who else thinks that socialism is a good thing?

Question

For those of you who do not think it is a good thing, explain why you think that equality for everyone is a bad thing?
Why would you care if someone else got paid the same as you?

Why is it that fighter fighters, and soldiers cant get paid as much as some fat lazy rich guy in his own office eating donuts all day cant get paid as much as the lazy guy?
Well if you support your troops then support and pay them more, after all, they give up there lives to protect you, same with firer fighters and other risky jobs.

Most low paying jobs are harder than easy office type jobs/doctors/ and especially those councilors who make over $500 each visit, all they do is ask you how you are feeling and give you advise. That's it but they get paid so much more than someone who works very hard every day just to be able to afford to pay bills and put food on the table for there family.
Why?

You say that it is bad because you are afraid of them having as much as you?

Damn rich people and there fancy cars!
You don’t need 15 sports cars, or to buy stuff just because you can!
That is ridiculous, especially when there are people who die and work harder than their lazy azses but get paid so much less.

Answer 1

Democratic socialism is the way to go because as Trotsky said socialism needs Democracy like the human body needs oxygen.
Socialism doesn't have to end in communism. Socialist Democrats have a long tradition of opposing communism.

12. Democratic socialism is an international movement for freedom, social justice and solidarity. Its goal is to achieve a peaceful world where these basic values can be enhanced and where each individual can live a meaningful life with the full development of his or her personality and talents and with the guarantee of human and civil rights in a democratic framework of society.

13. Freedom is the product of both individual and cooperative efforts - the two aspects are parts of a single process. Each person has the right to be free of political coercion and also to the greatest chance to act in pursuit of individual goals and to fulfil personal potential. But that is only possible if humanity as a whole succeeds in its long-standing struggle to master its history and to ensure that no person, class, sex, religion or race becomes the servant of another.

14. Justice and Equality. Justice means the end of all discrimination against individuals, and the equality of rights and opportunities. It demands compensation for physical, mental and social inequalities, and freedom from dependence on either the owners of the means of production or the holders of political power.

Equality is the expression of the equal value of all human beings and the precondition for the free development of the human personality. Basic economic, social and cultural equality is essential for individual diversity and social progress.

Freedom and equality are not contradictory. Equality is the condition for the development of individual personality. Equality and personal freedom are indivisible.

15. Solidarity is all-encompassing and global. It is the practical expression of common humanity and of the sense of compassion with the victims of injustice. Solidarity is rightly stressed and celebrated by all major humanist traditions. In the present era of unprecedented interdependence between individuals and nations, solidarity gains an enhanced significance since it is imperative for human survival.

16. Democratic socialists attach equal importance to these fundamental principles. They are interdependent. Each is a prerequisite of the other. As opposed to this position, Liberals and Conservatives have placed the main emphasis on individual liberty at the expense of justice and solidarity while Communists have claimed to achieve equality and solidarity, but at the expense of freedom.

Answer 2

Not me. Advocates of "socialism" make the same mistake as the right wihg that advocates "prue capitalism." In either case, they assume that an economic/political system can be either/or. And that is not the case. A more or less "pure" capitalist economy is unstable (to see why, read Alfred Chandler, "the Visible Hand"). And no "prue" (more or less) socialist system has worked--they are, uniformely, failures. Just look at the historical record.

What works is a mixture--one in which social programs, policies, and to an extent, participation in the productive sector balance out the innovation and entrepreneurship of the capitalist system. Corporations are notoriiously unreliable at providing social services, for example--even when they may be willing to do so (e.g. the "welfare capitalism of the 1920s eroded in the Depression because firms were unable to maintain social programs and survive the economic upheaval). Some elements of an industrial economy, furthermore, are vital (e.g. roads) but aren't the kind of thing tha tcan be effectively dealt with by market forces (as in the US, again. efforts to put roads primarily into the private sector were fruitless and eventually abandoned for a system of government ownership and operation of this component of the industrial economy).

Various countries have differing emphasis and different"mixes." Swedan, for exampe, has far more social services than the US--but has maintained a strong and innovative private sector as well. France has done much the same--but less effectively and is lagging further and further behind as a result. China has achieved economic growth only by dumping the socialist economic model entirely--their "communism" exist now in name only, and in the continued hold of a few on the political sphere (its still a dictatorship, thugh that is fated to change).

"Socialism" in the sense you mean is a chimera-as is "laissez-faire capitalism." Every industrial society ends up being a mix--or it fails as an industrial society.

Answer 3

James, the history of CPS is filled with horror stories. I just can't recall either the book or author printed in the late 80s, anyway, it can't be too difficult to find if you search. It's about the CPS racket. You'll discover gems like how more children are physically harmed in CPS-approved foster homes than in their natural setting. I think initiating physical harm against people is a crime. It should be the job of a professional police investigator to determine the facts, not some kid with a Liberal Arts or Sociology degree.

Answer 4

Its really the freedom to choose your own path. If everyone got paid the same nobody would want to strive to be better than anyone else. Would you force everyone to work the exact same hours / go to the same schools / decide what people can and cannot wear / take away freedom of expression? The fact is socialism degrades competition and destroys individualism so that everyone is just a drone of the government. If you still think socialism is great, I dare you to read 1984 or Brave New World and tell me that Big Government is a good idea.

Answer 5

If you worked hard to get to the position financially where you could afford the 15 sports cars. but then someone told you that you dont need that much money they are going to take 14 of them away from you and give the money to someone else would you continue to work to earn that amount of money.
Or would you then decide it wasnt worth it to work that hard anymore you would just work hard enough to afford the one car since thats was all you would be allowed to keep anyway.

Socialism punishes people like this and rewards mediocrity, or something below mediocrity even. And that is why I would care if someone was getting paid the same as me as per your question. If they didnt earn it then why should they get it.



people do not get those 500 dollar a visit paychecks without putting in years of work to get to that point and incurring themselves a big education debt often enough.

I am certainly not saying things like firefighters, military, police officers, teachers etc... yes their wage ought to be often better than it is.

Answer 6

We didn't get to be the most powerful nation in the world by giving stuff to people who don't earn it. There is a reason that I make more than most of America. I'm smarter, more educated, and I work harder. I'll be damned if I'm giving it to some lazy bum who doesn't want to work as hard as I have just so we can all be equal. Actions have consequences, as does inaction. Money comes from somewhere, and that somewhere is hard work and ingenuity, and that has nothing to do with socialism.

Answer 7

If I enter the workforce knowing I will get paid the same amount as everyone else, what motivation will I have to excel at my work, to provide great service, or move up the career ladder? With everyone getting paid the same, there is no competition and no reward for doing your work well. Such an economy cannot survive. Review the history of the USSR for more information.

At the same time, monopolies can be just as destructive if people don't have an equal OPPORTUNITY to excel in their work. Government regulation is needed in this area to keep competition in place even among the most wealthy elite.

Answer 8

The problem with explaining socialism to most Americans is that they will NEVER grasp the concept that the things they have "worked" for and "earned" would not have been possible except for the labor of countless millions of fellow Americans who did not cash in as well---due to lack of education, being born the wrong color, not having the right connections, not getting any parent's money, not stealing it, etc..

I wish I had a magic wand to make all the garbage truck collectors disappear along that row of McMansions for a few weeks, just so the yuppie punks could see how we are all indeed dependent on each other and how there is nothing wrong with spreading some wealth around for the common and mutual benefit of the whole.

But the concept of "trickle-down" economics is NOT foreign to most Americans.

This concept, championed by Reagan, is very "anti-socialistic".

The way Trickle Down works is that a very few people gorge themselves at the table until they can hardly move, and then they scoop the leftovers into the table cloth, (along with the silverware) and carry that off.

If they drop anything, that's YOURS.

How come YOU weren't invited to this party?

Because you are a dumb schmuck.

Answer 9

Socialism is not a good thing, it's a cop out. An example would be, if you needed brain surgery would you want a person working at mcDonalds for $6.00 an hour doing it or a Doctor that is making $600.00 an hour doing it? The other solution would be to pay the person at McDonalds $600.00 an hour to flip burgers, but the price of burgers would be a lot higher. If you want more, work more, or get a higher paying job.

Answer 10

Millions of dead Russians(if they could speak) would tell you that socialism sucks. Imagine what things would be like here if the government decided to run the food supply(we need food more than we need health care). The differences in wages provides an incentive for people to improve their lives.

We have an all volunteer military. They knew what the pay was before they signed up, nobody forced them. They enlisted for many different reasons, but for only one purpose, and that would be to safeguard our way of life.