DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM
R. A. Schultz
Yes, you read it right. And, yes, it is an obvious oxymoron. Unless, of course, you happen to be one of those who occasionally dons a pink pussy cap, or otherwise considers yourself part of the blatantly seditious “Resistance,” consisting variously of Democratic Socialists, FBI Agents, Deep State operatives, Women’s Marchers, #MeToo nuts, Intelligence Community activists, Illegal Aliens, and AntiFa thugs.
Socialism, one of several shades of totalitarianism, simply CANNOT be in any way compatible with democracy, one of several shades of liberty. Democracy, or basically mob rule, is necessarily akin to anarchy, the total absence of organized governance, or the ultra-extreme right wing, whereas socialism or, for that matter, ANY form of collectivist totalitarianism, requires central planning and direction which necessarily increases as we move further toward the political left.
The United States of America is a republic, consisting of a union of fifty sovereign states. Theoretically, each of the fifty states is capable of governing itself as a separate entity. Indeed, there are active and quite serious secessionist movements in some states, among them Texas, California, and Florida, but success in seceding is quite another matter.
Commonly, our form of government is referred to as a democracy but, in fact, it is a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy, the latter implying simple majority rule. In the United States, we don’t vote on every matter coming before government. Rather, we elect representatives to do that work for us. Realistically, we’re just too damned big! If a majority of We the People don’t like the way our representatives are representing us, we’re free every two or six years to vote them out of office. We also elect electors every four years to represent us in electing our chief executive officer, our president, and his/her vice president, in a slightly complicated system designed to promote equality of representation among states of varying size.
Socialism is considered well to the left of center in the left – right political continuum. In other words, it’s on the road to totalitarianism, powerful centralized government that ultimately plans everything and tells everyone what to do and how and when to do it, and what not to do and how you’ll be punished if you disobey. Such a government subjected to even a smidgen of representative democracy would, simply by definition, fail. Either it would become more democratic or free, or it would become more socialistic or totalitarian.
So . . . just what IS democratic socialism today here in America? Evidently even those who consider themselves democratic socialists are incapable of forming a coherent definition. Instead, their website (www.dsausa.com ) states what they BELIEVE:
“Democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically—to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few. To achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed through greater economic and social democracy so that ordinary Americans can participate in the many decisions that affect our lives.
“Democracy and socialism go hand in hand. All over the world, wherever the idea of democracy has taken root, the vision of socialism has taken root as well—everywhere but in the United States.”
Thus, I have taken it upon myself to produce an accurate realistic definition of democratic socialism: “A politically- and historically-naïve quasi-religious body of erroneous socio-political illusion combining two fundamentally-opposing political concepts for the purpose of resisting, by whatever means at hand, the will of the American People as expressed in the 2016 presidential election.”
Let them stick that in their hats and eat it.
