Republicans have a necrophilic agenda

 

No, not really.


The republican platform for decades has sought to remove protections for the most powerless among us, ensuring that power continues to accumulate in the hands of a few. They oppose raising the minimum wage, taking action on climate change, and generally support slashing spending for education and other public services. In short, their policies screw those without power. Is this necrophilia? No of course not. That’s insane. Words have real meanings and while I could make an argument that their policies amount to necrophilia (who has less power than a corpse?) you’d be right to point out that doing so stretches all credibility and reveals me to be little more than someone interested in fear mongering without debating the actual merits of what is being proposed. I shouldn’t accuse republicans of promoting necrophilia because that behavior is moronic and does not aid in civil discourse. 


Yep, birds are gross.

So why is socialism any different?


Socialism has been the boogeyman of conservatives since about 1860. It really gained steam in 1917 when a handful of people in Russia decided they had enough of the despotic rule of the Czar and engaged in a bloody revolution followed by a bloody civil war. The word socialism has been used to attack policies of all sorts ever since, with the implication being that changing our capitalist economy to a socialist one will lead to purges, gulags and the death of freedom. Of course, the problem is the overwhelming majority of people who attack things for being socialism have no idea what socialism is.

Socialism is an economic system where the means of production and distribution are controlled by the community rather than individuals.


That’s it.


Which means, so long as the system still allows for private ownership of those things, it’s not socialism. So long as the law isn’t taking Amazon away from Jeff Bezos and nationalizing it, it’s not socialism. A wealth tax that would cost Jeff Bezos billions of dollars a year is not socialism, no matter how much you want to squeeze it into that box.

Raising taxes is not socialism. Universal healthcare is not socialism. Providing free housing and food is not socialism. Universal basic income is not socialism.


What are they then?


Social welfare.


Why don’t they call it social welfare? Because social welfare doesn’t carry the same negative connotations that socialism does. If you accuse someone of promoting social welfare programs they say “yes, I support programs that help care for the well-being of our society.” Social welfare programs have been around for millennia. The Romans gave out free grain in a slave-based economy that also had a man who personally owned Egypt. That’s about as far from socialism as it gets. It’s a disingenuous argument meant to attack a strawman rather than the actual ideas being suggested.

Words have meanings and it’s important that we use words correctly. Not just because it expedites communication – since everyone knows what each other actually means when they speak. Not just because it’s impossible to have civil discourse when you insist on mislabeling ideas with the most negative terms you can conjure, but because it keeps you from looking like a fool (Mrs. Malaprop was intended to provide the comic relief after all).


So, the next time someone accuses something of being socialism, know that they are almost certainly wrong. Then ask them how they think things should work instead. Once they tell you, look them in the eye and ask them why they support necrophilia. Because chances are the distance between social welfare and socialism and whatever they suggest and fucking a corpse, are about the same.

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