What's wrong with Socialism ?

china

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Jul 30, 2006
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I 've bin rich and I've bin poor.....rich is better .
If you are smart you depend on yourself not on your government ; no matter what country you live in.
 
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scratch

Senate Member
May 20, 2008
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Interesting poster and message.....lived with it for 40 yrs.
It's a dichotomous thing.
 

Scott Free

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May 9, 2007
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Socialism is a terrible cancer in the wallets of those who desire more than their fair share.

 

TenPenny

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Jun 9, 2004
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Socialism is a terrible cancer in the wallets of those who desire more than their fair share.


I would be careful tossing out phrases like, 'their fair share'.

To some, that means equal share, no matter what. To others, that means a fair share based on how much you work for it.
 

Nuggler

kind and gentle
Feb 27, 2006
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Socialism is a terrible cancer in the wallets of those who desire more than their fair share.



Good one, Scott.

To give my opinion to the thread question; nothing's wrong with socialism.

No doubt, living in China, one would be dealing daily with a government strong enough, and even predisposed to taking everything one has, should one not follow the party line.

The quote of Sophie Tuckers' about rich is better is a good'un though. No doubt true, and no doubt not original to "China", even though he did not see fit to use quotations, perhaps being naive enough to believe we would think him capable of original thought.



__________________________
 

scratch

Senate Member
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Another hour (no chance,right?) would have worked.

regards Nugg,
scratch
 

SirJosephPorter

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Nov 7, 2008
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There is nothing wrong with Socialism; there are aspects of Socialism that make very good sense (such as government looking after the poor, the disadvantaged etc.). Just as there are aspects of Capitalism that make very good sense (market competition, free enterprise, free trade etc.).

Both these philosophies are inimical, harmful if carried to excess. What works is the appropriate combination of the two, or Social Democracy, as is practiced in Europe and (to some extent) in Canada.

Unbridled Capitalism reigns supreme in USA and we see the result of it, with 40 million people without any kind of health insurance, the sub prime fiasco (banks loaned mortgages to high risk families, there was nobody to oversee the banks) etc.
 

darkbeaver

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Jan 26, 2006
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There is nothing wrong with Socialism; there are aspects of Socialism that make very good sense (such as government looking after the poor, the disadvantaged etc.). Just as there are aspects of Capitalism that make very good sense (market competition, free enterprise, free trade etc.).

Both these philosophies are inimical, harmful if carried to excess. What works is the appropriate combination of the two, or Social Democracy, as is practiced in Europe and (to some extent) in Canada.

Unbridled Capitalism reigns supreme in USA and we see the result of it, with 40 million people without any kind of health insurance, the sub prime fiasco (banks loaned mortgages to high risk families, there was nobody to oversee the banks) etc.

Gooday SJP, You seem an intelligent well adjusted asset to the species. Our present economic mess is the result of an imbalance of power, the rulers of our economies have never respected limits or regulation and care nothing about the people, their single purpose is to rule in perpetuity. So while it is or was perhaps politically correct to support market competition, free enterprise, and free trade as insturments that can provide a wider dispersal of wealth this is only the facade that hides the real purpose of those insturments which within the prevailing paradigm will never realize any progress save for those who control the capitalist economies. I offer the present dismal state of affairs as proof. We will never address inequalities while inequalites remain the survival techniques of the rulers. While 1% own 70 % of the assets of this planet I'll believe nothing that they say especially since promised change has been their constant drone for three-hundred years. While the solutions for redistribution remain to be developed and tried none will succeed while the bulk of the planets resources remain locked in the control of the wealthy, step one has always depended on control of that element of humanity.
 

Vereya

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Apr 20, 2006
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I 've bin rich and I've bin poor.....rich is better .
If you are smart you depend on yourself not on your government ; no matter what country you live in.

China, you are an older person than me, and from what you've posted here about your life, you are more experienced. But do you really believe, really-truly and in earnest, that you can be independent of your country's government? 8O

As for Socialism - I am old enough to remember it, and I am not impresed with what I remember.
 

china

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China, you are an older person than me, and from what you've posted here about your life, you are more experienced. But do you really believe, really-truly and in earnest, that you can be independent of your country's government?

No Vereya ,I don't believe so .

As for Socialism - I am old enough to remember it, and I am not impresed with what I remember.

Socialism?.....depressing .
 

Walter

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Jan 28, 2007
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Socialism has killed a lot of people in the last 100 years: Nazi Germany at least 6 million, Stalinist Russia at least 20-50 million, Pol pot's Cambodia 2 million, Mao's cultural revolution 40 million.
 

Walter

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Jan 28, 2007
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"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." - Winston Churchill

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic." - Joseph Stalin

"What was wrong with communism wasn't aberrant leadership, it was communism" - William F. Buckley, Jr.

"Renounce your consciousness and you become a brute" - Ayn Rand
 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
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No Walter, crazy dictators were responsible for that. Notice how you attribute a dictators name to most of those countries.
 

Praxius

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Dec 18, 2007
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All forms of government "Could" be used for some pretty good things, and they all have their pros and cons depending on your outlook in life.

But in the same breath, all it takes is one or two people who shouldn't get into power, who did, to screw up a good system and then whenever that form of government is brought back up, everybody always goes back to those who screwed it up for their own selfish agendas.

Socialism had some good points in history, but some screwed it up for the majority, but that's not to say that Democracy is perfect in any sense, as it has a plithora of flaws, corruption and many leaders have abused that system as well.

But the difference is that everybody puts "Democracy" right beside "Freedom" so they turn a blind eye to some of the very same actions that were taken in other forms of government and just blame those who were in power at the time, but very rarely ever brand Democracy as evil as Communism or Socialism based on those leaders' actions.

The thing I see as a difference between Socialism and Democracy (Or Capitalism in more detail), is that Democratic Capitalism divides the population through personal greed and advancement over others in the same population, which can lead to corruption, unfair situations, rich getting richer, poor getting poorer..... in other words, easier to control and manipulate.

Now if everybody was given fair and equal treatment, equal pay, equal benifits, equal opportunities (No matter what your background) then there is very little division between the population, because everybody is on the same playing level, which also could mean a much more united population.... so if and when the government does screw up or go corrupt, you have a bigger unified population against them who are all out for the same cause, rather then a select % that the problem affects.

As far as I see it, if you work or goto school, then you are contributing to scoiety, as every job is just as important as the next..... because somebody's gotta do it. If you're working in the sewers to make sure everybody else's live is a bit easier and you're getting paid peanuts compared to some guy who sits in an office all day and clicks a few keys on the keyboard every so often and gets paid thousands a week, then who's going to want to do the peanut job?

What about experience over another one for working longer? Should they get paid more? To me, given more responsibility and authority in your position due to experience should be enough..... along with more recognition for your efforts and experience should be enough..... considering in this situation, everybody is getting paid and earning equal ammounts, all your bills and needs are already covered.

Perhaps reward with more time off or a holiday with your family somewhere could work.

Just a thought.
 

Praxius

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Socialism has killed a lot of people in the last 100 years: Nazi Germany at least 6 million, Stalinist Russia at least 20-50 million, Pol pot's Cambodia 2 million, Mao's cultural revolution 40 million.

Much of that was Facism and Communism.... not to mention those in power were responsible for those situations, not the systems.

But as I see it, if a paticular system allows leaders to get away with a lot more then they should, then the system should be looked at and changed.

Don't forget, Canada has a few levels of socialism in our democracy, such as universal health care, etc.

To me, no one system as it currently stands is perfect, which is why I tend to focus on a hybred concept of them all (Take all the goods and get rid of all the bads)