I see the meme of R.Wolff making fun of the idea that socialism is when 'the government does stuff'. I unironically thought... that was what socialism was...? Regulations, public programs, increased oversight by a body that isn't incentivised by profit? These are all government initiatives right?
Tell me why i'm wrong.
Well, you're not exactly wrong, certainly the government does do a lot of stuff under socialism, but the difference is what the government is doing these things for. Socialism is when the working class takes over the means of production, and that usually looks like seizing state power to end the system of production for profit and reorienting the economy to serve the public good. Capitalist states will use regulations, public programs, and oversight to make the capitalist system more effective, or, if the workers are organized enough to have some power, to alleviate some of the problems caused by capitalism.
The state can do things for the public good under capitalism, and some businesses, cooperatives, and enterprises can operate for profit under socialism, but the question of whether a country is socialist or capitalist depends on what the overall picture of the economy and political system looks like.