US/socialism

Overview

Conservatives in the US often use the word "socialism" as a kind of put-down, carrying the implicit assumption that all socialism is bad due to their horrible results in places like Soviet Russia.

It is only extreme, centralist-authoritarian socialism which becomes oppressive, however. Many essential American institutions are essentially socialist in nature. It is necessary to have some socialistic elements in order to avoid the opposite problem, a kind of harsh social Darwinism which, though seemingly the most fiscally conservative option (and hence often advocated by fiscal conservatives), ends up costing society as much or more than a less extreme approach.

Examples

• free universal grade school education was pioneered by America in the 1850s, and soon emulated by the rest of the world. Education is essential for a functioning democracy, so this is just good basic maintenance. Prior to the 1850s most of our society was illerate because most people couldn't pay for a private teacher.
• free public lending libraries became common at about the same time, in the US and other places

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