(The Masking of Confusions and Lies)
The answer to this question is: If it isn’t socialistic it isn’t democratic. Consider the following definitions:
- Democracy is a form of government of the people, by the people and for the people. Its purpose is the citizenry’s common good.
- Socialism is a form of government where the government, itself, owns the means of the production and distribution of wealth. Its intention is citizenry good.
- Capitalism is the production and distribution of wealth by private enterprise. It is an economic tool that can be used by democracy, socialism, despotism, or any other form of government. As a tool, its usage will reflect the goals of ownership.
- Socialistic refers to people. The citizens are the people. Public is a synonym. While democracy and socialism are forms of government, socialistic refers to programs that meet citizenry needs. Neither democracy nor socialism can be separated from achieving the common good through such programs whether they are labeled public or social. Social programs are synonymous with both socialism and democracy.
What is the difference, then, between Socialism and Democracy? Democracy is about achieving the common good purpose of, by, and for the people. Socialism is about achieving the common good purpose by a well-meaning despotism. The two are radically different in terms of ownership and control. In socialism it is the government. In democracy it is the people.
There are countries in the world that depend on governmental socialism to make the common good happen. Denmark, Norway, Canada, and New Zealand are examples. These countries allow capitalism but it is controlled so that it contributes to the common good.
America is not a government of socialism. It is a democratic government owned by the people. Democracy allows for capitalism but it does so for the sake of the common good and the freedom which such endorses. In actuality, both democracy and socialism are forms of governance which intend the common good and capitalism is an economic tool that can be used for either to any extent desirable.
The primary danger of a democracy that permits capitalism is that undemocratic capitalists will take control of government and convert it from being a provider of the common good to being a subsidiary of capitalistic profit-making. Such capitalists are called economic imperialists and their commitment to democracy is its usage as an unrestrained platform for free-enterprise profit making. They are despots. They are into power for the sake of personal profit whether that profit is monetary or worth enhancement – usually viewed as the same. The will to power is always for the sake of motivations beyond the power, itself. Sustaining one’s self as an elected official can both elevate social image and secure the financial well-being of the present and future.
To facilitate this conversion of democracy these capitalists would like the citizenry to believe three falsehoods:
- That capitalism and democracy are the same.
- That government common-good programs are socialism.
- That socialism is the same as the evil of communism.
The conclusion they wish the citizenry to draw from being hoodwinked by these lies is that common good programs are evil, the product of Big Government, which is also evil. If they can convince the citizenry to downsize government to an unregulated rubber stamp for capitalism, then enormous profits can be made by economic imperialists providing these same programs but at a much lower public benefit and a much higher public cost. That is their goal – both the citizenry and the citizenry’s environment becoming a gold mine for their benefit.
Consider democracy as an example. Retirement social security, affordable health care, public transportation and its roads, public education, national military security, traffic safety, national parks, disaster relief, and law enforcement are all public programs designed to benefit the citizenry. Economic imperialists resent any program that does not present itself as a profit-making enterprise for them-selves. They will invent any deceit possible to convert such programs to their own benefit. They have no democratic ethics and no moral scruples.
Because capitalism is so easily abused, a responsible democratic government will provide all manner of controls and regulations to make sure that it remains a benefactor of the common good rather than a capitalist tool to exploit the citizenry and its environment.
Western history explicitly shows that there are those who care nothing for the common good and are willing to use capitalism to rob the citizenry of both its societal good and its environmental good. In America’s past they have been called Robber Barons. But, whatever their label, they are economic imperialists who use their government to make a profit. They have no problem abusing citizenry rights to make an extra buck. They have no sense of right or wrong except that which adds to their bank account. Their primal purpose is the purchase of government and the use of all its agencies to facilitate their profit-making.
Believers in democracy would do well not to employ such phrases as democratic socialism. Doing so is a political mistake. It easily becomes a tool of confusion in the hands of the economic imperialist to twist the truth of democracy into some supposed evil. Just define democracy’s goal as the common good and acknowledge that it is socialistic or it isn’t democratic. Empower democracy with clarity of definition.
Robert
Robert T. Latham
mythinglink.com
PS: All Supreme Court Justices are appointed for their view of reality. Praising their supposed brilliance, experience, ethics, and Constitution Objectivity are obfuscations to hide this issue. Their view of reality is the only criteria for voting on their candidacy because it will be the interpreter of all decisions they make. And the reality view of profoundly committed religious conservatives always will hold their god, their pope, and their scriptures as the final authority in interpretation above that of the United States Constitution. They, of course, will deny this truth, which is why they are so dangerous to democracy. They neither know themselves nor the nature of humans.
Robert, thanks for these delineations, which clearly indicate the importance of language, its use and abuse. However we parse the definitions, I still believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few.