What’s a Word’s Worth?
The following is from a post by a Jacob Pagano on Threads, dated Friday, June 26, 2026.
While sipping coffee Friday morning, I happened upon a post on Threads written by one Jacob Pagano. I planned to write an article on day after the June 23 election of New York City Democratic Socialists Claire Valdez, Aber Kawas, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, as their wins on Tuesday have caused quite a stir amongst establishment democrats. It also has many voters asking what is a “democratic socialist”. It’s unfortunate that the majority of the American population is unfamiliar with the dynamics of our own economic and political systems, i.e. capitalism and democracy, respectively. We commonly conflate “socialism” with “democratic socialism”, as well as “socialism” with “communism”.
With the political instability and fascist progression (another word Americans are dangerously unfamiliar with) taking place in the U.S. since the 2025 election of President Donald Trump, there’s an urgency to inform the people on these subjects. We can ill afford the paucity of political literacy to continue. Right wing conservatives have long been fully aware of our nation’s (sometimes willful) ignorance of economic and political affairs, and have used that lack of knowledge by labeling establishment Democrats as socialists to scare the populace into refusing any policy or program proposed by democrats, even if they themselves would benefit from them. With the rise of democratic socialist candidates, the right (and President Trump who’s been the most vocal, of course) are now ramping up their rhetoric, labeling socialists as a threat to the nation. The last thing the people of America needs right now, is corporate democrats adding to their harmful propaganda by vilifying democratic socialists.
My reason for reposting this thread is because Jacob’s wording is perfection in that its detailed and concise, making it easily digestible for anyone who may be unfamiliar with the aforementioned terms.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Photo: Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
I feel like we need to have a conversation about the differences between Democratic Socialism, Socialism, Social Democracy and Liberalism.
Words have meaning. To start, the Democratic Socialists of America are not actually Democratic Socialists, they are Social Democrats… and that’s okay. But again, words have meaning and I think a lot of people are confused about what the differences are.
Social Democracy: Capitalism with regulations and a robust welfare state. The market stays private, but the state intervenes heavily with policies like high taxes for billionaires, labor protections, universal healthcare, and strong safety nets. Example: Norway. Example Politicians: Bernie Sanders, AOC, Mamdani and the DSA as a whole fit here.
Democratic Socialism: Democratizing the economy itself. Workers control production through ownership or governance. Not just regulating capitalism; this is a fundamental restructure of who makes economic decisions for a majority of the economy. Example policies/laws: mandatory worker representation on corporate boards by law, employee stock ownership requirements, worker co-ops as the default business structure. Laws mandating that all workers will directly vote on wage packages.
In the same way that a Constitutional Republic is one form of Democracy, Democratic Socialism is one form of socialism. Another form of Socialism would be state ownership of all property.
Socialism: Collective ownership of productive assets, typically state-owned or communally managed. The goal is eliminating class divisions and private capital accumulation entirely. Example: Soviet Union attempted this (through state control). Politicians rarely openly advocate this in US mainstream politics.
Liberalism: Individual rights, rule of law, democratic governance, private property. Supports markets but with guardrails. Encompasses a wide spectrum—from classical liberals (minimal state) to modern liberals (robust regulation). Most mainstream Democrats fit here. Example: Obama, Biden, Jeffries, Schumer.
The key distinction: Social Democrats want to heavily regulate capitalism. Democratic Socialists want to democratize ownership which eliminates capitalism. Socialists want to eliminate private ownership. Liberals want to preserve markets with checks.
Why this matters: When DSA members call themselves democratic socialists but advocate for Nordic-style policies, they’re actually describing social democracy. Nothing wrong with that—but words matter for clarity. It’s the difference between fixing a system vs. replacing it.
It’s also important because there’s a whole bunch of liberals and conservatives freaking out over the word “socialism”…
Mamdani, Sanders, etc are not socialists… but even if they were, there’s a wide range of socialism. Just because someone is a socialist, doesn’t mean they want state ownership of the economy or to be authoritarian in the same way that the Soviet Union was.
Thank you Jacob for allowing me to republish your Threads post, and thank you for being a concerned citizen by posting it to social media.
