Why Not Socialism?: The Right’s red-baiting has been far too effective

[Democracyinkind]

98. Quite true.

I refuse to concede the term "Socialism" to the absolute collectivists.

The country I live in, the System I participate in as it now stands was formed by a fusion of traditional liberalism from the 19th century heavily spiked with some Socialist Social Democratic concepts ands mechanism in the early to mid 20th century.

Seen this way, "Socialism" is a question of degrees - most of the West shares a Socialist system, pinned on the democratic process, Europe tending more to the Socialist side while the US etc. tend more to the liberal side (Socialist/Liberal used here in a purely economic sense).

The term "Social Democrat" was conceived during the late 19th century when international leftism underwent a schism. "Social Democrats" while just as commited to Socialism as their Revolutionary friends, believed that any change for the better must come from the people and be backed by the democratic process. While the more revolutionary elements within the international left believed things to be so bad that only Revolution by a small, intellectually pure (and non-working class) cabal could bring true change.

Yet, both of these systems of thought of themselves as transitional, mostly. The majority of both wings, back then, believed that "Social Democracy" or "Revolution" (the 2 opposing strategies discussed above) would eventually lead to communism. This is one thing that Social Democrats, in Europe (generally speaking) have given up. European Social Democrats see Social Democracy not as a transition to something better, but a goal in itself, which is an essential difference, since it now is fully compatible with the democratic process. Albeit, the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, in it's party program, is still committed to "overcome capitalsim" (Überwindung des Kapitalismus). As a member, I can guarantee that this commitment is only lip service and not to be understood in a revolutionary, anti-democratic way.

I hope this helped. (This post was not adressed specifically to the poster that I replied to. It just seemed like the best place to put my thoughts on the subject.)