Conservatives have redefined the word 'socialism' to fit their agenda of shrinking government. There is no 'socialism' (under the word's heretofore conventional meaning, which is a term of economics) in America, but rather America is presently an example of a
welfare state that practices regulated capitalism. That is, America's laws use some of the tax receipts received at the Federal level to subsidize members of society who (1) need medical care that they cannot afford, (2) have children but have less than a certain level of income (AFDC, etc.), (3) are elderly and have less than a certain level of income (Social Security), among other groups.
For example, begin reading about the meanings of these terms:
Welfare state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Socialism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Conservatives believe that the "larger the government" (that is, the more persons employed by the government, or the greater the size of the Federal budget), the less their freedom to make as much money as possible. Their arguments about 'freedom' in general are typically only smokescreens for their preference to live a
"might makes right" lifestyle driven by making money. They believe that the very low level of regulation imposed on the nation's private sector in the 1800s is the model for what American society should return to.
If you read the article linked above, you'll see that
the notion of a 'welfare state' is not new and might actually be considered to have been invented over 1,000 years ago under a medieval, theocratic regime. Maybe the fact that, by America choosing decades ago to become a welfare state, America is following the leads of other nations, mostly European, is what causes American conservatives to feel that America is less "unique" or less "special" or is "repeating the mistakes of Old Europe," etc.
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