A social
democrat.
A socialist is someone who advocates for the means of production to be controlled by the
government or community as a whole.
Because the American political spectrum is skewed to the right they seem to believe that universal healthcare,
free university, high taxes, redistribution of property and a strong welfare system are socialist. However, they are not socialist in themselves, only general left-
wing notions. Some of these
may even be supported by the right, for instance the majority of European conservatives are proponents of universal healthcare, but evidently they are not socialists.
American 'socialists' often cite the Nordic countries as successful 'socialist' countries. Despite this, the means of production in these countries is privately owned, so they are actually social democracies.
American: Bernie Saunders is a
socialist.
European: He's not a
socialist, he's an American 'socialist'.
American: What's the difference?
European: The latter is a social
democrat.
