Socialist Progressives
In reply to the discussion: What led you to socialism? [View all]PETRUS
(3,678 posts)I.e., redistribution after the fact within a capitalist framework is not socialism.
Another point that should be made is that we don't actually have free markets. For starters, corporations are not free market entities - they are products of government. Likewise patent and copyright protection and a whole host of other mechanisms used to accumulate wealth within western-style capitalism. Another example would be anti-union legislation (Taft-Hartley and various other state and federal laws since), which represents government interference in the labor markets. The term "free market" (like "free trade" is really just PR - people respond well to the term, but it's simply not accurate.
The system in the US today relies on the heavy hand of government. It's the proverbial "nanny state," but one operating for the benefit of an elite minority. If one is opposed to government enforced policies that benefit the unfortunate, why wouldn't one also oppose government enforced policies that enrich the well-off?