What's the Difference?

     If you haven’t heard the term “socialism” before, crawl out from under that rock, because in the next several months, you will be hearing a lot about it.  Here in the United States, many of us have heard the term before, and most even understand what it is.  We have heard about it, and seen its effects in other countries such as China, Denmark, and Finland.  I will touch briefly on these countries, and then go in depth with things here at home, as well as why we will be hearing a lot more about it.

     China’s economy is very socialist leaning.  Many of the companies in China are owned and controlled by the Chinese government.  The workers in these companies are paid very little and expected to produce large quantities of goods.  However, in the past several years, China has started to turn more toward Capitalism (the US way), which explains their rapid growth economically.

     Denmark…Oh Denmark.  This country has one of the widest range of welfare benefits offered to their people.  However, because of this, they also have the highest taxes in the world, coming in at almost 50% of an employees pay.  There are also no overtime requirements in Denmark; this allows companies to work their employees as much as they want, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Seems like a good job?  Don't forget, you owe the government half!

     Lastly, we come to Finland. This country offers no tuition fees for college, and even goes as far as providing meals for all students.  Sounds good don't it?  Well, as most of us know by now, nothing is free.  Finland's income tax rate tops out at 44%, with an unemployment rate of 9.4%.  

     Now, let’s get deep...  In 2015 Bernie Sanders announced his bid for President of the United States.  When Mr. Sanders is called a socialist, he is very quick to correct the opposition by saying he is a “Democratic Socialist”.  So, what’s the difference?  As Mr. Owl would say, “Let’s find out”…  In order to define the meaning of two words, you must first define both words individually. 

• So what is democratic? According to Dictionary.com, democratic means, “pertaining to or of the nature of democracy or a democracy” or “pertaining to or characterized by the principle of political or social equality for all”. 

• What does socialist mean?  According to Webster’s, socialism is, “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods” or “a system of society or group living in which there is no private property” a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state”. 

Now, let’s combine the two and see what Bernie Sanders wants us to know.

•   A Democratic Socialist is “a political ideology advocating a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system, involving a combination of political democracy with social ownership of the means of production”.  

What’s interesting here is the adjective "democratic" is added to differentiate itself from the Marxist-Leninist brand of socialism, which is widely viewed as being non-democratic. 

Now comes my question.  Where were you mentioned in that definition?  Where did it say anything about the people in that definition?  You may say, well, we fall under a democracy.  Wrong!  Is the United States a democracy?

• Democracy – “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system”.

That sounds right, but it’s still missing something... The founding fathers believed that a democracy would always self-destruct and therefore rejected it.  So in believing this, they thought a Republic would be better.

• Republic – “a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them”.

     Here is the difference according to “What our Founding Fathers Thought”.  “A Republic is representative government ruled by law (the United States Constitution). A Democracy is government ruled by the majority (mob rule). A Republic recognizes the unalienable rights of individuals while Democracies are only concerned with group wants or needs for the good of the public, or in other words social justice”.  Think for a moment where all this word appears… The Pledge of Allegiance?  “And to the Republic for which it stands”.  The United States Constitution Article IV Section 4A – “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government”.  A Republican believes in a Republic, a Democrat believes in Democracy, remember from earlier, we must define the words to understand their meanings.  Thomas Jefferson stated, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”   

     I’m not here to tell you who to vote for, or who not to vote for.  I’m here to tell you who these people are running for office, inform you, and help you in deciding what’s right for you, your kids, and your grand-kids.  Research socialist countries and see where they stand, and how well off the people there are.  Most socialist countries have a very large Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but an extremely low GDP per capita, which means the country is doing well, but the people aren't.  Google is an amazing thing people, type in what you want to know and research your findings with creditable sources.  Behind all the political jargon hides the truth, you just have to look for it.

***As always, leave me your comments and feedback below.  I would love to hear from you.***

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

"What Our Fore Fathers Thought." What Our Fore Fathers Thought. Web. 08 Feb. 2016

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.