All the worst people in power want you to fear socialism. Why? Because socialism is about building a society where working people — not a handful of billionaires — control the economy and the government. Socialism means the people are in power Right now, a tiny handful of billionaires and multi-millionaires control the economy and the government. Socialism turns this upside down. The working class – the people who create all the wealth in the first place – would decide how society’s resources are used. All major corporations would become public property, to be managed democratically. This would require an entirely new system of government. Rather than far-off politicians in the pocket of corporate lobbyists making all the big decisions, new institutions of grassroots participation in communities and workplaces would be empowered.

Interestingly enough, I’m right now listening to something about how muckrakers touched off a bunch of strikes where unions were formed and workers were killed by the Pinkerton, cops, and militia to deliver decent pay and 40 hour workweeks in the USA, that we squandered to end up where we started.