[drivingmissm]

The problem is that socialism and totalitarianism are separated only by degree. Socialism, by definition, uses government force to take resources/freedom/time/opportunity from some people and redistributes those goods to politically favored groups.

[cabalamat]

By your definition, every government that has ever existed is socialist. Consequently I doubt the utility of your definition.

[ImprovedSilence]

by definition, every government has to be socialist to a degree. It's how far it's taken that really matters.

[TazeTSchnitzel]

There is some truth to that. NK is only nominally socialist, however, its actual ideology is 'Juche', military-focussed totalitarian isolationism with a massive cult of personality around essentially a royal family of dictators (even having a dead former leader assume a nominally powerful position forever - the Eternal President!)

[skyraider]

The entire economy is centrally planned.

Edit: Social coordination of the means of production, as opposed to coordination by market forces, is in fact the definition of socialism. Whether it's done by a state or various small groups doesn't matter - both are just variations of socialism. Both are about economic planning.

[TazeTSchnitzel]

Which isn't the definition of socialism.