Liberals and progressives have decided that adding the "democratic" modifier to socialism will make it an easier sell. I don't understand why. Socialism has always been democratic. That's the problem. It applies majority rule to everything.
The problem with democracy is that it forces everyone to abide by the preferences of the majority. Usually this isn't necessary.
Sometimes it is. When choosing leaders, deciding to go to war, deciding what acts will be considered crimes, or in any situation where we truly need everyone to be in lockstep, democracy is a reasonable way to make a decision.
But usually we don't need everyone to be in lockstep. We don't need to vote on one way to pay for health care and force everyone to play along. We don't need to vote on food or drug policy and force everyone to abide by the majority preference. In most cases, we can let people make their own choices. And we should. Putting all our eggs into one basket limits our options and commits us to policies that are often filled with "unintended consequences" and other drawbacks.
The problem with democracy is that it forces everyone to abide by the preferences of the majority. Usually this isn't necessary.
Sometimes it is. When choosing leaders, deciding to go to war, deciding what acts will be considered crimes, or in any situation where we truly need everyone to be in lockstep, democracy is a reasonable way to make a decision.
But usually we don't need everyone to be in lockstep. We don't need to vote on one way to pay for health care and force everyone to play along. We don't need to vote on food or drug policy and force everyone to abide by the majority preference. In most cases, we can let people make their own choices. And we should. Putting all our eggs into one basket limits our options and commits us to policies that are often filled with "unintended consequences" and other drawbacks.