Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
When I say "socialism" I think of - no private means of production, job and housing for everyone... etc, etc.
Have you got a different view on what it is?
I don't think socialism could be applicable in black and white terms to any country.
But there are some examples of socialism in many countries. Government sponsored pensions, government sponsored medical care, government sponsored education, government sponsored unemployment benefits are the most common modern examples of socialism that could be applicable to many countries.
Government sponsored housing is less common but still exist.
Government-controlled production exists in many countries but at a different degree. And government-controlled service I would say exists in any country with a government.
The more "government-controlled" things a country has the more socialistic it is.
But the "heavyweight" of it all is production of course, which supports my previous claim that economy matters the most for a country.
However based on that Saudi Arabia is a socialistic country, because its oil production is controlled by the government. And when you say "Countries like the USA will be out to sabotage the socialistic state as much as possible" it makes me wonder: was it actually the socialism the US was after or was it something else during the Cold War? I know the answer of course