by Squatthrust » Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:35 am
Aha, the problem here is not in your analysis of government, but in your definition of socialism.
What you seem to view as the entirety of socialist thought is in fact only one type of socialism, national socialism. Nothing could be further from the truth. National socialism is actually the polar opposite to modern socialism (if you use the left/right political scale, national socialism on the far right, democratic socialism on the far left).
In your analysis you are partially correct. Programs such as TARP and the government threatening to sue Boeing are examples of America becoming more socialist, national socialist.
The difference between the two is right in the definition:
An economic system in which the means of production are either state owned (national socialism) or commonly owned and controlled cooperatively (democratic socialism); or a political philosophy advocating such a system.
America is, however, still not becoming national socialist, because the government is not taking over the corporations, the opposite is true.