No, the Ice Cream Social at your next club meeting is not Socialism, however Social Security is. Social Security is a government-run pension system that cuts out private money managers (aka the capitalist market). Medicare — a single-payer, government-run health insurance program is as well. Minimum wage, maximum hours and child labor laws are also "socialist" programs as again, by definition, they are government intervention in the capitalist market to require employers to meet minimum standards that might not be met in a pure, unregulated “free” market economy. You can not like the word, but the structure of these programs is Socialism and the word "Social" in Social Security is that definition not Ice Cream Social which is the shortening of the word Sociable.
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