I'm a democratic socialist

so when I bring up socialism and people are like "So like Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Kim Jong-Un?" it's as if whenever capitalism is brought up people were like "So like Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Pinochet?" - democratic socialism has as much to do with Marxism-Leninism/Stalinism/Maoism/Juche as (neo)liberalism has to do with fascism/Nazism; yes, both use the same (or at least a similar) economic model, but the policies used within the systems are radically different.

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BohemianBoo · M

That's what happens when the media and government are controlled by Capitalists who want people to fear Socialism. Even Nazis and Fascists are called Socialists in right-wing media because they had "big government." It's so ridiculous. Even if you put labels aside and just say that DeSantis is banning books like Stalin banned books, that's bad, right? They'll just find a way to rationalize it. Like DeSantis is banning books to protect kids, but Stalin banned books because Marxism.

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BohemianBoo · M

@Emosaur That's how I see it. Left-wing politics are all about dispersing power throughout society, while right-wing politics are the opposite. So while not all Conservatives are authoritarian, that's the direction their politics leads to. I'd even say that Conservatism is Authoritarianism within the constraints of a Democracy. Whereas Tankies may call themselves Leftists, but can you really want the dispersing of power if you also want an Autocracy? Can Stalin and Mao have been on the Left if they were dictators?

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