On a high over his recent spat of publicity in the wake of his dialogue with John McCain, the man who caught the Nation's attention for about a nano-second - Joe the Plumber - has taken a ballsy political step and labelled Barack Obama a "socialist".
But, what is a socialist exactly?
According to the dictionary, Socialism pertains to:
*A theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
*A procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
And, here comes the scary one.
*The stage following capitalism (as in the Marxist theory) in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
Golly, that's a mouthful, isn't it?
Here's my favorite from the new dictionary of cultural literacy (!)
"An economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity."
"There are many varieties of socialism. Some socialists tolerate capitalism, as long as the government maintains the dominant influence over the economy; others insist on an abolition of private enterprise."
"All communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists."
On the heels of the crisis with the banks failing - and subsequent government intervention - many are inclined to argue that America may be ripe for a socialist phase in the near future.
In that event, is the government capable of micro-managing the affairs of its citizens, so there is economic justice for all in the final analysis?
Getting back to Obama, then.
Is this the change he talks about?
A new social "order"?
Bottom line?
You have to be cautious of any label that ends in the three little letters - "ist".
For example, communist, capitalist, and - socialist?
You decide!
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