Why doesn't socialism work?

#2321. I thought you were referring to Swedes in the EU. You were referring to nationalized programs such as the NHS which are demonstrably not successful at delivering healthcare.

 

You gonna reply to this one??

 

Did they break the law to get more money than someone else?? Did they steal it??

No, they did not.

So what you are saying is "life isn't fair", and to make things right in your view, you want to illegally empower the government to steal from them and give to someone else??

How generous of you - with other peoples money and property

Sowell was a student of Friedman, and their views are very similar. I'm equally a fan of Friedman.

I haven't seen you say anything that would lead me to believe you subscribe to anything Friedman taught.

 

Most of the time, yes. Accessing the footnotes in an article is a good idea.

It's unfortunate Sanders is the face of the left in this country. Same for Corbyn in the UK. Both of those guys are brick tossers; not so with...


Mette Frederiksen - PM Denmark

The Reagan tax cuts and dismantling of labor unions were the real start of the decline of the American middle class.

 

What decline of the middle class ???

 

This pandemic is one more example of a constantly rising number of issues that are global in nature, & that can't be solved by local or even national level governments. Global warming is another. I would add issues revolving around many new internet questions that cross national borders. To address this growing list of issues, all of us need to become more socially conscious & more willing to work for the betterment of us all together rather than simply for ourselves alone. I don't see this trend as a choice, but a necessity. It's not approaching us, it's here. As a liberal, I'm comfortable with it. But conservatives are struggling with feeling forced to become compassionate with the lives & well being of others around them. I see that struggle even here on this forum. Globalism forces us to become more socialistic in our thinking & our behaviors toward others. Many on this forum regard globalism as the enemy. But in truth, our world is already far down the road into globalism. Our economies are completely integrated into one another. The Internet is a core product & promoter of globalism. I often think of the paradox created by conservatives attacking globalism but doing it on this forum, which is itself a product of the Internet, & by default, globalist. Amazon.com or Ebay.com are globalist in nature, & many more new Internet businesses are added every day. For the first time in human history we can carry on conversations with other individuals located anywhere in the world, without having to go thru barriers such as passports, or special permissions from government or other agencies. That makes us see foreigners as people like us, reducing all the man-made divisions causing conflicts so prominent throughout human history. This offers hope of a more peaceful future. Perhaps the main source of conflict now & in the near future will come from those who oppose globalization without realizing it's already here & they are themselves an active part of it.

I agree that Bernie's "Democratic Socialism" isn't pure socialism based on the original theory, but it is one better. It is positive, uplifting, compassionate, empowering, in service to all, & a huge improvement over the divisive, self-serving capitalism we endure now. Bernie himself is a historic also-ran, but his ideas are the wave of our future. I hope they come sooner than later.

 

So someone can make a completely false statement, and doesn't need to back it when questioned? Have you even looked at the responses of the other poster involved?

When a poster makes a false claim, it is the responsibility of that poster to validate his statement.

Perhaps you need a quick lesson in debate etiquette.

 

Where have you been over the past few years? While the wealthiest among us have had gigantic increases in income--sometimes 30-40%--the middle & working classes have endured stagnant wages or shrinking incomes, coupled to huge increases in daily stress & depression. Your post is really out of touch.

 

You're perpetrating a fraud. Marxist-Leninists invariably implement collective ownership of the means of production.

 

Who are these Marxist-Leninists? Crikey, even your language borrows from old hatted McCarthyism.

Those that celebrate the Soviet Union are irrelevant. Marxism's only value is in understanding the inefficiencies within capitalism. We see that with how Marxism is combined with Austrian Economics to demonstrate the feasibility of market socialism. Feck all to do with the Soviet Union!

 

I didn't think to specify, but in my own head I was thinking generally of all the incredible benefits enjoyed by Europeans over Americans, in terms of paid vacations, access to healthcare, access to child care, access to free or low cost education, available help for anyone facing temporary economic crises, etc. I know there are problems with any program or system, but that's just part of being human. Most of those problems are solvable & don't necessitate the abandonment of the programs or the system underlying them. Anyone can always find faults or failures connected to anything. That doesn't imply they are complete failures. Everything is open to improvement.

 

The low and middle income quintiles are not losing ground. Their standards of living continue to improve.

What stress and depression ??? Are you talking about the Obama years ???

 

Just saying .. no it isn't. Socialised doesn't mean Govt provided.

 

The EU economic growth rates are extremely low, taxation rates are much higher, and the unemployment rates are much higher that the US. The countries of the EU are rolling back their welfarism because of this.

Access to healthcare care is not better than the US. Covering everyone by taxing everyone is not the same as caring for them. Wait times are much higher in the EU and Canada.

 

It’s funded by the government whose funding is limited. Therefore healthcare is effectively rationed.

 

Still not true, unless you're talking about non-profit subsistence 'production'.

 

Who owns (and/or controls) the business, is irrelevant. If it's business for profit, it's capitalism.

 

Actually it isn't. There is no limit to how much treatment any of us can have. As long as it's medically necessary (ie, not cosmetic, convenience, or lifestyle related).

 

Wouldn't it be horrible to have a 6 week paid vacation and daycare and healthcare and cheap college and great infrastructure? You people are brainwashed. Every other modern country manages that just fine and they are much happier than we are. They can't believe what idiots we are. Meaning the GOP. But you bring us all down.... Trump has about 15% approval in the rest of the modern Rich world. Russians love him.... Brainwashed functional morons....

 

Drivel! The market isn't capitalism. It is merely a means to avoid the problems of distributed knowledge.

 

Ahhh ... now we get to the source of this obsession (hatred of) with English speakers. You learned a non-English language and now you're working it for every last centime.

Given the current state of the world, Brexiteers (and "redneck preppers") are turning out to have been vastly more intelligent than the movement-obsessed globalists.

 

Sure it isn't. Enterprise and profit etc ... nothing to do with capitalism.

 

Of course there is. The rate of spending is adjusted to match the rate budgeted by wait times. Wait times are further increased by the lack of medical equipment.

 

Profits however determine the distribution of resources. Resources do not flow to unprofitable companies. That’s creative destruction.

 

Capitalism is based on accumulation. The idea that aspiration is something capitalist specific is cretinous. I appreciate that supply siders like you do not know any credible economics, but have a word with yourself!