[Steve_American]

I realize that the right gets a lot of mileage out of changing the meanings of words, so I don't expect this to catch on, but ---
Socialism as meaning the welfare state is just wrong.
Socialism has a different meaning of "the state owns the major means of production and distribution".
Welfare in Greek is "evimería", evimeríaism is maybe the proper word for what Western Europe is. Or not, we could just use "welfareism".
If so, then Western European govs. might be called democratic welfareism.
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[Bulaba Khan Jones]

The welfare state originates largely with Otto von Bismarck's policies of trying to undermine socialists and communists by providing benefits to the working class. Only in politically ignorant circles like much of American political discourse do people wrongly define socialism to mean welfare; any economic system can exhibit welfare policies of any kind.

A term already exists for the welfare state. Nations in Europe, including Scandinavia, which provide some of the best welfare benefits to their citizens of any on the planet, are social democratic in nature and definition. In the simplest of definitions, a social democracy is capitalism with a friendly face.

[One Degree]

Capitalism that requires a great deal of government assistance to workers is simply capitalism under a corrupt government. Government regulated capitalism should require little assistance to workers.

[SolarCross]

Welfare is the new serfdom. Communism is the new slavery. Why not just be free?

[Steve_American]

Capitalism that requires a great deal of government assistance to workers is simply capitalism under a corrupt government. Government regulated capitalism should require little assistance to workers.

And yet, in America there is no word for this system.
Yes, in Europe they have one, but Americans don't recognize it.
My word might clarify things.
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[Victoribus Spolia]

The welfare state originates largely with Otto von Bismarck's policies of trying to undermine socialists and communists by providing benefits to the working class. Only in politically ignorant circles like much of American political discourse do people wrongly define socialism to mean welfare; any economic system can exhibit welfare policies of any kind.

A term already exists for the welfare state. Nations in Europe, including Scandinavia, which provide some of the best welfare benefits to their citizens of any on the planet, are social democratic in nature and definition. In the simplest of definitions, a social democracy is capitalism with a friendly face.

The flaws in welfarism push it towards socialism, not away from it. Its inconsistency is its undoing.

[Bulaba Khan Jones]

The flaws in welfarism push it towards socialism, not away from it. Its inconsistency is its undoing.

Again, welfare policies have nothing to do with socialism whatsoever. Saudi Arabia provides welfare benefits to the poorest members of its far-flung royal family (thousands of members) as it does to its richest. America provides benefits to people, as does Norway to a greater extent.

No nation which has adopted variations of Bismarck's ideas of capitalist welfare benefits has ever transformed into a socialist one. A society with an extreme proliferation of welfare benefits would still not be a socialist one unless its economic system were socialist. The two are entirely different things.