The problem with socialism is that it is seemingly impossible to define. I have yet to hear a cogent definition of what socialism actually is. Like major world religions, there are hundreds if not thousands of sects, all with their own, often conflicting dogma, and in cases where the warts of socialism pop up, there is inevitably a chorus of “well that wasn’t
actually socialism!” Even religions like Christianity can largely be boiled down to basic tenets such as “a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ”, which seems far more concrete and consistent than any explanation of socialism I’ve heard.
- I’ve heard people say that socialism is simply representation to and protection of workers from the company they work for. But that exists in many industries and nations, including the US which socialists consider highly capitalistic.
- Others seem to describe socialism as redistribution of wealth, and often point to countries like those in Scandinavia, which sounds great to me except those countries are very much capitalist, and their economies seem more like “capitalism with sensible guard rails” (aka Social Democracy) than “socialism” as defined by many socialists themselves.
- Perhaps the closest thing to a concrete definition of socialism is “social ownership of the means of production”, but even that is far too vague to be helpful. What does “social” mean in this context? What does “means of production” mean here? If it’s “workers have ownership of a businesses capital”, then FAANG companies like Amazon paying huge amounts employee compensation in the form of equity are among the most socialist companies in the world. Obviously I don’t think anyone would agree with that.
- I’ve heard socialism (although this perhaps dips more into communism, as if the distinctions there are any less indecipherable) differing from capitalism in how they answer the question, “Can someone sell use of their possessions (ie capital, such money, equipment, or land) to someone else?” In capitalism the answer is yes (therefore giving birth to landlords, shareholders, boards, etc) and in socialism the answer is no. That actually seems to me like a pretty solid definition to go off of. But in that case, we have to ask how companies can actually get the capital they need to get going. In ventures like smaller cooperative communities, and in industries like agriculture, it seems more feasible. But think about how much capital is required for something like a pharmaceutical company, or a tech startup. Millions and millions of dollars in cash are required, and it is not feasible for workers to simply pool resources and bootstrap. It would seem like the only solution would be to have some entity, like the government, redistribute societies capital to those entities they see as most deserving. But now you are back at the central planning model many bemoan as being the flawed, “no-true-Socialism” incarnations of the 20th century.
I’m not an expert, and so I recognize my understanding could be flawed. And I am in no way at in love with capitalism. But it seems to me like the best we can hope for is Social Democracy style capitalism with guardrails as opposed to pie-in-the-sky socialism which seems to mean everything and nothing at all depending on the situation and who you are asking.