Government is socialism; if you support the existence of government, you are a socialist.
I posted this observation on X a few days ago and upset someone with whom I normally agree. I guess he wants to believe government can be legitimate more than he values liberty.
Anyway, here's how it is:
Socialism is, according to dictionary.com, "a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community as a whole, usually through a centralized government." (Although socialists get a little slippery whenever they don't like a specific definition. They don't like being pinned down.)
Statists claim government has the "right" to tax and regulate businesses. The power to tax and/or regulate is the power to control and destroy. The right to destroy or control something is a hallmark of ownership. The "right" to tax and regulate is an expression of government's claim to ownership (even if generally hidden from view). Government heavily taxes and regulates businesses. Government- ALL government- thus seizes the means of production- while pretending this isn't what it's doing.
On X, I was told I was using the wrong definition of socialism, so I asked how he defines it, and he never responded. As I pointed out above, no matter how you define it, someone will complain.
Government is socialism. All governments are socialist.
Statists- those who believe governing others is a legitimate human endeavor- are therefore socialists.
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