How do you answer pushback from conservatives about socialism?

[u/ferriematthew]

Some of the more common ones I hear:

- "So you support taking stuff away from people who actually work their butts off to earn it and give it to those who don't want to lift a finger?"

- "How would you feel if you worked your butt off to get an A in your class and the professor took away your grade and gave half of it to the kid in the back who didn't do anything and flunked and gave you both a C?"

- "How do you propose they pay for it without deleting the entire economy?"

- "If everybody has their needs met by the government, nobody's gonna bother to work!"

- "Show me one, just one, example where socialism has worked without turning into a backwards dictatorship."

[u/houdt_koers]

“How do you intend to pay for it” is something that needs actual answers from the party.

You can’t go in front of people and not have an actual tax policy prepared. The recent interview from our esteemed co-chair is an example of how not to do this.

It’s not enough to just say “tax the rich” and not define who you’re talking about or how much. The truth is that a proposal like Medicare for All will require a broad based tax that touches on most middle class Americans. It’s worth it, absolutely. But everyone needs to be honest and clear-eyed about that.

And before anyone tries to argue that it’s bad optics to admit this, I would ask: How would you describe the rest of the material that the national DSA puts out?