Q. What do people mean when they say they are "socialists"?
A. As for "socialist" well, there are again 2 types -
genuine ones fighting for the abolishment of wage labor and the rule of capital, and
reformists. Many reformists call themselves "socialist" but have generally
imperialist policies. For example, the French government is currently
"socialist" - yet they are pursuing criminal imperialist aims such as the bombing
of Yugoslavia!
In Marxist terms, socialism is generally regarded as the period of transition between
capitalism and communism - the transition to a system in which we can truly have
"from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs". So
genuine Marxists can be interchangeably called socialists so long as they have as their
goal the abolishment of capitalism and the establishment of genuine worker controlled,
democratic socialism. Just remember, those who call themselves "socialists" need
to be taken with a grain of salt - look at the contents of the jar before you eat it -
don't rely only on the label! :)