When western and northern European countries have stock markets, private property laws, corporations, and spoiled brats and America has medicare, medicaid, and social security for the elderly and children, publicly owned schools and universities, GI Bills, student grants, subsidized loans, government regulation of industry, federally subsidized scientific research, unemployment insurance, overtime pay, 40 hour work weeks, environmental protection laws, food sanitation standards, work place safety, etc, etc, etc.
Conservatives like to pretend that it is either one or the other. The fact is most countries haved a mixed economy with both capitalist and socialist ideas. America happens to be plenty more on the socialist side then most third world countries. If you want to live in a country where the state has very little to do with the economy and pure capitalism is left unchecked, move to some primitive third world country. That is the closest you will get to "laisez-faire capitalism."
2007-03-20 19:24:18 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
g,
It's good to see some people who actually know what is going on. I have had to explain some pretty basic things on this board several times, like the Republican Party not always being synomymous with conservatism and the South and how Theodore Roosevelt being for workers rights, the environment, regulation of big busines, and for women's rights makes him a liberal/progressive, not a conservative.
2007-03-20 19:35:35 · update #1
Gabriel, apparently you just didn't get it.
I was making the point that America isn't truly capitalist and Europe isn't truly socialist. It is not black and white as conservatives would have you believe. Both America and Europe have mixed economies. The only difference is one of degree.
I said America is plenty more socialist then third world countries. Is Europe filled with third world countries? Didn't think so. So there's no reason for you to act like some arrogant asshole.
2007-03-20 19:46:02 · update #2
Its all about degree... of course capitalism isn't in the purest form in any country.
Taxes are a real measure of the level of socialism in a country. Try comparing those rates.
The poster below me seems to find it honorable to be a lazy worker and get everything handed to you for free.
He also forgets that Europe doesn't ever have to fight because they let America do all the fighting for them. Americans are to Europe as the Spartans were to Athens.
2007-03-20 19:27:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Is Europe Socialist
2016-11-07 07:06:52 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
What makes the U.S. capitalist and Europe socialist?
When western and northern European countries have stock markets, private property laws, corporations, and spoiled brats and America has medicare, medicaid, and social security for the elderly and children, publicly owned schools and universities, GI Bills, student grants, subsidized loans,...
2015-08-13 14:45:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You my friend is what they would call in the whole world a "brainwashed American". You haven't left this country in your whole life so all you know about the outside world is what you see on Fox news.
In Europe they have free schools (high school, college and university), free medicare (means you do not pay for medical services unless it's a complicated operation). Europe has even more social programs than US ever had and you just don't know it because you've never been there.
Why ? They spend much less money on war and spend them on social programs.
Travel a bit more and open your mind.
P.S. I am american so too bad if you give me a thumb down. It's the truth, deal with it.
P.P.S I forgot to add, besides having a 40 hrs/week schedule, they get 1 month vacation. Here you get 2 weeks and in 5 years you get to 4.
2007-03-20 19:29:11 · answer #4 · answered by gabriell_021 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
America has the second lowest taxes in the industrial world versus Sweden which has the highest taxes. France and many Scandinavians nations also have much higher taxes than the US. That's the one of the main differences.
However, Sweden isn't a socialist nation compared to Cuba or the Soviet Union.....they have a capitalism-socialism element....or a mixed economy.
2007-03-20 19:33:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think your definition is a little off. Capitalism is when society entrusts you with assets and if you can't manage those assets they are taken away. The distribution of all wealth, whether fair and equitable, or not, is the resulting fruit of government.
America needs a flat-tax for either onshore or offshore enterprise if it truly wants a "global" economy. America needs a meaningful mass transit system that doesn't burden the lower income population. America needs to finance its own adventures instead of selling paper promisary notes. The National Deficit clouds all definiton and all prediction of wealth.
2007-03-20 19:34:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
pretty much... we're much more socialist than "pure capitalism"... and Europe isn't pure socialist... as you say....
I don't think anyone would really want to live in 'pure capitalism'... I mean the Industrial Revolution was the reason Marx invented communism in the first place... because is was horrible...
most of the time, people discussing these issues don't really seem to have an overall grasp of the terms, where we are as a nation and where Europe is... they only see some black and white representaion of the situation, that isn't based in any fact, but in mere propaganda...
2007-03-20 19:30:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
How about we just shed the incorporated municipal blanket that covers this country in smothering fashion and find the "constitutional representative republic" that they seem to want to hide so badly? Everything else would pale in comparison if it were to be rediscovered(individually at first then unite in one voice to bring it about again). But i believe you may already know that. The fix already exists, WE as INDIVIDUALS and united as PEOPLE have the ABSOLUTE POWER to end this joke that has plagued our society tomorrow if we in fact just do it.
2007-03-20 19:57:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The USA respects private property rights much more than in Europe. Government here is not the "free ticket" to all essential services. In Europe, you have "Nanny States."
2007-03-20 19:39:52 · answer #9 · answered by Karole C 1 · 3⤊ 4⤋
When they say that, what people really mean is that European countries are democracies where the government does what is good for the people.
America is a plutocracy, where the government only does what is good for the rich.
2007-03-20 19:36:11 · answer #10 · answered by Longhaired Freaky Person 4 · 2⤊ 3⤋