conversation on socialism

You have to give some people more credit. This is about public ownership vs. private ownership. You don't even have to say the word 'socialist'. They'll do it for you.
This is about the proposals that make people cringe.
People don't like anything that gives the government more control.
People cringe when your demands include any proposals to get the government to solve any of your problems.
They cringe when you ask government to regulate business more.
You'll find resistance when you talk about taxing anybody,
when you talk about wealth redistribution,
when you ask for the government to help you do anything,
Anytime you say, 'it's the government's job to...",
Whenever you use the words "universal" or "social justice" or "workers rights",
Whenever you ask for more government spending....
These are the things that will make people call you a socialist before you even make your declaration.
When people think of socialism they think of a central government that controls all means of production and distribution of goods. They think of government services that are inefficient, wasteful, and fraudulent. They see corruption.
They think of this because this is what they've seen throughout history and what they see now.

I think I'm hearing people advocate for another form of socialism where the people control the means of production and distribution of goods. This is completely different.
Has there been a country where the people controlled the economy through direct democracy?
We've always heard the promise of this type of economy; but it always seems to stall when the totalitarian leader takes control of the country and the means of production and distribution.

We all need to analyze how systems have operated in our country.
Communism: I'd like to point out that, just like every other country, America never upheld the concept of classless equality. I don't even think they really intended to. They used science and religion to prove that the constitution didn't apply to the laborers (a.k.a slaves and indentured servants) or women.

Socialism: One of the biggest complaints I've heard about 'American socialism' is that people don't trust our representatives with the distribution of our tax dollars. People seem to want a say in how much they contribute and how that contribution is used. There's also the notion that government is giving aid to people/corporations who didn't 'earn' it.

Capitalism: "After we broke from England’s rule they wanted to be sure that we were never put into a servitude position by any one person or organization ever again. "
If 'we' means white, male landowners, then that statement is right on the money. The 'forefathers' knew exactly what they were doing, who they were doing it for, and who they wanted to exclude.
We've never had a free market because government has always ensured the privileges of the business owners. The government has given us enough crumbs throughout history to keep us relatively docile. They used the other -isms to keep workers divided and competing with each other. They knew that if workers were truly united, we'd have enough numbers to truly revolt.