Our American democracy is a mix of capitalization and socialism, correct?

Question

So it's worked great for 200+ years now. Would you change it one way or the other?
I see liberals on here claiming that conservatives want fascism in America, and conservatives claiming that liberals want the government to take control of everything - and neither accusation is honest nor true. Yes, there will always be those on the fringe that scream the loudest, but do they speak for the majority?

American Socialism - The use of taxes to pay for social programs, infastructure, and other projects that benefit the common good of the population....

Answer 1

Well said.

However--a point to keep in mind. Our system works because it evolves to meet changing conditions---our "mix" of capitalism and socialism is a radically different one than it was 75 or 100 or 150 years ago.

Change is itself a constant feature. The trick--which America has managed very well--is to strike a balance.

My point--be careful not to confuse the advocates of change that is part of what makes America work with the "fringes." And--its not always allthat easy to tell the difference! :)

Answer 2

The American School, also known as "National System", represents three different yet related things in politics, policy and philosophy. It was the American policy for many decades, waxing and waning in actual degrees and details of implementation.[1] Historian Michael Lind describes it as a coherent applied economic philosophy with logical and conceptual relationships with other economic ideas.[2]

It is the macroeconomic philosophy that dominated United States national policies from the time of the American Civil War until the mid-twentieth century[1][3][4][5][6][7][8] (after mercantilism and prior to Keynesian economics, it can be seen as a modified type of classical economics). It consisted of these three core policies:

protecting industry through selective high tariffs (especially 1861–1932) and some include through subsidies (especially 1932–70)
government investments in infrastructure creating targeted internal improvements (especially in transportation)
a national bank with policies that promote the growth of productive enterprises.[9][10][11][12]
It is a capitalist economic school based on the Hamiltonian economic program.[13] The American School of capitalism was intended to allow the United States to become economically independent and nationally self-sufficient. However, despite the "capitalist" label, the American School has been known to be more generous towards the working class than the British school. In realty American economic is a mixed system like Sweden and like Austrailia. Only idoits belive ricardos theory on trade. Marx and Smith are just polar opposites of Ricardos economic theory.

America is losing its industrail might because the goverment would have ply us with cheap imports rather than allow domestic producers to innovate to bring costs down that way.

Answer 3

Well we have to start by noting that we do not now nor have we ever, lived in a democracy; we live in a republic. Capitalism and socialism are economic systems and have nothing to do with the form of government. We are a primarily capitalist society with government oversight. We have a few programs that are socialistic in nature but these are limited and should remain as such. Our founding fathers would roll in their graves at the thought of this nation implementing more programs that force people into government dependency rather than aiding them to become more self sufficient.

Answer 4

Only if you redefine socialism.
The ancient Romans collected taxes and provided services, including relief for the poor. Were they socialists?

Socialism starts when a government begins to take over industries that are not performing well, such as the Airline industry - which France did, although they have privatized it back into a business.

We have a market based economy and NO socialism. The trend to declare services from the federal government as 'socialism' is a political maneuver.
It is being done to try to eliminate public spending and reduce taxes for the 'haves' and the 'have mores'. The breaking of 20th century social safety nets, and the reversal of the progressive tax structure is a long held goal of the core polity makers of the Republican party.

Buzz phrases such as "smaller government" and "social security investment return" and "fair tax:" and "tax simplification" all stand as evidence.

If we had socialism - AGAIN - the US government would take over poorly performing businesses instead of throwing tax money back at them when they get in trouble.

Answer 5

Yes. We can always do better. The problem seems to come about when some people or groups try to get out of paying their fair share. We all share the responsibility. I think generations in the past used to feel pride for helping out. It feels good. I feel so good when I give money to various charities. I want to give more. I don't mind paying taxes as long as things I care about are taken care of such as education, infrastructure, etc. The whole health care issue is a problem because the costs continue to rise exponentially and it's affecting all of us. The only ones it's not affecting is the people already receiving government assistance. Our politicians are given free health care that we pay for. Why shouldn't we get that? Hasn't government sponsored health care become a necessity since job security no longer exists?
That's one reason. We continue to lose industries that pay well. China's economy is booming but ours is stagnant. I think it's declining. We are in a dangerous or precarious position. Our politicians have failed us. Government is supposed to work for the people. (the majority) It's not at all. It's working for a select group of individuals who have a lot of wealth and power. Do you think they care about most people? They don't. They care about their bank accounts and their stuff. That's it. They are cold hearted and callous.

Answer 6

all Western systems of government - be it be in North |America Europe or Australia etc- all have 'mixed' economies i.e.mixed between public and private ownership.

the problem is globalization is trying to undermine the public side and the 'right' are mainly (although not always) trying to help it.
the public sector is being forced on the defensive -- along with national sovereignty and public accountability.

Answer 7

Socialism is the ownership of industry by the Government. We don't have that in the United States.

Democracy is a political system, while capitalism and socialism are economic systems. So, democracy cannot be a mixture of capitalism and socialism.

EDIT: Your definition of socialism would include every country in the world. It is not a definition of "socialism", it is a definition of "government."

Answer 8

No, the majority of America is pretty moderate, which is a good thing. The idea is that compromise works best. The current set of partisan warfare is more destructive for our people than anything else.

Answer 9

To "oooohbrother" - I have to disagree with you. We definitely have elements of Socialism in America.

How do you classify hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars given to successful businesses?

Answer 10

capitaliSm and socialism partly yes