ABSTRACT
There are many versions of socialism, just like there are many versions of Christianity or Conservatism or Islam. What socialists agree on, and what motivates them, is a desire for more equality. Capitalism may be more or less racist. It may be more or less sexist. Capitalism can cope with nonracism, even if racism is currently rampant and lethal in many countries and periods of history. Social Democrats are happy with the capitalist system — they just want it to be fairer, with a progressive taxation system, with the rich paying a bigger percentage of their income than the ordinary worker. The largest group of socialists in the United States currently is the Democratic Socialists of America, who are part of the left wing of the Democrat Party. Few parties in Eastern Europe formed after the downfall of the Soviet empire, for example, were likely to call themselves communist or Marxist or even socialist.
