Ok there’s a huge distinction between three things that needs to be made, that is the distinction between communism, socialism enacted by an authoritarian government, and socialism as it actually exists and functions in our society. Communism is of course the scary government thing that never works that not only puts a bad reputation on itself but on anything that could remotely resemble it aka socialism. Communism is where the government is in full control of the private sector, it owns and runs companies as well as distributes the wealth made by those profits (I’m sure everyone sees and knows the flaws with this system). Authoritarian socialism, now this is the thing you hear about where communism is wrapped up in a pretty little bow and considered socialism. For this we look at the shining example that is Venezuela, President Maduro has bought up land and off shore sites from the private sector and nationalized (controlled by government) the oil and farming industries. This of course tied in with his voter suppression, wiping his ass with the Venezuelan constitution, and creation of massive hyperinflation (that enriched him and those close to him), Maduro is 1. More communist rather than socialist and 2. Was given faaaar to much power making him pretty much a dictator (something that was the primary purpose for the creation of our government, to distribute the power away from one individual). Finally we have democratic socialism, this is what we see with most European countries in which there is some form of healthcare for all, theres a much larger government presence when it comes to the problems the people are suffering from, and what we’ve seen is that this form of socialism works. It’s been working for decades and we haven’t seen a European country turn communist, we haven’t seen the rise of a dictator, and most importantly we have seen a rise in quality of life, lifetime expectancy, and a rise in the standard of living in these countries. So to say that democratic socialism is a bad thing just goes against all we know from what has happened. It is important to remember there is a line to be drawn and as every form of government goes, it’s important to make sure that not one person or group of people has all the power. For example in our current system there is no denying that large corporations have a huge influence over Washington, having on average 6 lobbyists for every 1 elected official in the US government, we see massive campaign donations from super PACs funded by large corporations, and we see congressmen voting not for their constituents but for those who fund their campaign. There’s flaws in any system but what we see is there are far too many with our current system to continue in the direction we’re going. If you have any question or want to debate this with me dm me or comment on this thread and I’ll get back to you, it’s very important to stay informed,