Socialists and communists have been feared and maligned for over a hundred years. The Red Scare after WWII never really went away. RW politicians and media have kept it fresh in people's consciousness. Then Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro were very oppressive, making it easy to continue scaring folks with the boogeyman. Not just their Republicans and the RW audience either.
The truth is, the word will never ever get beyond its scary and evil associations. Trying to keep using socialist in any way, shape, or form is a losing proposition. It's a waste of time too.
There are terms that don't have the negative coding, terms that have been used throughout American history, that predate Marxism, socialism, and communism. The common good is a concept from colonial America. It was successfully used in arguments against laissez faire capitalism, when the abuses became apparent. But it isn't incompatible with small business.
Public interest, commonwealth, general well-being are all similar in meaning and history with common good and I rather think would be compatible with what democratic socialists and other dems believe..
I cannot think of any Dems who would oppose the idea of the common good or any of the other terms, nor independents, or quite a few conservatives too. Christians cross the spectrum would tend to find it compatible with the teachings of Jesus, unless they have been infected with the lust for power in which case it likely would be considered woke and weak.
Why, oh why, do democratic socialists persist in clinging to a name that is always effective in damaging us, our party, and our cause? Linking socialist with democrat is poisonous for our reputation. It does nothing to improve the image of socialists for most Americans but does a whole lot to harm the image of democrats.
Cognitive structures build up in brains from repetition, and the repulsion toward anything to do with socialist is already widespread. It has passed from one generation to the next for more than a hundred years. All conservatives have to do is tap into it. It's a tool they already have in their toolbox, and it works.
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