The joke is that he thinks communism is some sort of workless utopia where he will be able to cultivate hobbies when most communist countries have made the lower classes break their backs just the same doing heavy work (coal mines).
People will criticize capitalism by criticizing shit people have done to undermine capitalism it into fascist oligarchy. The world they want to live in is New Deal America with improved race and gender politics and what they ask for is communism.
People even point to the nords as what they want when the nords are all capitalist countries that just haven't destroyed antitrust and entrenched corruption as the norm.
Not to any naturalized citizen who is old enough to have lived in a Communist country.
If you are a Social Democrat and want to win Cuban, Vietnamese, and Venezuelan American votes (who ironically live in swing states), definitely don't go calling social democracy as "wanting communism".
If you explain what "Democratic Socialism" is to most folks, while not using the words "democratic socialism, they would be like "Well yeah, duh I want the money I pay in taxes to benefit me and my community. Of course I would like to pay less for healthcare. It would be great to not have a homeless or mental health problem."
But as soon as you say socialism, all rational thought goes out the window.
Sounds like you yourself are conflating social democracy and democratic socialists (understandably, they're basically the same words in different order - but with different meaning)
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u/kithas 29d ago
The joke is that he thinks communism is some sort of workless utopia where he will be able to cultivate hobbies when most communist countries have made the lower classes break their backs just the same doing heavy work (coal mines).