Mistake

[matrixmann]

A thing that West German leftists don't get about real socialist way of economy is: They didn't invent it anew how structures to produce look like, or did an economy like a hippie community. They only took the old structures known from capitalism and erased the circumstance of having a feudal lord as an owner.
No private person alone or a group was the owner of a facility, the manager administered the factory according to a non-material idea that was "acting for the good of all other employees that work here". If he didn't do that and abused his position, he could be replaced by will of the other workers employed at this entity.
Everyone had his firm position, knew what set of tasks he had to do every day.
If you wanted to take a different position than your current one, you just moved up the ladder through the coventional way. Education or changing the branch, for example.
It wasn't like "today I do one thing" and "tomorrow the other", something unsteady - something that no-one can calculate with, much less raising a family.
Or something that requires all part-takers to be a firm believer of a certain thing to let this thing last.

Comments

[onb2017.livejournal.com]

Totally agree. And not only German. I saw on subreddit they talk about those too. Well, call yourself whatever it doesn't make you a socialist if you don't understand simple things. Or maybe they call themselves like that to sway and divert from a real thing. I don't know.

[matrixmann]

"Socialist", in international understanding, often more means something like what is called here as "social democrat".
It seems like there is no real term for that internationally, especially in the English-speaking areas of the world, but I use it to make the difference clear. As social democrats and socialists here really are two different hings, while the social democrats rather suit that package what most people carry around in their heads if they say the other. (e. g. socialists don't need to call themselves "liberal", as socialism in terms of lifestyles is already a liberal ideology - socialists don't pled "women back to the kitchen" or "homos, go home!", they determine from the start that everyone's equal and that it's everyone's own private matter who he screws with, same-sex doesn't make the world go down)

[onb2017.livejournal.com]

Exactly, liberal socialist. And I also heard the term "European" socialist. Basically, the same.

[matrixmann]

"European" I maybe already wouldn't see that critical, as that term can also relate to "I'm not a socialist in the terms of overseas! I'm one by the understanding common in Europe - red like the blood!". May depend on who uses it.
Otherwisely, yes, if you know the materia, you don't even need to underline it for everybody "Hey, people, I'm not pro dictaroship!".
And I doubt that many share that attitude of Gregor Gysi at the beginning of the 90s who pleaded for integrating the term "democratic" next to "socialism" into the party program of the PDS just because so many people don't associate democracy with socialism or even have bad memories of it. This is an intelligent reason to do it, especially shortly after the turnaround - but lots of people in the world rather are like cattle when it comes down to complicated topics. They don't do this out of such attentive reasons.