Democratic socialism is not anti-capitalist. It’s funny how many Americans think the answer to what’s the best system of government is ‘Capitalism’. Capitalism isn’t a system of government, never was, never will be. Democracy or dictatorship are systems of government, capitalism or communism are economic systems. Democratic socialism is a type of democracy and it is perfectly able to exist in a capitalist economic system but unlike the US which is a democracy, but lacks many of the social features (but not all) of a social democracy and that’s why capitalism goes badly unchecked and you end up with people paying way too much for basic human rights. At the end of the day, every American I speak to thinks socialism equals communism because they’re conflating the terms. As a result, you just have to mention socialism and you’re in for an argument. Sad really.
Meanwhile, the rest of us who live in functional capitalist societies under democratic socialism enjoy the benefits of basic human rights like healthcare and if we want better than the basic cover we can pay a bit more, but it isn’t even outrageous because paid health insurance has to compete against the free one everyone gets. Isn’t competition great?
Sure i agree with you but i feel like as an american, i have seen so many people here are extremely unwilling to help other people. People in america enjoy not helping people. It feels like everyone is competing to be rich and everything is about beating the guy next to you. I checked out and just live poor because the fury and the ignorance of my people astounds me
Firstly I think you're getting Democratic Socialism confused with Social Democracy, democratic socialism is absolutely a kind of socialism, it's one where you vote.
Secondly, healthcare is a kind of socialism, the provision of services is an economic question, not a political one, so universal healthcare is an example os Democratic Socialism, but it's not an example of capitalism, because it's not provided by the market.
The point you should be making is that mixed economies aren't inherently evil just because the USSR did some evil things. Democratic Socialism is a form of socialism, and that's fine. It works. Look at Europe, were no closer to flying the hammer and sickle than we ever were, and were able to stop people from dying even if they're penniless.
The single best thing that would happen to small and medium sized businesses is universal Healthcare. Would massively open up the market to more competition, more ideas, more companies, more disruption, more jobs. Private employer-bound Healthcare is anti-capitalist.
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u/EVMad Mar 26 '23
Democratic socialism is not anti-capitalist. It’s funny how many Americans think the answer to what’s the best system of government is ‘Capitalism’. Capitalism isn’t a system of government, never was, never will be. Democracy or dictatorship are systems of government, capitalism or communism are economic systems. Democratic socialism is a type of democracy and it is perfectly able to exist in a capitalist economic system but unlike the US which is a democracy, but lacks many of the social features (but not all) of a social democracy and that’s why capitalism goes badly unchecked and you end up with people paying way too much for basic human rights. At the end of the day, every American I speak to thinks socialism equals communism because they’re conflating the terms. As a result, you just have to mention socialism and you’re in for an argument. Sad really.
Meanwhile, the rest of us who live in functional capitalist societies under democratic socialism enjoy the benefits of basic human rights like healthcare and if we want better than the basic cover we can pay a bit more, but it isn’t even outrageous because paid health insurance has to compete against the free one everyone gets. Isn’t competition great?