Understanding the Difference Between “Socialist” Nations and Democratic Socialism One of the...

The only problem with the article is that the examples the author gives are not of "Democratic Socialism", they are mixture of "Welfare Capitalism", earned benefits, social programs, and so on.

For example, Social Security is not a welfare program. There are some aspects of it that are, such as axillary benefits, but the program is an earned benefit. Your base payments are determined by the earnings you make (which is taxed for social security) and how long you've been earning them (you generally need a minimum of 10 years of earnings for full benefits. However, there IS a 'socialistic' aspect in the system such that it isn't a straight calculations on earnings and instead has a progressive scale such that lower earnings count more towards benefits than higher earnings do (i.e., someone that averaged $30,000/year for 10 years gets more than half of someone that averaged $60,000/year for 10 years).

I've no idea of the author's background with regards to political systems and theory, but regardless of how he wants to spin it, Democratic Socialism advocates for the fundamental transformation of capitalism through public or public/private ownership, larger government involvement, and basically a restructuring of the economy. Simply put, Democratic Socialism is an ideology that supports the establishment of a democratically run and decentralized form of a socialist economy*.

Welfare Capitalism is a market-based capitalistic system which heavily invests in social welfare programs, social safety nets, etc. In fact, many who claim to support Democratic Socialism are actually in favor of supporting Welfare Capitalism.

Rather than taking the word of someone posting on social media about what the political and economics forms mean (that includes taking my word), I suggest people actually research themselves (you can start by doing a search on the differences between welfare capitalism and democratic socialism).
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* Encylopedia Britannica - Democratic Socialism - https://www.britannica.com/topic/democratic-socialism

LOLOLOL. Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes. "Democratic Socialism" is an interim step towards Socialism on the road to Communism. The Left is ALL ABOUT "compromises" that are in reality nothing more than the new status quo for the next "compromise" negotiation. You fool nobody with this "these are not the droids you are looking for" routine.

A few things.

First, "socialism" is defined as the social ownership of the means of production (factories, businesses, capital). Fire departments, police departments, and other government entities provide a service (public safety) and do not produce goods for market exchange, so they do not fit the definition of this economic system.

Second, these services are often categorized as public goods or common goods, which are legitimate functions of government in almost any economic system, including capitalism, because they benefit all of society and the free market is inefficient at providing them universally.

Lastly, government services like law enforcement and the military has existed for centuries across various economic systems and predates the modern concept of socialism.