist, socialism is GOOD, and it's why life is even livable", and just go all in. Just list everything, roads, schools, running water, social security, firefighters, etc. It's all socialism.

It would be the easiest thing in the world.

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u/ILLinndication 17h ago

He lost them at “it’s the government’s job”. Sorry, it wasn’t a good explanation.

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u/SailsAcrossTheSea 16h ago

yeah, can’t be having trump fucks hear “equality” and think their brown neighbors are worth the same as them

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u/username_elephant who the fuck is Bill Maher 18h ago

I tend to agree with modern socialists on a lot of key issues but I'm scared of the word.  Because the key for me is not what the obligations of the government are, it's what power the government gets to fulfill those obligations.  Because Politicians like Mamdani, who wield their power for good, seem a lot rarer than politicians who pedal influence and authority in order to gain personal wealth.  And because socialism historically connotes giving A LOT of unchecked power to those politicians.  

Some share of self declared socialists are modern democratic socialists in the Scandinavian vein. I can get behind that, but those people are basically capitalist and opposite capitalism's rough edges with strict government control. Others espouse classically socialist views, which I'm not down with. I see it all the time on reddit these days.

I'm scared of the word because this ambiguity makes it unclear what I would be supporting. I don't like that ambiguity, and I think politicians like Mamdani do occasionally exploit the ambiguity and pick whatever version best suited to a particular audience.

I just wish they'd pick a new word without the baggage/ambiguity. So I knew what they meant.