Socialism in the modern sense diverges from communism greatly. The powerful socialist states of the modern day all believe in private property. And the libertarianism vs authoritarianism on that chart was to do with social issues, not economic ones. There are two different spectrums for a reason. If there weren’t, Grandi and Stalin would fall in the same place.
Modern socialism believes in essentially utility. People can do whatever they please so long as it doesn’t make them a nuisance to others. Under modern socialism the state controls some industry, such as trains, electricity, airlines, and banks, which are considered essential, but private corporations control the vast majority of trade. People are taxed at a high rate to pay for a breadth of social programs such as universal health care, welfare, and in some cases free higher education and pensions (although those are basically revenue neutral, not negative). The government invests in the society, and the society invests in the government. The government also regulates general industry to prevent environmental and cultural catastrophe, and the financial industry to prevent dangerous short-termism and excessive risk.
The basic difference between the government and a corporation fundamentally is that the government is responsible to the electorate, instead of to shareholders. They peruse the satisfaction of their people, rather than profit. The individual is incredibly free in thought and action. It is when money gets involved that the government sets the boundaries of what it’s society will permit, and what it will not, as dictated to it by it’s electorate.
This is socialism. Sound like something you might believe in?
