The Tea Party movement that has swept the country has been based on two primary tenants: a hatred for taxes and government. Both are accompanied by a tenuous grasp on the definition of socialism (or is it communism?). One speaker at a town hall meeting last July voiced their frustration with the government’s meddling in, well, government-created programs. ‘Keep your government hands off my Medicare,’ the man demanded. This gem of a comment was selected as the No. 1 quote by Fred Shapiro, associate librarian and lecturer in legal research at Yale Law School, for the university’s fourth annual book of quotations. The book’s quotes are selected for their quality in representing social trends. The social trend illustrated here is one of an inexact, but impassioned opinion about of the role of government. Subscribers routinely throw the words ‘communist’ and ‘socialist’ around without fully understanding what these words mean.’ ‘ Communism is not only an economic system but also a political system. When the state runs all aspects of the economy and relies on a single political party for administering the government, nothing good results. Corruption, inefficiency and suppression of free of expression become the norm. It’s a perfectly legitimate position to be against a communist government. But anyone who believes this country currently faces a communist threat is clearly delusional or has been in a comma since the Cuban missile crisis. Still, it’s common to see the communist insignia – the hammer and sickle – used in signs protesting the policies of President Barack Obama. Socialism is a similar, but decidedly different ideology. While it is difficult to give a succinct and precise definition, socialists believe capitalism is inherently unfair. They advocate government control of many businesses and a program of wealth redistribution. Socialism is considered a bad word in this country. And socialism in practice may bring many problems and inefficiencies, but it is not an all or nothing proposition. Whether you like it or not, America is a socialist country to some extent. Take, for example, Social Security. A program introduced as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal,’ the name is fairly revealing. It creates a social safety net for retirees. President George W. Bush met stiff opposition when he attempted to privatize part of the program: 35 percent of participants in a 2005 Gallup said they approved of Bush’s proposition, while 58 percent were opposed. Of course, Medicare and Medicaid are also government social programs which ensure that the old and poor, respectively, are able to receive adequate medical care. Many people view these entitlement programs as fixtures of the American system, but they are hardly without controversy. Some oppose them on ideological grounds, and others in the way they are administered. These arguments have a legitimate place in the political discourse. This doesn’t change the fact that our country has displayed socialist tendencies. Still, there is another more recent example of socialist activity in the highest levels of our government. Take the $700 billion bailout of the financial sector which was put in place under the last president. The government did not get directly involved in the running of the businesses, but its action saved banks from causing a financial apocalypse (instead we merely got a meltdown). The ‘S-word’ is too frequently used as a distraction meant to illicit an emotional response against progressive reforms. We should certainly be wary of any major changes in our government ‘- especially when it concerns 16 percent of our gross domestic product ‘- but we should also be wary of applying blanket statements. People need to analyze proposed policies based on their merits without being distracted by loaded terms. After all, a bit of socialism made this column (and the education of most people reading it) possible. We can thank Louisiana STATE University for that. Mark Macmurdo is a 22-year-old history and economics senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_mmacmurdo. — Contact Mark Macmurdo at [email protected]