They’re starting to call themselves “Democratic Socialists.” I have a couple in my extended family. They’ve tried “liberals,” “progressives,” and whatever else they’ve tried. But now, they seem to be veering nearer to who they really are: communists.
I consider myself a liberal. In the classical sense. I place great value on individual rights and liberties. My self-described “progressive” friends and relatives, value group rights, identity politics and redistributionist policies, which are the opposite of individual rights.
The most basic individual right is the right to self defense. Next is the right to keep the fruits of one’s own labor.
Regardless of how the socialists come to power and what variants between political flavors of Christian democratic socialism, Soviet-style revolutionary socialism, social democratic socialism or any other kind of socialism are, they all trace their origins to Karl Marx’s “scientific socialism” and share the common mantra — “fair and equitable” distribution of wealth. Hence, the differences are superficial. The ultimate goal of socialism is economic equality.