Barracuda2020 wrote:
Right on point straight. Similarly I've said the same thing about finding a true socialist on the left, it doesn't exist in our capitalistic society, you can't get there from where we are. We are a society that's constantly wants the latest, newest and best, we constantly try to have more and better. We were brought up to inspire to improve our own status.
Unfortunately this mostly seems to be materialistically, but there you have it, can't have socialism with that attitude, with that philosophy. True socialism, they way they're thinking of it, it's never gonna happen here, and the only place it has happened is under a suppressive dictatorship and not by the will of the people. Therefore, as long as we secure the standing and integrity of our government, we're safe, and secure and that should always be our first priority, and we just have, by ridding ourselves of Trump and his circle.
Right on point straight. Similarly I've said the s... (
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Well... I was referring to the complete and utter lack of communists in the Democratic ranks. I'm not so sure I agree with the idea that we can't find any socialists among them though. Perhaps it all comes down to what we are actually calling socialism, which is why I appreciate you qualifying that when you said "True socialism,
the way they're thinking of it". That's always the catch in the "socialist argument"... what are we actually calling socialism?
I'm just going to run with this bro… (and I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know)… IMO, socialism is an economic philosophy that advocates public control over the means of production.
So, the question is… what does public control mean? I think that's the single-most important factor in differentiating between socialism that's good for America and socialism that's bad for America.
Yes, two kinds.
That's because socialism is an "economic" philosophy. We still need to implement an actual system and that's where we need a political philosophy, like democracy (so, pubic control = control by the democratic majority of citizens) or tyranny (public control = control by the asshole that thinks he can speak for the people.)
The Nazis implemented socialist economic policies but their political system for enforcement was tyrannical. That's what we Americans don't have any tolerance for. Bolshevism won't fly either because their political system was tyrannical too.
For the best example of socialism in a democratic system, honestly, I gotta go with the largest socialist system in the world - the American Republic, which includes the largest production of military might, funded by the public through government contracts that are themselves controlled by elected officers of the republic. Not even the private contractors change this because the private contractors ARE the means, not the control… the control in these cases would be the DoD… That's public control.
Socialism here, reaches deep down to the municipal levels, like first response systems, including police. If our police departments were not under public control we would not be hearing any citizens chanting to defund them. Private security companies like Pinkerton and Blackwater don't have that problem.
I think you're right on point when it comes to socialism the way they (assuming you mean conservative Americans) think of it. They view socialism as a Bolshevik regime and we certainly have no such advocates anywhere on the left so the term "socialism" in right-wing rhetoric usually only serves a derogatory purpose.
Personally, I like a mix… I think capitalism is better for things that people are willing to pay for and socialism is better for things people really don't want to pay for even though it may save lives.