Most people believe that socialism is anathema to our capitalistic system, and therefore those that are socialists or socialist sympathizers are by definition, not good Americans, and further perhaps aren’t deserving of citizenship or at a minimum, governmental employment. Yet, an honest look at the biggest employer that the United States has, is its own Department of Defense, which employs in excess of three million peoples, which is greater than any other corporation or enterprise, headquartered in America. Further to the point, in regards to the American military, we should note that those that serve our nation are provided with housing at an affordable price, as well as healthcare, food, education, and entertainment; in addition to the fact that the pay scale for those so employed, is based upon the pay grade of that person, along with their years of service, and of which, the pay thereof, is public knowledge.
That is to say, within the military, each person so enlisted has a job to do, with a specific job description, and they therefore go out and perform that work, per the criteria of that service. There is no profit motive in the military and the decisions so made are done by the government, and fulfilled by those that are part of the military on behalf of that government, for the greater good of that government and its society.
The above seems to fit into what would be best described as socialistic, and certainly has nothing to do with a capitalistic system, or really has much to do with free will, except for the fact that in theory, those that sign up for the military, have voluntarily done so; of which, once that commitment has been made, those so signing up, are required to fulfill their enlistment obligations, or faced the punishment so meted out for such failure. Additionally, there is a known hierarchical structure within the military, of which, the structure of that military, means that those that are part of it answer exclusively to the military as opposed to such being adjudicated in an open court of our judicial system. That is to say, what goes on in the military, with a few exceptions here and there, pretty much stays within the military realm, which signifies that the structure of the military is in essence, answerable only to that military, and none else, which again speaks of socialism, more than anything.
So too, in a socialist society, that state, demands from its citizens, more than anything, simple obedience. Those then that are socialistic in structure, have a necessary hierarchy, in order to maintain order and discipline, of which, all those that are part of that socialistic system, have an inherent duty to answer to that hierarchy, so done, for the greater good of that establishment. In other words, it is one for all, and all for one, so demonstrated in action by the fact that the military to the degree that it can do so, is very transparent about the duties and obligations of each of its members and thereby follows a specific protocol at all times, that is meant to be consistent in its application throughout the military.
So then, for those that are curious about socialism, and how it would work, and what therefore is the upside as well as the downside of such, look no further than our military, and that then will provide the answer as to the desirability or danger of such.