"The thing that has been discredited is totalitarianism, not Socialism." ---Carol C
That is exactly what I am pretty certain I said in my posts to this thread. Carol, right on!
Yes, it was the violence and oppression, and totalitarianism inherent in Communism---but not in democratically decided upon Socialism (as in Sweden and in Canadian health-care---that I firmly think of as being preferable to the excesses we are trying to deal with right now in the USA. The Roooseveltsian years were an indication of where we might try to go now. But those measures were never ever enough. If we were at all intelligent about looking at this present debacle, we would NOT be thinking of the massively dumbed down revolution of the last 8 years as a possible or proper road to follow. Indeed, their stupidity allowed them to take personal credit (no pun intended) for being in the "lucky" position to pick up all the chips. We would, instead, see it as a totally inexcusable path that was only seen as a positive because of all the capitalists that legally stole, and then ran away, with massive amounts of mega $$$$$$$$$ to hide behind the walls of their fortified compounds.
I have said it before in numerous other threads that, when Reagan was given CREDIT (again, no pun intended) for bringing down the Soviet Union, the Russians threw out the baby Socialism with the filthy scummy wash-water of Totalitarianism! That is why some of us shed real tears at the dissolution of both even while the violent overthrow of totalitarianism was surely completely appropriate. ----
Back to music: PLEASE, listen to Al Grierson's wondrous song "A Candle For Durruti."