When conservatives say Democrats are socialists, how do they define the term socialist?

Answer 1

They don't. Socialism, like Communism, is a form of Government that involves incredible amounts of Government intervention in the economy. To the free-market base of the Republican party, "Socialist" is a terrifying word, and Conservatives use it to take advantage of that fear.

Answer 2

They don't, when anyone says all Democrats are socialists, they are simply proving their ignorance of its meaning.

Certainly, some Democrats are socialists, but socialism is such a broad term that it is meaningless in that context. A strict communist is a socialist, but in our culture so is a person that wants even a slightly more centralized government.

Answer 3

I don't understand how the republicans can fear that the democrats are socialists when the current regime has usurped historically unprecedented powers and taken away rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution. We now have a "trust me" government. That doesn't seem to bother any of them.

Answer 4

See the following. Conservatives use the later re-definition of the term "socialist". Note that they are actually just as socialist by this definition as the Democrats.

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One must be careful to make one's intention known when
using the terms "socialism" and "capitalism" (as well as
related terms) because they have they have undergone
polemic re-definition over the decades that causes a great
deal of confusion.

In the traditional sense, "capitalism" means the ownership
and control of the means of production by a class of
capitalists (in the traditional sense, the owners of capital,
or means of production used by workers other than the
capitalists/owners) and a economic and political system
that favors this. In the traditional sense, "socialism" means
the ownership and control of the means of production by
the workers themselves, whether as individuals,
cooperatives, collectives, communal groups, or through
the state. One should note that this does not necessarily
mean by the people as a whole, nor does it necessarily
mean state ownership, nor does it necessarilyimply a non-
market form of organization; historically, anarcho-
individualism (e.g., in free-market form advocated by
Benjamin Tucker) has been an important form of socialism.

In the later re-definition, "socialism" means the ownership
and control of the means of production by the people as a
whole, generally by means of the state, or simply the
ownership and control of the means of production by the state,
or more broadly any form of central planning by the state. In
the later re-definition, "capitalism" means the private (non-
government) ownership of the means of production, and more
generally the absence of central planning by the state.

Matters have become especially confused because these
terms have been used in ways that include both the traditional
sense and the later re-definition of the terms. Thus, Marxist-
Leninists will define "socialism" in the traditional sense, but
at the same time refer to examples of "socialism" in the later
re-definition, in order to gain support for totalitarian Bolshevik
regimes that actually destroy any examples of "socialism" in
the traditional sense; likewise, their "capitalist" opponents will
do the same, in order to support the belief that There Is No
Alternative (TINA) to "capitalism" other than a tyrannic
despotism. (In this connection, one should note that according
to Marx and Engels, the "dictatorship of the proletariat" is a
transitional stage between capitalism and socialism/
communism, which will not exist until the state has withered
away to nothing.)

In the same way, advocates of "capitalism" will define the
term with the later re-definition, but actually refer to concrete
examples that instead fit the original sense, even citing as
positive examples dictatorships such as Pinochet's in Chile.
And just as with "socialism", some opponents of
"capitalism" will do likewise in order to discredit it in the
sense of the later re-definition. At present state-corporate
globalization, in which there is rule by states, corporations,
international financial institutions (IFIs), and the like, is
the typical form of "capitalism" actually advocated by
most avowed capitalists, rather than a truly free market.

This effectively means that there are (at the least) three
common usages of the terms "socialism" and "capitalism",
and so it behoves one to make clear in what sense one is
using these and related terms.

One should also note the term "state-capitalism", used
by socialists (in the traditional sense) to refer to state
ownership and control of the means of production in
varying degrees ranging from capitalist dictatorships
such as Pinochet's through to Marxist-Leninist
dictatorships such as the Bolshevik regimes. This
extends the traditional sense of "capitalism", as the
state replaces the traditional "private" capitalist class
to varying degrees.

News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo/

Answer 5

The Democrats are as much Socialist as the Republicans are Fascists. They do name calling because it scares them to death to discuss REAL issues.

Answer 6

Socialism is of course centralized decision making on all economic resources and capital investments.

To a pop culture conservative, socialism is any democrat.

If it were about congress or the white house spending money they don't have, conservatives would have stopped voting Republican years ago.

Answer 7

In American politics, socialism is anything that doesn't agree with right-wing extremism, including the moderate conservatives, that the neocons denounce as liberals.

Answer 8

Westhill we've been through this - socialism is a form of collectivism. Collectivists want state intervention in the otherwise free market - not to protect the liberty of the individual to participate in it, but rather to effect results that in a free market would not otherwise take place. They have their own ideals that they are not satisfied with seeking only for themselves, rather they seek to impose such ideals on everyone else - and are incapable of understanding how others could have different ideals.

Answer 9

Democrats typically define themselves as socialist, but by any other name it's someone who believes in a large centralized government, even if the reason for it is well-intentioned, such as redistributing the money of the rich to the poor.

Answer 10

Quite simply, Socialism is a step in the transition from Capitalsim to Communism.

Or, as such:

http://www.econlib.org/library/Mises/msS.html

http://www.romm.org/soc_com.html

http://www.melcone.com/cpusa.htm