The Democratic Party’s transition leads people to discuss the terms “socialism” and “communism.” Various definitions exist, even among learned people. Some refer to both as varying degrees of the same thing, calling socialism “communism-light.”
I prefer to define both terms in a way that makes the application of both unambiguous. Socialism is an economic model or system, whereas communism is a political system.
Socialism in the absence of communism has been practiced without government controls in a purely voluntarily manner. One example was the Oneida Community in New York in the 1800s. A more recent example is traditional kibbutzim in Israel, although many have transitioned away from strict socialism.
A government forcing people to observe socialism is a political system or communism. That force can be violent, as with the Bolsheviks, or it can be non-violent, defined by laws, regulations and tax policy.
Because there is nothing voluntary about what many in the Democratic Party advocate, they can be correctly labeled as communists.
