Funny how those who fear "socialism" argue variious attributes of what "socialism" is without giving a concise definition of the true meaning of "socialism". Like anything else, there can NOT exist any PURE form of any political philosophy. Thus, no pure form of socialism exists in the world. Also, no pure form of democracy exists...not even in the U.S.!
In a pure socialist state, all functions of the state are designed to benefit the "commons". That is, benefits are evenly distributed to all citizens of the state. But the question begged to be answered is this: WHO determines the fair distribution of benefits? WHO is in control? In a pure socialist state, no individual has any more or less authority than anyone else. It is a cooperative (ironic how that term is now being bantered around by rightwingers arguing against healthcare reform these days because they fear "socialist medicine") arrangement among the citizenry so that everyone receives an equal share of society's benefits.
Also, a pure democracy is nothing short of mob rule. When all decisions are left entirely to the "majority", the minority is repressed and oppressed by the majority. Tyrany by the majority is a natural result of the desire to maintain their majority status, and, thus, power. This results in chaos and quickly dissolves the society into some form of monarchy or empirical ruling class.
And when you place capitalism into the mix, no matter which form of government is organized, unfettered capitalism (without regulation by a strong, centralized government) results into the kind of society developed in the late 19th century where robber barons ruled the financial system. Wealth is created and hoarded by a tiny group of powerful individuals and the vast majority of the citizenry is oppressed into poverty (think of any classic Dickens novel).
Socialism combined with democracy seems to present a good balance politically and economically. Regulating capitalism within the framework of a democratically elected government, which is dedicated to the welfare of all its citizenry (absent the dominance of the monied class), creates a very high standard of living for everyone. And, ambitious, creative individuals can pursue wealth without being hindered in that pursuit by government overregulation and taxation.
In America, we ALREADY have many aspects of SOCIALISM in our representative democracy: police/fire protection, roads/bridges freely open to the public, public utilities, public parks, militia/military protections, Social Security/Medicare/medicaid, and the list grows larger. The benefit of all these services is shared by US ALL! That, my friend, is socialism and I'm sure YOU wouldn't want to sacrifice any of it in order to form a pure democracy, would you?
So, get over you obsession with this abstract thing you call "socialism". You already live with it, and appreciate it! We are in no danger of slipping into a pure socialist state and to think otherwise is simply being neurotic and hyperalarmist.
