Depending on the definition of socialism you use, Jesus was almost definitely a socialist. But then again, so are many Prime Ministers of Britain and other people that aren't radical soviet spies.
If you change definitions, anyone can be anything. We can then make Jesus a liberalist, a conservative, etc.
I'm assuming that you live in America.
You assume incorrectly. I live in Denmark.
This is the case in Europe, the birthplace of socialism.
However, there isn't a single socialist/communist state left in Europe. The last one collapsed in December 1991.
For sure, Europe's systems can better be described as "socialist" than America's can. But that's the same as saying that normal flu can better be called a global life-extinguishing pandemic, than the common cold can. Theoretically correct, but there's still a LONG way from the flu to the goal.
My own Denmark's system was build by social democrats, who loathed communists and socialists with a passion. There is a reason that it was the liberals and social-liberals with whom the social democrats made the
Kanslergade_Agreement instead of simply firing up the rhetoric and getting a more malleable left-wing parliament, or a revolution altogether.
Also, not all Marxists are Soviets who set up gulags just because. Many figures who sympathized with or advocated Marxism did a lot of good, though clearly Stalin didn't number among them.
The GULAGs weren't set up just because, just as North Korea's "re-education camps" aren't. They served a, albeit immoral, purpose.
Evil always finds a way to legitimize its actions as good.
However, I'm hard-pressed to think of any marxist regime that hasn't degenerated from the aspirations of its founders, to totalitarianism. The entire East Bloc, along with the USSR, China (China was maoist, but IIRC, Mao's inspiration was marxism), North Korea, Cuba, etc.
However, I fear that we may be on the verge of derailing the thread. If you want to continue this over PM, please feel free to do so
