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Merriam-Webster: Searches for 'socialism', 'fascism' skyrocketing due to Sanders and Trump
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/dictionary-socialism-facism-increase-216785
By NOLAN D. MCCASKILL 12/15/15 11:37 AM EST
Bernie Sanders this year has sparked immense interest in socialism — so much so that the word is dictionary company Merriam-Webster’s most-searched term this year, an increase of 169 percent over 2014.
The Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate is a self-described “democratic socialist.” But in 2015, what exactly socialism is has seemed incomprehensible at times. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz this summer dodged a question about the difference between a Democrat and a socialist on MSNBC, instead choosing to contrast Democrats and Republicans.
Interest in the term spiked this summer and again after the first Democratic debate in October, when the word "socialist" was uttered four times and "socialism" twice.
“The fact that a major-party candidate for president embraces socialism shows that the term has moved beyond its Cold War associations,” Merriam-Webster wrote in its post announcing its words of the year. “The complex meanings of socialism have required new information at its dictionary entry.”
FULL story at link.
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