About you.

[GeneCosta]

I'm interested in learning about other participants in this forum. I've gotten to know a lot of you these past few years, but there are still questions I would like to see answered. Why are you a socialist? What are your ideas (generic enough)? Who has cooler facial hair, Lenin or Marx?

[LittlePinky82]

Well Hugo Chavez inspired me to come to socialism and somehow or another I came across communism. I really admire the writings of Marx and found myself agreeing with a lot of what he had to say. Watching what has happened with Latin America and NAFTA/CAFTA has made me change a lot of my views from being a liberal democrat to a communist. Oh and I think Marx definitely has the cooler facial hair.

[pwsoldier]

Originally Posted by GeneCosta

Why are you a socialist?

I'm a working-class man from a working-class family. Like Pinky, I was a liberal Democrat for a while, but then I realized that the Democratic party is just as corrupt and incompetent as the Republican party. Also, they whine about a lot of dumb crap. So I started to read up on socialism and it just made sense to me in ways that no other ideology ever has.

What are your ideas (generic enough)?

Long story short, I'm a Marxist with anarcho-syndicalist tendencies. I believe in worker solidarity, social equality, and national self-reliance.

Who has cooler facial hair, Lenin or Marx?

Definately Marx.

[stephenw]

For me socialism followed from trade unionism. Like pwsoldier, I'm a working class fella, capitalism is never going to do it for me.
Lenins got the cooler beard. By a mile.

[Jaiket]

I've been a socialist of some degree since I was about 15. I'm not particularly philosophical about it. I think some things are best run socially (like roads, lighting, education, public transport, health etc) and that a communities resources should not be used to enrich a few people at the expense of others (gas, oil, etc). However I've come to understand that the typical capitalist response that private is more efficient is not always necessarily false as many socialists seem to believe. Neither am I able to accept that private enterprise is inherently dangerous to public welfare.

I was a member of the Scottish Socialist Party for a few years.

I think Marxism bollocks, but I must say Marx had a cracking beard.

[GeneCosta]

I generally agree with your sentiments Jaiket, although I'm not so harsh towards Marxism. I think markets are very enduring if it wasn't for the fact they're not really "free" when you have so much legal and de facto protection around the rich. I'm more of a mutualist parecon on the issue of big business. I'd rather see corporations replaced with democratic associations and have small businesses remain a wide variety of different experiments.

[Storm]

I don't know if I'm a socialist or not....

[GeneCosta]

Originally Posted by Storm

I don't know if I'm a socialist or not....

Why don't you put forward your ideas, particularly in relation to economics and democracy?

[Storm]

Well, I believe that the government should do more for the poor than it does. Trickle down economics is bs. I think schools especially need drastic reform, in the form of better funding, better qualified (and paid) teachers, and less reliance on standardized testing. I support universal healthcare.