So who is in control, government or the press?

Shadow Minister, Britannica actually endorses my definition of socialism, not yours. I checked. Here it is: 'Social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members. This conviction puts socialism in opposition to capitalism, which is based on private ownership of the means of production and allows individual choices in a free market to determine how goods and services are distributed. Socialists complain that capitalism necessarily leads to unfair and exploitative concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of the relative few who emerge victorious from free-market competition—people who then use their wealth and power to reinforce their dominance in society'. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/551569/socialism In your definition Stanley Bruce and Bob Menzies were socialists - not to mention George Bush jr.

To JF AUS

There are 830,000 people in Australia on disability pensions, which is a figure higher than the total number of wounded Australia suffered in WW1 and WW2 combined. You don't have to be too smart to smell a rat. All of those Jihadis now running around Syria and Iraq with AK-47's are on the disability pension and their wives and kids are safely parked on Aussie welfare. Add to that number the ever growing number of women on single mother's pensions who have multiple kids to multiple fathers. I have that in my own family. My cousin's daughter has had two illegitimate kids to her ex husbands illegitimate son. She now has six kids and every one of them is on the dole in Bateman's Bay surfing, taking drugs, and getting into trouble with the local police.

The Labor Party's primary constituency are those people on social security. That category just happens to include pensioners (both deserving and undeserving), aborigines, criminals, drug addicts, "refugees", and dole bludgers. I am sorry if it hurts your ears to hear the truth.

Byork

Bollocks,

If you read my original definition it (though more condensed) mirrors the definition you have just given. I would suggest that you actually read it. When you have, you will realise that it does not imply that regulating society comprises socialism.

No, according to my definition none of those you mentioned are socialists.

SM, as I said originally, your definition was superficial and purposely left out the essential feature of social relations. Bruce and Menzies and Bush jr were all big government men, big regulators. No point continuing with you, given that you know neither what socialism is, nor what socialists believe.

Byork,

You claimed "By your definition, every post-war government in Australia has been socialist because there has always been a high level of government control through regulation of provision of goods and services."

Which is clearly false.

My experience with socialists is that the meaning differs from individual to individual. The problem that socialists have is that none of them can reconcile the collapse of every socialist system, nor provide plausible changes to the previous models that would prevent their collapse.