by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 3 April 2010
WEAVERVILLE, NC – What is democratic socialism? Socialism in its essence is a state of society in which all people work cooperatively as equals for the common good of all. In recent times people who hold this principle have been describing this principle as democratic socialism, to distinguish the principle from authoritarian and undemocratic states which have wrongly described themselves as socialist in character.
Democratic socialism implies certain other values in human conduct:
- No person should exploit any other person. This principle of opposition to exploitation is especially important in labor relations.
- Natural resources should not be exploited or wasted.
- Changes in society and its governments should be made by free and open elections. Thus, democratic socialism ought to be achieved through the ballot box.
Widespread and full public education is essential to guarantee the equality of people. People must have information and be allowed to communicate their ideas.
Public Enterprise in some economic activities is necessary to help people attain economic and social equality. The government should undertake to do for them what people cannot do well for themselves.
Public enterprise leads to the common definition of socialism found in dictionaries: “the public or collective ownership of the means of production and distribution and the democratic management thereof.”
Democratic socialists support the principles of democratic collective ownership of the basic means of production and the priniciple of democratic management. Therefore, democratic socialists support not only public ownership, but cooperative ownership of economic functions.
The definition of democratic socialism can be summed up in the definition of the British Labour Party, which was printed on the back of every card carrying member. After Tony Blair’s ascendency to power in the mid-1990s, Clause IV of the Labour Party was rewritten by Blair to read:
The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few.
There are as many exact definitions of socialism as there are socialists. Yet they do have common characteristics. Love of big government, nationalization of industry, massive taxation, wealth redistribution, etc. all point towards socialism. Someone like the president would not even have to say he was a socialist in Western Europe; it would be assumed quite normally, without any fuss or conspiracy.
However, when people on the right start being “concerned” about describing Obama as what he clearly is, in part due to the hysteria that both sides of the political spectrum exhibit when the word “socialist” is used, then it damages the effectiveness of opposition to him. Instead of being able to define what Obama’s aims are in his presidency, those on the left and on the right keep pushing Obama into a slightly left-of-center, non-ideological fog. Such a political move is deceitful, and it does not allow the American public to get a clear perception of just what they have voted into the White House.
WASHINGTON — The White House, growing concerned that the Congressional timetable for passing a health care overhaul could slip into next year, is stepping up pressure on the Senate for quick action, with President Obama appearing Sunday in the Rose Garden to call on senators to “take up the baton and bring this effort to the finish line.”
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