Political Socialists?

 

Dazed and Confused

I've been dazed and confused for so long it's not true
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you
Sweet little woman, say what you will
Tongue wag so much when you end up in hell

When you call someone a socialist in a political campaign, are you confused?

Communism, socialism, or capitalism are descriptions of economic beliefs, not political beliefs.  A political belief is between various forms of democracy and authoritarianism.  If group, political, decisions are made by everyone, such as at a New England Town Meeting, then this is the purest form of a democracy.  If the people elect representatives to act for them, such as at a representative New England Town meeting, or most government legislatures, this is called a republic.  If the leader of the group makes decisions for everyone in that group, it is called authoritarianism.  That leader may be installed after a physical battle, or by electors, as in the Holy Roman Empire.  If the leader’s heirs are the children and other relatives of the leader, this is called a dynastic monarchy.  The leader of the group may be an individual or a party, for example the National Socialist Party, Nazis, or the Communist Party of China.

Economic beliefs concern who controls the production of goods in an economy.  The production of goods requires capital, priced raw materials, unpriced raw materials, and labor. It results in the production of goods for sale.  If the goods, and their production, are unregulated by the group, it is often called pure capitalism.  If the unpriced raw materials controlled by the group are corruptly awarded to specific producers, it might be called crony capitalism.  If the final products, or their production, are regulated by the group, such as: controls on the contents of the good; controls on the labor used, e.g. minimum wage, overtime, etc.; or controls on the use of unpriced public goods, e.g., air or water pollution controls, fishing quotas, etc. it is called regulated capitalism.  If some, but not all, e.g. steel but not shoes, of the products, or the components used to make a product, belong to the group then it is it a socialist economic system.  If all of the products, and components of their production, are owned by the group, then it is a communist economic system.  You can have a communist party in a democracy, e.g. the Communist Party of Italy, or the communist party can rule as authoritarians, e.g.  the Communist Party of North Korea.  Calling someone a communist or a socialist provides no indication of their political beliefs. They can be democrats, with a lower case “d”, or authoritarians. You don’t say that someone follows the Tampa Bay Lightning football team.  That is confusing sports teams.  Saying that  someone is a socialist in a political campaign is just as confusing.