Autocratic Socialism or Democratic Capitalism
What do Canadians really want and is contemporary language adequate to properly and accurately identify it?
Words have enormous power.
Language has been described as out most powerful “technology” but like most inventions, it is subject to change. The meaning of words, for example, change over time. ‘Gay’ meant something entirely different in 1922 than it does in 2022. New words are also added to our vocabulary as society, science, culture, politics and other technologies evolve.
Four words interest me today. I will present each of them as they are defined in Dictionary dot come.
AUTOCRATIC- adjective
_ pertaining to or of the nature of autocracy or of an autocrat; absolute
_ like an autocrat; tyrannical; despotic; domineering:
AUTOCRACY- noun
_ government in which one person has uncontrolled or unlimited authority over others; the government or power of an absolute monarch.
_ a nation, state, or community ruled by an autocrat.
_ unlimited authority, power, or influence of one person in any group.
DEMOCRATIC-adjective
_ pertaining to or of the nature of democracy.
DEMOCRACY- noun.
_ government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
_ a state having such a form of government:
_ a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
_ political or social equality; democratic spirit.
_ the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.
SOCIALISM- noun
_ a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community as a whole, usually through a centralized government.
_ procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
_ (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
CAPITALISM- noun
_ an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.
Oxymorons
Mixing words can be revealing…
When ‘democratic’ is used as an adjective to describe Capitalism, the words are compatible. This is not so when ‘democratic’ is used to describe Socialism. Individual Freedom of Choice is the root meaning of this adjective especially when it is applied to the Economics of Capitalism. Customers are free to evaluate and choose (or not) from alternatives produced and provided by many companies that are highly motivated to attract paying customers. The opposite is true with Socialism. In its various forms of economic manifestation, Socialism is characterized by state-owned monopolies that serve to restrict individual freedoms of choice. Accordingly, ‘Democratic Socialism’ is an oxymoron and Autocratic Socialism is the better word match.
Another oxymoron is the name of the New Democratic Party in Canada. As an ardently pro-Socialism party, there is nothing inherently ‘democratic’ about its policies or purpose. It opposes Capitalism frequently and characterizes ‘profit’ as an evil objective rather than an absolute necessity for a business to survive and employ our citizens. A more accurate name would be the Autocratic Socialist Party.
Truth in Politics?
I suppose most citizens would likely say that the phrase ‘honest politician’ is also an oxymoron. Is our political system to blame for this common perception of politicians?
In Ontario, we have a “winner take all” form of electoral democracy. It awards only one political candidate per electoral riding with the authority to represent their 100,000+ Constituents in the Legislative Assembly based on a ‘first-part-the-post’ voting contest.
In an attempt to win, candidates make numerous election promises that they can’t possibly keep. Each promise is carefully calibrated to win as many votes as possible from targeted groups with special interests. Who could blame any voter from becoming jaded and skeptical about politicians if he or she took the time to properly assess any given candidate’s complete list of promises and claims?
Most political candidates, especially those representing the pro-Socialist (aka Autocratic Socialist) parties like the Liberals, NDP and Green, remind me of the old time hucksters of the 19th century who made their living travelling from town to town in covered wagons and stopping to pitch their magic potions to gullible folks.
The horse-drawn wagons may be gone, but into itinerary and messaging of hopeful politicians don’t look much different from the hucksters of yore.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same”. __ Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1808 – 1890), French critic, journalist, and novelist.
I guess Mr. Karr didn’t live long enough to see how much things would change by the 21st century, especially the power and meaning of words.
