The Difference between Socialism and Democratic Socialism

What is the difference between socialism and democratic socialism? AOC and the other socialist Dems constantly harp on the idea that their ideology is “democratic socialism” rather than regular socialism, so there must be a difference, right?

Wrong. The difference is a semantic one at most, and barely even that.

By placing “democratic” in front of “socialism,” new-age socialists want to use ambiguous political lingo to distract potential critics and hide socialism’s authoritarian tendencies. In that respect, they’re similar to Antifa. That fascist hate group calls itself “anti-fascist” to distract and confuse potential detractors. They want people to think that if a group’s stated purpose is to fight against fascism, then it can’t really be fascist in nature, even if it’s harassing and attacking political opponents and using terror to stifle dissent. Similarly, democratic socialists like AOC and Bernie Sanders use the idea of democracy to make their ideology sound both new and better than old-style, Stalinist socialism.

But, they seem to forget that socialists have been trying that for decades now to little avail. North Korea, that repugnant hellhole, for example, is technically the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Feel reassured yet? Or can you just see that the whole “democratic” part is a lie to temporarily mollify opponents?

Fortunately for us conservatives, North Korea’s brand of democratic socialism provides a perfect example of what socialism leads to. Rather than being a “workers’ paradise” North Korea is a place of utter misery. Equality of poverty, misery, starvation, and oppression reign across the land. It fits in perfectly with Bernie’s version of the American dream!

So, in summary, don’t be convinced by the Democrats’ verbal tricks. They always use modifiers to make their outdated and unworkable ideas sound better than they are. Democratic socialism isn’t that stale brand of economic socialism we saw fail throughout the 20th Century, it’s something new! Antifa isn’t a radical, fascist terrorist organization, it’s a pro-freedom civil-rights defense group! And common-sense gun control isn’t a way to disarm and oppress the citizenry, it’s a sensible way to create public safety! Never mind that “those who would purchase a little temporary safety at the price of precious liberty deserve neither,” according to Benjamin Franklin, we need those “common-sense” laws now!

That glimpse into the mental contradictions and omissions of the liberal mind is terrifying. They either can’t comprehend or don’t care about what their actions and chosen policies will lead to; they’re too brainwashed. They don’t understand that the difference between socialism and democratic socialism is nil. It’s just a figment of their reason-starved imagination. Like every attempt at socialism before it, it will lead only to misery before ultimately failing.

But, of course, right now just about no one knows that. For some reason, many young Americans, namely the socialists on college campuses, think that the difference between socialism and democratic socialism is that one (socialism) is some outmoded ideology of the past, whereas the other (democratic socialism) is a fabulous new ideology that will create a utopia.

That is absurd and shows that they do not know what democratic socialism is (spoiler: it is just socialism but with an extra word). But, even more than that, it shows that we have not done a good enough job of explaining the truth about socialism and democratic socialism.

So, to properly educate them so that they can see that the difference between socialism and democratic socialism is something between “nothing” and “insignificant,” we need to start teaching the truth. Rather than just yelling at, demeaning, or ignoring those young socialists, we need to teach them the truth about their ideology.

First, we should show them why socialism and democratic socialism are the same thing. The whole idea- public ownership of the means of production and redistribution of wealth- is the same between both ideologies. That is a fact and is something that can be easily explained.

Next, we need to show them what socialism leads to and why it is such a regressive ideology. Have them read books such as The Case Against Socialism, Socialism Sucks, and The Gulag Archipelago so that they can see why the very nature of socialism meant that it killed millions upon millions of people in the 20th Century. Again, those are facts. So, while young socialists might not want to hear them, they are not subjective. Plus, they show that the difference between socialism and democratic socialism is nonexistent.

Finally, we need to present them with an alternative. Our discussion of the difference between socialism and democratic socialism cannot be purely negative. Teach them about capitalism. Show them how it creates prosperity. Show them how it leads to individual liberty and the opportunity to live a fruitful, successful life. At the end of the day, that is all that anybody really wants, socialist or not.

I think that if we do those things, we will be more able to show Democrats the truth about the difference between socialism and democratic socialism and return to a time where everyone respects the fundamental premises of America; capitalism and freedom.

By: Gen Z Conservative, author of the blog www.genzconservative.com