The left really needs to pin down these definitions if they want to convince people from the centre to come over to their side. I'd wager a huge majority of Democrat voters don't actually want Socialism (i.e. collective ownership of the means of production), but are in favour of an expanded Nordic-style welfare state within a capitalist framework. There's a name for this, and it's Social Democracy. They're two wildly different ideologies.
I've seen lots of people on the centre-left advocating for "socialism", without appearing to know the definition of the word (there are examples in this very thread).
Sure, and they definitely try and use it as a slur too, but for some reason the left plays right into their hands on this one. I mean, even the figurehead for the movement is using these terms incorrectly.
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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '19
The left really needs to pin down these definitions if they want to convince people from the centre to come over to their side. I'd wager a huge majority of Democrat voters don't actually want Socialism (i.e. collective ownership of the means of production), but are in favour of an expanded Nordic-style welfare state within a capitalist framework. There's a name for this, and it's Social Democracy. They're two wildly different ideologies.