"Socialism" - Defined Down

I have noted that the more people decry attempts to moderate the extremes of capitalism as "socialism," the more people will become open to the concept. If "socialism" means gulags, count me out. If it means affordable healthcare and good schools for my kids, it doesn't seem so bad.

Recently, Paul Krugman made that precise point in the New York Times:

for decades the right has tried to shout down any attempt to sand down some of the rough edges of capitalism, whether through health guarantees, income supports, or anything else, by yelling “socialism.” Sooner or later people were bound to say that if any attempt to make our system less harsh is socialism, well, they’re socialists.

The truth is that there are hardly any people in the U.S. who want the government to seize the means of production, or even the economy’s commanding heights. What they want is social democracy – the kinds of basic guarantees of health care, protection against poverty, etc., that almost every other advanced country provides.

Read the entire thing here.