This house believes that Stalin was not a socialist

I will address my opponents argument's in the order in which he presented them. 1: I maintain that Communist and socialist synonyms. "Thesauruses are in agreement as dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster, and the Oxford dictionary all agree that Communist and Socialist are synonyms. Even Pro's link on the difference between Communism and Socialism states the terms are sometimes used interchangeably." 2: My opponent concluded this argument by saying "the title was ill-conceived (please re-label it: Stalin's policies were not in line with socialist policies" 3: already addressed. 4: In response to my rebuttal on this argument Pro says "Very well, this argument shall be negated." 5: In reference to my rebuttal on this argument Pro says "Again, an ill-conceived statement. I should have been more careful. I understand if you wish to negate this argument and you are justified in doing so." 6. Pro says "Lenin never fully realized his vision for the Soviet Union (having died two years after the end of the civil war). The vanguard is a marxist concept, it is not meant as an elite. Stalin implemented it as such, this proves that under Stalin the hierarchy of autocratic tzarist Russia remained." Here again pro concedes that Stalin did implement a vanguard, which is a Marxist concept, albeit different than the "theory." 7. Pro says "Socialist theory states that the working class should own the means of production. Stalin did not implement this, therefore, he is not a socialist." My opponents definition from dictionary.com of socialism specifies the "community as a whole" being the owners. Merriam-Webster"s specifies the "government" as the owners. The definitions are almost exact in every other way. This suggests that within socialism there are legitimate forms wherein the "state" is the owner and legitimate forms where the "working class" are the owners of the means of production. As such, Stalin"s policies placed the ownership of the means of production in the hands of the "government." This fits as a legitimate mode of socialism. 8. Pro states "In the community, yes, not the state. The community being the workers. Definition of community: 'a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, SHARE government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage'" It seems that our debate here is over what is covered in argument 7. I maintain that by definition there are legitimate forms of socialism where the "state" is the owner of the means of production. As Stalin"s policies promoted this, his policies are best identified as socialist. Conclusion: Stalin might not positively reflect the tenets of socialism/communism, and many who believe in this ideology would obviously like to disown Stalin. However, this does not change the fact that by definition his beliefs and implementation of policies are rooted in this ideology. A perverted form of "x" is still a form of "x" A perverted form of communism is still a form of communism. A perverted form of socialism is still a form of socialism. Pro"s arguments are similar to saying that the Ku Klux Klan is not Christian and that Islamic terrorists are not Islamic. However, the Ku Klux Klan is a Christian group, Islamic Terrorists are Islamic, and the policies Stalin implemented were socialist. Thanks for reading, Thank you Benko12345678 for this debate!