Socialism

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Discussing Socialism with people who aren't well informed (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I've noticed that talking to people that some common tropes seem to come up when topics like socialism come up.

Basically I hear a lot of defense of capitalism that boils down to capitalism is good because "I personally benefit". As well as "I've heard bad things about socialism", ie taxes are too high in countries with good healthcare and social programs.

I wanted to know if other people have these issues come up in conversation and if people more well spoken than me have a way of getting through the road blocks and have some easy starting points for discussing things with people.

I feel like propaganda and fear mongering have placed a divide that make talking about things harder

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The idea that capitalism and liberal representative (I refuse to use the word democratic) government are the only viable option are so ingrained. It makes it difficult to engage anyone in serious discussion of alternatives.

What I do is point out injustice when you come across it and suggest a socialist solution. Don't mention socialism, talk about unions, worker ownership, workplace democracy, social housing, structural injustice.

If you get pushback I will say something like "I feel like our political system is so focused on capitalist solutions that often good sensible policies don't get considered"

With people you interact with frequently this approach will usually, over time, result in them no longer thinking you're a crackpot and often soften them up for a more detailed discussion in which you can discuss revolutionary change.

This is the best I have been able to do. Interested to see other responses.