Why do some think Medicare, Medicaid, Social security, etc. are "socialism"?
Because some Socialists have been claiming that they are, in order to market socialism. They think that if they can get all the people who support a safety net to buy into the idea that those are forms of "socialism," then they can move people who support those things along the path to real socialism.
But the Socialist party of America and the Democratic Socialists of America both believe in public ownership and distribution of means of production -- a very different matter.
And there is the dictionary definition:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism
Definition of socialism
1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property
b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/socialism?s=t
noun
a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole
procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
https://www.socialistpartyusa.net/platform
We are committed to the transformation of capitalism through the creation of a democratic socialist society based on compassion, empathy, and respect as well as the development of new social structures. Socialism will establish a new social and economic order in which workers and community members will take responsibility for and control of their interpersonal relationships, their neighborhoods, their local government, and the production and distribution of all goods and services.
For these reasons we call for social ownership and democratic control of productive resources, for a guarantee to all of the right to participate in societal production, and to a fair share of society's product, in accordance with individual needs.
https://www.dsausa.org/constitution
We are socialists because we reject an economic order based on private profit, alienated labor, gross inequalities of wealth and power, discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, disability status, age, religion, and national origin, and brutality and violence in defense of the status quo. We are socialists because we share a vision of a humane social order based on popular control of resources and production, economic planning, equitable distribution, feminism, racial equality and non-oppressive relationships. We are socialists because we are developing a concrete strategy for achieving that vision, for building a majority movement that will make democratic socialism a reality in America. We believe that such a strategy must acknowledge the class structure of American society and that this class structure means that there is a basic conflict of interest between those sectors with enormous economic power and the vast majority of the population.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Because it suits their purpose of trying to mainstream the word. Also for other vain and self-serving reasons (among those the desire to present a not-so-subtle message "look at me, I'm better than you", and "see how pure I am", etc.)
All I'm saying is that the focusing on trying to mainstream the word does nothing to actually advance the causes and policies that Democrats actually care about. If anything it causes division (and thus weakness) within the party, AND, it motivates the low-information voter to vote AGAINST Democrats and their own best interests. Basically is serves no good purpose, and the only explanation that I can come up with is (as mentioned before) vanity... or perhaps to weaken the party intentionally (because of the flawed and dangerous "we must destroy the party to rebuild it" mentality.)
Heaven help us!
