I know that this is what a lot of Americans think socialism is but it’s worth pointing out that socialism is not communism.
Communists want to take over with force and violence and overwhelming thought policing. Inevitably this pisses people off and ultimately doesn’t work. See literally every communist regime ever.
Socialists simply want to implement progressive policies and are generally happy to do that within the confines of current law (assuming the current law isn’t oppressive).
The US becoming socialist would simply be via a series of increasingly progressive policies over a period of several electoral cycles. It wouldn’t be violence in the streets.
Okay I’m not sure where you got this from, but you’re wrong on both counts. Socialists absolutely want to do more than just implement progressive policies (you’re thinking of social democrats); the definition of a socialist is someone who believes the working class should seize the means of production. Some socialists believe that can be done through capitalist democratic systems (we call those democratic socialists), but still the goal is a lot more broad than just implementing progressive policies; on the other hand you have more militant or even revolutionary socialists, who usually advocate direct action (sometimes but not always including violence). Meanwhile communists are a subcategory of socialists who believe in the creation of a moneyless, classless, stateless utopian society as described by Karl Marx.
I know that this is what a lot of Americans think socialism is but it’s worth pointing out that socialism is not communism.
Communists want to take over with force and violence and overwhelming thought policing. Inevitably this pisses people off and ultimately doesn’t work. See literally every communist regime ever.
Socialists simply want to implement progressive policies and are generally happy to do that within the confines of current law (assuming the current law isn’t oppressive).
The US becoming socialist would simply be via a series of increasingly progressive policies over a period of several electoral cycles. It wouldn’t be violence in the streets.
Okay I’m not sure where you got this from, but you’re wrong on both counts. Socialists absolutely want to do more than just implement progressive policies (you’re thinking of social democrats); the definition of a socialist is someone who believes the working class should seize the means of production. Some socialists believe that can be done through capitalist democratic systems (we call those democratic socialists), but still the goal is a lot more broad than just implementing progressive policies; on the other hand you have more militant or even revolutionary socialists, who usually advocate direct action (sometimes but not always including violence). Meanwhile communists are a subcategory of socialists who believe in the creation of a moneyless, classless, stateless utopian society as described by Karl Marx.