I love how people who support capitalism always draw it in opposition to dictatorial socialism, implying that the democratic socialism we see in many European countries is impossible to achieve or non-existent.

It's one of the most simple logical fallacies -- the strawman. Everyone should have learned about this in high school at the latest, yet there are plenty of very smart people on HN touting this viewpoint. It's sad, really, how people lie to themselves in an attempt to convince themselves they are morally superior.

European countries don't have democratic socialism. They have social democracy, which is still a capitalist economy, just with more of its output redirected into welfare.