> This sounds like libertarianism to me, not socialism (small S or not.)
My feeling is you've not read some of raganwald's other writings which more clearly explicate socialism, the way he's using it here:
"Socialists advocate a method of compensation based on individual merit or the amount of labour one contributes to society. They generally share the view that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth within a small segment of society that controls capital and derives its wealth through a system of exploitation. They argue that this creates an unequal society that fails to provide equal opportunities for everyone to maximise their potential."[1]
Correct, I'd read this one piece and followed the "small s socialism" link to read that piece.
Libertarians would have many issues to take with the quoted perspective, which is why I think the term "libertarian socialist" is an oxymoron. (I know, socialists insist that they invented the term libertarian, but socialism has a history of coopting any movement that becomes popular.)
I'm sorry, but you are, perhaps unwittingly, spreading disinformation. The political term "libertarian" was coined by an anarcho-communist, to evade a French ban on anarchist literature in 1857. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Etymology) About a century later, some US right-wingers appropriated the term to mean an extreme form of capitalism.
In a culture which is indoctrinated so deeply that words can't even mean what they mean, it's little wonder why we stumble so badly despite careful explanations of the anarchist movement's history and goals, and despite the internet at our fingertips. No wonder why some will argue so aggressively, rather than simply googling and humbly asking questions to relieve their ignorance. Anarchism is not some set of axioms, nor is it defined by some dictionary. It is a social movement.
My feeling is you've not read some of raganwald's other writings which more clearly explicate socialism, the way he's using it here:
"Socialists advocate a method of compensation based on individual merit or the amount of labour one contributes to society. They generally share the view that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth within a small segment of society that controls capital and derives its wealth through a system of exploitation. They argue that this creates an unequal society that fails to provide equal opportunities for everyone to maximise their potential."[1]
[1] http://raganwald.posterous.com/hello-my-name-is-reginald-and...