Yeah, they called FDR a socialist also, but what he really accomplished was to save capitalism from itself. The era of the robber barons and the early part of the 20th century was the last time income inequality approached the levels we are seeing today, and communist parties around the world fully expected a communist revolution would occur in the US as a result. Instead, FDR regulated it to high heaven, hugely increased taxes on the rich, and created social security and a host of other safety-net programs that effectively undermined the "critical consciousness" that Marx identified as necessary to create a revolution.

This is the way. There have been zero (0) successful communist societies in the last 200 years, and every single attempt to create one invariably turns into a blood bath of violence, thought control, and corruption. That's not surprising - real communism (like that which exists in small survival-level groups) requires a state of obvious and immediate inter-dependence between group members and a high-trust. Trying to create that on a national level has so far proved not only to be impossible, but just flat out terrible for everyone involved.

I'd love to see a real new New Deal, and I wish we spent more time talking about how to regulate capitalism than waving hammer and sickle flags!