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Y'know, there are plenty of sensible and coherent arguments against socialism, without having to reinterpret it in order to smash it down.
To be fair though, there's been something of a reinterpretation on the left as well. I call myself a 'socialist' but that doesn't mean I believe in a fully communal society. I believe in a mixed economy. At no point during the history of trade and markets has there ever been any evidence to suggest that the free market, or the people and businesses that operate within it, can be relied upon to act entirely in ways that add to, rather than detract from, the common good. There have to be controls. There is also absolutely no evidence throughout that time that left to its own devices the market acts as an equaliser of opportunity, or that all of a civilised society's needs can be filtered through the free market.
Even Adam Smith believed that where the market failed to adequately meet the needs of the nation the government had a duty to step in. Particularly with regards education. These days, most nations include basic healthcare alongside education as a necessity that cannot be trusted entirely to the market.
Really, the main difference between a modern 'socialist' and the right, is where we all draw the lines. Frankly, if you don't believe there should be any lines, then you're not dealing with political or economic realities.
But even on those definitions, the notion that Barack Obama and Warren Buffett are socialists is laughable to anybody with an ounce of political insight.
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