To read our Open Letter to Socialists, click here.

To read about the problem with Marxism, click here.

 

 

Socialism

 

Socialism is not a very well-defined idea. To the extent that it is defined by the large political parties that call themselves "socialist" and that occasionally win elections and control national governments (in places like France and Greece, for example), it is the idea that the government, as opposed to private individuals, should own the means of production in at least certain industries of the nation, and the workers in these industries should be employees of the state.

 

Some individuals and small organizations that call themselves "socialist" might define the word differently (although we are not aware of any organization calling itself socialist and supporting egalitarianism as defined here.) In either event, since the word "socialism" is known to most people in the world to mean what the large socialist parties that sometimes control national governments mean by the word, and because what they do in the name of "socialism" stinks, we have decided to let these large socialist parties own and define the word "socialism." This is the socialism that we oppose, for reasons discussed below.

 

Because socialism is not a well-defined idea, it can only be judged by looking at what governments that claim to be socialist actually do. France and Greece, for example, have had governments controlled by Socialist parties on and off during the 20th and 21st centuries. When Socialists come to power, class inequality continues just as before. Capitalists remain a wealthy and powerful class just as before. Workers' strikes are repressed just as before. Society remains as unequal as before.

 

Socialism appears to be a word that some politicians use merely to get working class votes with a vague promise to "make things better for workers."

 

Some Communists call themselves Socialists in order to avoid the stigma of Communism's ugly anti-democratic nature that so many people are aware of.

 

Click here for an article about the anti-democratic nature of Socialism.