What is socialism?

Robo said:
What is socialism?




Well, dictionary.com says,




socialism

. [soh-shuh-liz-uh?m]

ExamplesWord OriginSee more synonyms for socialism on Thesaurus.com

noun

. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.




Well then that means that a “democratic government” being the representation of the “community,” or even a “dictatorship government” claiming to be the representative of the community as a whole is actually a “socialist” operation. In short, socialism by definition is “government” and government by definition is “socialism.”




Government “owns” the “means”, makes the laws, that “control” the “means” of “production” and “distribution.” Break the government’s laws regarding the means of production and you’ll very soon find out who “OWNS” the means of production, right? Examples: Pot, gambling, business and corporation regulations, “HEALTHCARE.”






OK, now that we’ve proven what socialism is, where does capitalism fit in? Well let’s see what the dictionary says “capitalism” is.




capitalism

. [kap-i-tl-iz-uh?m]

ExamplesWord OriginSee more synonyms for capitalism on Thesaurus.com

noun

. an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

OK then “capitalism” is actually businesses and investments who & where have by law the majority of control over the means of production and distribution as opposed to the government’s control over such.




I find it a hard press to find anyplace on the globe that Actually has such a system that can honestly be called “capitalism.” True capitalism is a myth. The majority control/ownership of, and distribution of anything and everything, everywhere is determined by the amount of freedom to own and distribute everything and anything by a socialist government.




So, capitalism in short is only determined by degree. How capitalist is your country? How much freedom, (what degree), of freedom does your government allow you and your neighbors and the leaders of industry to own and distribute what you/they produce without government interference? How socialist is the healthcare you’re getting? How much freedom of choice do you have? If your government mandates a single payer healthcare system how much freedom of choice will you have? How “SOCIALIST “ will you admit your healthcare is?
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It is something that no sane person wants anything to do with. It is also something that has failed spectacularly everywhere it's been tried. Democratic believe it has done so only because THEY haven't tried it yet. They actually believe they can make it work. That is the definition of insanity.
 
Grugore said:
It is something that no sane person wants anything to do with. It is also something that has failed spectacularly everywhere it's been tried. Democratic believe it has done so only because THEY haven't tried it yet. They actually believe they can make it work. That is the definition of insanity.
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The Scandinavian countries certainly work.. and they are clean , beautiful, happy and prosperous. Have you ever been to Norway, Denmark, Sweden etc?
 
Robo said:
So then by your own definitions, publically traded businesses on the markets are “publically owned” and thereby according to you “SOCIALISM,” right?

I disagree! The only part you have right is the fact “The People,” i.e. “The Public, are actually “The Government” i.e. “A government of and by the people.” The companies themselves are not social-“ism.” Social-“ism,” is simply an ideology. They’re simply publically owned operations under the control of a government “ideology” of “socialism.” The people/government own the means of production and distribution. That’s what socialism does.

A capitalist business is solely owned by an individual or individuals citizen or citizens not traded at a “public” market place. Even a “mostly” capitalist company governed by government regulations is controlled by “the IDEOLOGY” of socialism and thereby in a sense owned by the government who actually controls its production and distribution to a “DEGREE.”

Socialism just like capitalism are ideologies. Each play a roll of some degree in virtually every nation on earth.
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No. Just because a business is publicly traded does not make it government because it is still privately owned. The government does not own and operate a corporation because its stock is publicly traded. Public does not necessarily mean government. Regulation is not the same as socialism because the government imposes the regulations.
 
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kudzu said:
The Scandinavian countries certainly work.. and they are clean , beautiful, happy and prosperous. Have you ever been to Norway, Denmark, Sweden etc?
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An extensive welfare system is not the same as socialism. Most of those nations are primarily capitalist because most businesses are privately owned. Sweden, for example, got rich from capitalism and used a lot of that wealth for social welfare programs.
 
montgomery said:
Robo:

America is the definition of big government and it's the most capitalist of all the world's capitalist countries. Be careful about starting a discussion in which the people will start thinking!

Do you know of any socialist countries to compare with the US? Any of those country's leaders to compare to America's president?
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The US isn't a capitalist country. There is no free market here.
 
Robo said:
What causes you to believe I'd defend the United States government as anything else except over bloated and corrupt? Government is socialist force by definition and not just corrupt by its very nature it's also socialist thugery. Our founders understood that and that's why they gave us our Constitution, that our government has violated, bastardized and trashed even before the ink was dry. What's left of it is our only saving grace, FOR NOW!
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The constitution was a power grab to force people to pay taxes.
 
Trigger Happy said:
It's simple Capitalism is all about I.
Socialism is all about we.
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That's succinct...individualism vs collectivism. Unfortunately for the collectivists' viewpoint, if you destroy the sanctity of the freedom of the individual, you've defeated the purpose of any "greater good" you might have imagined. One cannot achieve good by doing bad.
 
Grugore said:
It is something that no sane person wants anything to do with. It is also something that has failed spectacularly everywhere it's been tried. Democratic believe it has done so only because THEY haven't tried it yet. They actually believe they can make it work. That is the definition of insanity.
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Do you believe you have some version of government that will "work?" Do you think, "If we can just get the right people in there...?" Or, are you an anarchist?
 
Anarchon said:
That's succinct...individualism vs collectivism. Unfortunately for the collectivists' viewpoint, if you destroy the sanctity of the freedom of the individual, you've defeated the purpose of any "greater good" you might have imagined. One cannot achieve good by doing bad.
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You can't have a population like our world without government
 
Trigger Happy said:
We are everyone else from the capitalist I.
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But everyone has many different values, interests, opinions, policy preferences. There is no "common good" for all. If everybody pursues their own self interest the interests of everyone are met; otherwise, someone else is deciding for you. Those working for government are concerned about their own self-interests as much as those working in private industry.
 
Flash said:
But everyone has many different values, interests, opinions, policy preferences. There is no "common good" for all. If everybody pursues their own self interest the interests of everyone are met; otherwise, someone else is deciding for you. Those working for government are concerned about their own self-interests as much as those working in private industry.
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1% ruling 99% doesn't fly anymore!
 
Flash said:
But everyone has many different values, interests, opinions, policy preferences. There is no "common good" for all. If everybody pursues their own self interest the interests of everyone are met; otherwise, someone else is deciding for you. Those working for government are concerned about their own self-interests as much as those working in private industry.
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Humans have agree on some rules since the hunter-gatherers.
 
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