APP - Socialism Reconsidered

[chink]

A fascinating and interesting critique of economics today, left and right. Most will not read it as it is long and well argued. Its argument goes against the narratives so deeply held by libertarians, the right, and much of the left. Venture in if you dare.

An emotional cycle that repeats itself....

"(1) anger at right-wing government precedes (2) hope in a new Left and (3) election of a new government; (4) disgust at that government’s compromises gives way to (5) protest at betrayals, leading to (6) refusal to vote which produces (1) anger at right-wing government."

"The problem was that neither Obama nor Occupy was able to give the idea of fraternity any real substance. For Obama, it seemed to imply campaign contributions; for Occupy, endless discussions. Neither could connect it to the imperatives of our changing economic climate or to the day-to-day decisions and actions that together constitute society. This, not their idealism, was their failing. If fraternity is to be more than a utopian fantasy or a pious palliative, it will need to find expression in an ethic that can be lived out in everyday life, in institutions that are within our grasp, in a vision of a future radically better than the present yet recognizably rooted in its conditions."

See more at: http://thepointmag.com/2012/politics/socialism-can-believe


"A final word on politics. As in economics nothing is certain save the certainty that there will be firm prediction by those who do not know. It is possible that in some election, near or far, a presidential candidate will emerge in the United States determined to draw into the campaign those not now impelled to vote. Conceivably those so attracted - those who are not threatened by higher taxes and who are encouraged by the vision of a new governing community committed to the rescue of the cities and the impacted underclass - could outnumber those lost because of the resulting invasion of contentment. If this happens the effort would succeed." John Kenneth Galbraith 'The Culture of Contentment'

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Socialism requires an authority capable of bending the knees of the people to the will of the state,” .

"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it".TS

 

[Truth Detector]

“Socialism requires an authority capable of bending the knees of the people to the will of the state,” .

"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it".TS

Spot on; but don't expect intellectually challenged liberals to comprehend the OBVIOUS.

 

[chink]

You know what else destroys a persons desire to do their best?

Nepotism...a cornerstone of the "free market" system.

A person works and works and works and busts their butt night after night after night.

They work nights and weekends and holidays and WHENEVER is necessary in order to shine, and their boss gives the promotion to the CEO's nephew.

Large state-owned behemoths need to have boards of directors appointed by the state, and as those large financial beasts lumber along, with all their subsidiaries, each requires connections with the state bureaucracy to secure lucrative contracts. Lack of competition breeds the need to be connected to the state, rather than to simply be better at doing business.

It is in this way that socialism breeds nepotism, because people in the employ of the state appoint their friends and relatives to positions that the state has influence over.