Politics / Government - Insert witty title

It may not be the artist's point, but to me the takeaway is "Most Americans don't know what 'socialism' really means." It's a word that gets thrown around a lot, especially by the right as a slur to invoke Cold War fears of Soviet-style communism in order to demean any policies the GOP currently disapproves of. But it's also being increasingly adopted by what passes as "the left" in the U.S., even though "Well, if they're going to call me a socialist, well, dammit, I guess I'm a socialist" is boneheaded as fuck as just plays into the right's hands. Basically, Americans can't seem to distinguish between "socialism" and "social democracy," because most people can't be bothered to pick up an encyclopedia and actually try to learn at least the basics of a subject and just regurgitate what they hear from friends, family, politicians, and pundits they trust.

But European countries aren't communist hellscapes because they have universal health care, higher wages, better regulations, and more generous welfare policies. Their economies are still predominantly private sector and dominated by large corporations. They haven't made it even an implicit goal to nationalize the means of production, from the big retailers and banks on down to the local beauty salons and ice cream parlors. They're not Marxists, communists, or Stalinists. And neither are the people who are called or call themselves "socialists" in America.