Can Socialism save America, why hang on to Capitalism?

[Rainbow Mage]

Well what do you think? Would Socialism be better then what we have now? I think it would

 

[Sunstone]

I firmly believe we should continue our current socialist programs under which economic risk is socialized but economic gains are private.

 

[dust1n]

I firmly believe we should continue our current socialist programs under which economic risk is socialized but economic gains are private.

Costs are socialized.. profits are not.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Not as long as I walk this planet.

 

[Sunstone]

I'm for a mixed socialist/capitalist economy. Some things, like the military, should be socialized. Other things, like toys, should be privatized.

 

[Smoke]

Not as long as I walk this planet.

YouTube - I'm Batman

 

[MSizer]

I think history has all but proven a mixed system of socialism and capitalism tends to be the most fair.

 

[Sunstone]

I think history has all but proven a mixed system of socialism and capitalism tends to be the most fair.

Not just fair, but most effective, too.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Equal work = equal pay.
Equal opportunity for everyone
Level playing field
Higher education available to everyone who is willing to learn.

On the other hand, able bodied people who refuse to work should receive nothing more than three hots and a cot.

 

[Sunstone]

Equal work = equal pay.
Equal opportunity for everyone
Level playing field
Higher education available to everyone who is willing to learn.

I agree. But I think the US is operating very far from those ideals right now.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

Once you take away the reward one earns by going the extra mile, a civilization will merely exist. There will be no advancement and no real joys. Life would be much like an old person who is afraid to leave their house. They do it only as needed for groceries and such. They have no entertainment. They don't even watch TV anymore. They exist just to exist. Aside from what is needed for survival, nothing else seems to have a point anymore.

 

[T-Dawg]

Once you take away the reward one earns by going the extra mile, a civilization will merely exist. There will be no advancement and no real joys. Life would be much like an old person who is afraid to leave their house. They do it only as needed for groceries and such. They have no entertainment. They don't even watch TV anymore. They exist just to exist. Aside from what is needed for survival, nothing else seems to have a point anymore.

And this has what to do with socialism?

 

[Sunstone]

Once you take away the reward one earns by going the extra mile, a civilization will merely exist. There will be no advancement and no real joys. Life would be much like an old person who is afraid to leave their house. They do it only as needed for groceries and such. They have no entertainment. They don't even watch TV anymore. They exist just to exist. Aside from what is needed for survival, nothing else seems to have a point anymore.

Who says socialism takes away rewards. The best cop in town still gets a medal and a pay raise for his superior performance, doesn't he? And that's true eventhough cops are socialized. So why do you think it is necessary to take away incentives and rewards under a socialist system?

 

[Adramelek]

So long as there is freedom to persue one's goals in life and to work towards personal wealth with the least amount of government interference, so long as there is always freedom of speech and religion, and the right to bear arms, so long as individual liberty is the prime directive, a socialist/capitalist government is ok with me.

 

[Mathematician]

If socialism entails more democratic and efficient organs of government, and us doing away with the Taylorist corporate model in favor of more cooperative ventures, then I register my support.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Put me down as a Hell No!

 

[Alceste]

On the other hand, able bodied people who refuse to work should receive nothing more than three hots and a cot.

lol - you radical pinko you. I think you've inadvertently strayed off the right-wing platform. Three hot meals and a cot would be a dramatic improvement on the current social safety net in the US.

 

[Reverend Rick]

lol - you radical pinko you. I think you've inadvertently strayed off the right-wing platform. Three hot meals and a cot would be a dramatic improvement on the current social safety net in the US.

I'm sorry, but if I ran across these folks, I would put them up at the motel and order Pizza.

 

[Alceste]

I'm sorry, but if I ran across these folks, I would put them up at the motel and order Pizza.

That's very generous of you, but what about tomorrow and the day after that? The reason people suggest that the government handle the administrative details of distributing "three meals and a cot" is that these folks need sustained, reliable support that is not completely dependent on whether or not a generous millionaire happens to be passing by. Particularly since generous millionaires have a pronounced tendency not to frequent the undersides of bridges and the pee-stained urban alleyways where families like these live, preferring instead to stick to their privately policed gated communities.

If you've spend any time hanging about with homeless people, you'll notice that the vast majority of moneyed individuals will cross the street to avoid them. Nobody's offering them a pizza and a night in a motel. Most people treat the homeless as if they are invisible. The government may not be perfectly efficient for this job, but they sure beat the pants off the alternative.

Take this for example...

BBC News - Good Samaritan left to die on pavement in New York

A homeless man, who was stabbed after coming to a woman's aid, was left to die as people walked past him lying in the street in New York.



Police said at least 25 people walked past Alfredo Tale-Yax as he bled to death on the pavement.



It was an hour and a half before somebody tried to rouse him and contacted the emergency services.

 

[Classicus]

Socialism is a good thing.
But many Americans tend to confuse it with Communism.