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.

  • supplier [none/use name]
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    4 years ago

    Socialisms goal is communism. If you look at Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, food and shelter are the first steps, so you could say that providing those things is socialism. But that fight was in the past, and socialism for us will have to be focused on those next steps.