https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/in-defense-of-the-old-republican-playbook/
Jonah Goldberg makes a useful point about rhetoric: “In the past, when Republicans accused Democrats of pursuing socialism, the Democrats denied it!“
NRO: In Defense of The Old Republican Playbook
Published
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
Terrors for children. Republican bogeyman politics is sooooo 20th century.
Social Security – FDR is a SOCIALIST!
Medicare – LBJ is a SOCIALIST!
Affordable Care Act – Obama is a SOCIALIST!
Worn out.
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RE: “Worn out.”
The denial is what Democrats used to do, according to Goldberg.
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What is interesting is that the Democrats are still not pursuing socialism.
Socialism is an economic construct in which the government controls all the means of production. Period
Trying to find a solution for universal healthcare and affordable higher education is not socialism. Unless the goal was to take over all the doctors, hospitals, drug and device companies as well as all the colleges and universities and have then run as government entities and with civil servants as employees.
None of the European countries are socialist. And there are a lot of very successful corporations and multi-nationals based in those so called “socialist countries”.
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Wikipedia: “Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers’ self-management,[10] as well as the political theories and movements associated with them.[11] Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative ownership, or citizen ownership of equity.[12] There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them,[13] with social ownership being the common element shared by its various forms.”
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The definition you provide confirms Len’s remarks. The essential and defining attribute of “socialism” is “social ownership of the means of production.” The people of a country pooling resources to more efficiently provide vital services is NOT socialism. We have been doing that for centuries. Public financing of schools, roads, bridges, parks, etc are all example of “socialism” by the very broad and inaccurate definition that “conservatives” bandy about.
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The pooling of resources, as you call it, is social ownership.
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We are not talking about the “means of production.”
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He who pays for production “owns” the means.
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These quasi-academic discussions don’t seem to evolve. Let’s consider what a socialist really wants.
“You pathetic losers are not qualified to run your own lives. All in all, it would be better if you stayed out of the way and let experts manage your life. That would be I and my cronies.”
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That sounds about right to me. Stephen Molyneau makes the point in one of his videos that the feature which ultimatly distinguises socialist and free-market systems has nothing to do with who owns the means of production, but who owns the guns.
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