I'm taking a sociology class, and we just started talking about Marx. My professor asked us for examples of socialism, and quite a few people mentioned welfare.
I pushed back on this, saying that a redistribution of wealth isn't the same as "redistribution" (shared ownership) of productive means. My professor replied that socialism is a commitment to equality, which welfare provides.
Now, I wasn't sure exactly what to say next without denouncing capitalism. I'm also aware that my response could have been better. How would you respond to this?
EDIT: I'm not trying to convince my professor. I'm trying to present arguments that get my classmates thinking in hopes of radicalizing a few of them. One of the TA's actually pm'd me later saying that they agreed with me.
That's funny because we just finished learning about Comte and Spencer, along with their ideas of sociology as a science.
I'll admit that I haven't really read any concrete theory beyond short pamphlets and leftist news, but I will definitely keep that in mind.
You can do a lot with a little theory. As long as you understand the main arguments of the foundational texts (Capital, Imperialism, etc) and have absorbed enough names and theories from the internet you can usually hold your own. I've been pushing nonstop in two of my classes this term like this.