Ever notice how socialism is being niftily repackaged for America?
Live in a tiny "housing unit" above a "mixed use" "transit village". Use public (i.e government) transporatation or, if you must, buy a "Smart Car" and feel good about yourself. Ration water. Ration gas. Buy bread from the hippie at the local farmer's market. Turn your thermostat up (or down) and roast (or shiver). Use less. Do less. It's like being a Soviet with the misery replaced with a sense of smug self-satisfaction that you're "doing your part".
I grew up in a place like that, Germany. Environmentalism, social equality and justice (Der Soziale Frieden), a smug sense of intellectual superiority, and of course the all important safety and security are used as arguments for creating a world with a big government and little people. Little people who for their own safety and security do not need guns, for the environment pay $9 a gallon for gas and drive a smart car, who live in a 400 square foot apartment freezing in the winter and sweating in the summer, who live a life more or less managed by a government from cradle to grave. But...... life is good there, since after all, people are no longer responsible for their actions, unproductive people are rewarded economically, and you need not worry about much anymore. From health care to your retirement, big brother will provide for you no matter how worthless you choose to become. Let's hope the “change” we get doesn't take us too far in that direction.
Socialism is renamed in America. We usually disguise it with words like "national" or "universal." The American socialist will never call it a socialist health care system. No, it will be called something else, but the net result is the same.