Democratic Socialism

Written by Frank Li

In my 7/4/2013 post (The Coming Demise of America), I specifically called out the Republican Party to come to the middle-right by denouncing “both democratic socialism, as perpetuated by the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and democratic imperialism, as perpetuated by the likes of John McCain and Lindsey Graham.”

In my 8/22/2013 post (Democratic Imperialism), I defined what democratic imperialism is. In this article, I will define what democratic socialism is.

Unlike democratic imperialism, which has yet to have a definition in Wikipedia, democratic socialism is already defined in Wikipedia as follows:

Democratic socialism is a variant of socialism that rejects centralized, elitist, or authoritarian methods of transitioning from capitalism to socialism in favor of grassroots-level movements aiming for the immediate creation of decentralized economic democracy.

The term is often used by socialists who favor either electoral transition to socialism or a spontaneous mass revolution from below to distinguish themselves from authoritarian socialists that call for a single-party state, most notably to contrast with Stalinists and Maoists.

Democratic socialists endorse a post-capitalist, socialist economic system as an alternative to capitalism. Some democratic socialists advocate market socialism based on workplace self-management, while others support a non-market system based on decentralized-participatory planning. Many contemporary democratic socialists reject centralized planning as a basis for democratic socialism.

Unfortunately, after all the words above, Wikipedia concludes the definition in the following way:

Democratic socialism is difficult to define, and groups of scholars have radically different definitions for the term.

In other words, it is whatever you want to use it as. For its importance to my writings, let me clearly define “democratic socialism in the U.S.” as follows:

Democratic socialism in the U.S. is socialism as epitomized by the social policies of the Democratic Party, which is aimed at having a bigger and bigger government, more and more dependence (e.g. food stamps), and more and more stupid, or poorly informed, supplicants who vote only for the Democratic Party.

Specifically,

1. Big government: Read: Government Employees and Manufacturing Jobs: Takers and Makers? Here is an excerpt:

   In 2011, there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of the manufacturing (11.5 million). This is almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.8 million collecting a paycheck from the government … More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers.”

2. Dependence: We have become a nation of takers! With the present expenditures of over $4 trillion/year by the U.S. government and a population of 315 million, we are spending over $13,000/year/person on just the federal level! Add in state and local and it approaches $18,000/year/person. So anyone paying less than $18,000 per year in taxes is a “taker” and someone else is paying their “fair share.” For a family of four, that’s $72,000/year in taxes they must pay to be a “maker” instead of a taker. Now, let’s focus on the food stamps. Read: The politics and demographics of food stamp recipients. Here is an excerpt:

   Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to have received food stamps at some point in their lives-a participation gap that echoes the deep partisan divide in the U.S.

3. Stupidity: Watch this video: Obama is going to pay for my gas and mortgage. Known as “parasites” in many parts of the world (e.g. in China), these people can vote in America. Worse yet, there are so many of them now that they can even decide the outcome of a presidential election! For more, read: Stupidity: A Sixth Similarity between Communism and Democracy.

Bottom line: American politicians work for one predominant purpose only: getting re-elected ad nauseam. The Democratic Party is better off, in terms of winning elections, with a bigger government, more food stamps, and more stupid voters!

What’s the net result of democratic socialism? A new form of slavery! The old version: work without pay. The new version: pay without work! The outcome of the two forms of slavery is the same: human deprivation!

Here is a “joke” widely circulated on the Internet:

The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing, this year, the greatest amount of free meals and food stamps ever, to 46 million people. Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us “Please Do Not Feed the Animals.” Their stated reason for the policy is because “The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves.”

It’s time for America to recognize the Democratic Party as the party of new slavery!

Here are two pertinent quotes:

To whom should we listen, Karl Marx or Thomas Jefferson?

Thomas Jefferson, of course! What does that mean? Restore America back to a republic with full-blown capitalism and a limited version of affordable democracy! Specifically, while the Republican Party must be anti-war by denouncing democratic imperialism, the Democratic Party must be pro-capitalism by denouncing democratic socialism!

For more, read my book: Saving America, Chinese Style!