I hear the term “socialist” bandied about a lot. As somebody who took a whole semester on the topic (titled, simply “Socialism”, by the late Adam Ulam), I would like to forward a very simple economic definition:
Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are owned or controlled collectively
So, who’s a socialist? Consider this tabulation by the Cato Institute of Federal government ownership, and how it’s boomed under… Donald Trump.
Source: DeHaven/Cato (2026).
In other words, the most avidly socialistic … or perhaps avidly economic fascist:
Economic fascism is a system where the state exerts strong control over private enterprise, directing economic activity to serve national interests while maintaining the appearance of private ownership.
is the Trump Administration.
All true and, in the near term, not important to the people who matter. Swing voters are naive, low-information voters. Swing voters determine election outcomes. Republicans are howling about socialism; howling might penetrate the fog around swing voters, but facts probably won’t.
There may come a time when factions within the GOP do take notice of the grifter-in-chief’s swing toward the policies of National Socialism. We shouldn’t expect the business wing of the Party to resist until it’s too late; they care about the short term and in the short term, the grifter makes enticing offers.
The moralist wing of the Republican Party, emphasis on economic moralism, would seem the likely cradle of resistance, but the cradle is empty. Friedman and von Mises and Hayek are now trotted out when it’s convenient, but aren’t allowed to get in the way.
Democrats are today’s pragmatists. The battle being played out during this year’s Democratic primaries is, at heart, both pragmatic and cynical. What policies work and what policies get us elected? What do our donor overlords demand? Republicans have largely stopped asking the pragmatic question, only looking to their overlords for direction. National Socialism seems just dandy to those overlords, as long as they have the ear of politicians.
Back in the 1930s, the worm turned – German business leaders saw their power slip away. Seems that lesson has been forgotten.
Socialism/Fascism are dialectical terms. Your definition of Fascism is what all Leninist groups did. My advice would be to read Bruno Bauer. Probably the most revered anti-rightist in terms of calling out the bs of judeo Christianity. He also was a major influence in .moving Marx from dialectical materialism to scientific socialism. The “Jewish question” in his honor.
We thought Yeltsin would be a capitalist but his regime was crony capitalism. Trump is a crony socialist.