The Socialism Merry-Go-Round, Part 2. The Tower of Babel
- Jan Schenk Grosskopf
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
Good luck in your search for the definitive definition of socialism. One person wants socialism “like they have in Sweden.” Another prefers a socialist system in which the government owns the means of production. The third favors a socialist construct in which the government controls the means of production and utilities. The fourth adds abolishment of private property to the mix; and there are even more permutations, believe it or not. So confusing!
If you’re looking for Bernie Sanders for help getting a grip on the word, good luck. Sanders has spent decades throwing verbal dust in the public air, “crafting his . . . message, refining the populist parts, shaving off the more extreme elements and figuring out how to sell it to the masses.”* In his youth, Sanders “joined the Young People’s Socialist League, the youth wing of the Socialist Party USA [and] organized for a communist front, the United Packinghouse Workers Union.” Bernie deeply admires Eugene Debs “hailed by the Bolsheviks as “America’s greatest Marxist.”* After spending his honeymoon in the USSR, and coming home with glowing reports in the 1980s, Sanders began to worry that his “socialism” would be confused with the Soviet style.
So, no clarifications from the hard left. That’s intentional. Hard leftist - Marxists - abhor socialism, believing that programs like the New Deal and the Great Society rescue capitalism, but they also know that the majority does not want a truly Marxist society. The only thing they can do is to confuse the language and hide their intentions behind the socialists they abhor. It’s working too well.
For real news and information; good conversation; and community listen to Lee Elci, 6-10 a.m., M-F:
Colonel Steven Bucci answers our questions on Mondays
Catch Tony DeAngelo on Tuesdays and on X and Youtube:
On Wednesdays Red Jahncke talks politics and economics. And - to your joy or sorrow - John LeBoutillier joins Lee to discuss sports and politics.
On Thursdays, Colonel Rob Simmons, former CIA officer, breaks it all down for us.
Hans Despain, Professor of Economics joins in from time to time.
Check out Bob Swick: https://swickspeak.blogspot.com/2025/11/give-me-your-tired-your-poor-and-your.html
