There is probably no better way to visualize the century-long conflict between these oppositional philosophies.
Most Americans tend to think of politics as the fight between liberalism and conservatism, but in 2019 this is a rather dated way to imagine this. The word “liberal” no longer describes the modern leftist — and really hasn’t done so for the better part of the past decade.
A liberal is an individual who accepts free markets, property rights, and a republican (small ‘r’ here is deliberate) form of government. Unlike a conservative, someone who carries this label is more likely to advocate for the government to be a bit more pro-active in the daily lives of its citizens. Sure enough, there are many important differences between the two, but they are very similar comparative to other political philosophies we’ve seen gain traction in the 20th century.
A leftist — or socialist — is someone who advocates for a fundamentally different way of organizing society. A leftist opposes free markets outright, and believes property rights to be an oppressive practice. Republican governance is replaced with what amounts to either mob rule, or in Karl Marx’s own words, a “dictatorship of the proletariat”.
Ironically, socialism would not and could not exist without the wealth created by capitalism — which explains why these societies are always doomed for mass starvation and economic collapse.
~ Facts Not Memes
