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. Because of this, many false
ideas about socialism have developed in the US. With this pamphlet, we
hope to answer some of your questions about socialism.
- Doesn't socialism mean that the government will own and run everything?
- Hasn't socialism been discredited by the collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe?
- Private corporations seem to be a permanent fixture in the US, so why work towards socialism?
- Won't socialism be impractical because people will lose their incentive to work?
- Why are there no models of democratic socialism?
- But hasn't the European Social Democratic experiment failed?
- Aren't you a party that's in competition with the Democratic Party for votes and support?
- If I am going to devote time to politics, why shouldn't I focus on something more immediate?
- What can young people do to move the US towards socialism?
- If so many people misunderstand socialism, why continue to use the word?
Doesn't socialism mean that the government will own and run everything?
A:
Democratic
socialists do not want to create an all-powerful government
bureaucracy. But we do not want big corporate bureaucracies to control
our society either. Rather, we believe that social and
economic decisions should be made by those whom they most affect.
Today,
corporate executives who answer only to themselves and a few wealthy
stockholders make basic economic decisions affecting millions of people.
Resources are used to make money for capitalists rather than to meet
human needs. We believe that the workers and consumers who are affected
by economic institutions should own and control them.
Social
ownership could take many forms, such as worker-owned cooperatives or
publicly owned enterprises managed by workers and consumer
representatives. Democratic socialists favor as much decentralization as
possible. While the large concentrations of capital in industries such
as energy and steel may necessitate some form of state ownership, many
consumer-goods industries might be best run as cooperatives.
Democratic
socialists have long rejected the belief that the whole economy should
be centrally planned. While we believe that democratic planning can
shape major social investments like mass transit, housing, and energy,
market mechanisms are needed to determine the demand for many consumer
goods.
Hasn't socialism been discredited by the collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe?
A:
Socialists
have been among the harshest critics of authoritarian Communist states.
Just because their bureaucratic elites called them “socialist” did not
make it so; they also called their regimes “democratic.” Democratic
socialists always opposed the ruling party-states of those societies,
just as we oppose the ruling classes of capitalist societies. We applaud
the democratic revolutions that have transformed the former Communist
bloc. However, the improvement of people’s lives requires real democracy
without ethnic rivalries and/or new forms of authoritarianism.
Democratic socialists will continue to play a key role in that struggle
throughout the world.
Moreover,
the fall of Communism should not blind us to injustices at home. We
cannot allow all radicalism to be dismissed as “Communist.” That
suppression of dissent and diversity undermines America’s ability to
live up to its promise of equality of opportunity, not to mention the
freedoms of speech and assembly.
Private corporations seem to be a permanent fixture in the US, so why work towards socialism?
A:
In
the short term we can’t eliminate private corporations, but we can
bring them under greater democratic control. The government could use
regulations and tax incentives to encourage companies to act in the
public interest and outlaw destructive activities such as exporting jobs
to low-wage countries and polluting our environment. Public pressure
can also have a critical role to play in the struggle to hold
corporations accountable. Most of all, socialists look to unions to make
private business more accountable.
Please continue this article here: http://www.dsausa.org/what_is_democratic_socialism
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