General Discussion

There are three kinds of people who call the New Deal "socialism:

1) Conservatives/RWers, who call everything they don't like "socialism";

2) Super-lefties who want to claim credit for it even though their political counterparts back in the 30s and 40s railed against it as "selling out" and "inadequate" (because those people were actual socialists, wanted actual socialism, and the New Deal sucked away any momentum toward their goal); and

3) People who've picked up the meaning from either of the above two groups.


It's also why "democratic socialist" is such a damaging, counterproductive term. This country does not exactly do "nuance" and "subtle" regarding that word. Use it in any sense and people's minds go right to that big country that had the word right in its name, and you put yourself in a hole when trying to persuade them.