Hey kids: Don't be a sucker for socialism

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a) Sweden isn't really socialist, they're a mixed economy with significant influence from social democracy.
b) Shh, we can't have examples of left-wing success, we only talk about failures otherwise those crazy commies will start to make other people question if pure capitalism isn't the path to utopia and freedom.

Basically, idealized systems like capitalism or socialism work great in theory, but in the real world economics is far more complicated and everywhere on earth, from North Korea to the US to Sweden has a 'mixed economy' that combined mercantilist, socialist and capitalist ideas. Further, given all the various strains of capitalism and socialism one can't even reasonably describe what a 'pure' form of either would resemble if actually implemented.

I have always had an issues with command economies. Often command economies are to idealistic. Command economies such as socialism experience a deadweight loss. There are benefits and cons to each and every economic system. In a socialist economy I would be concerned about innovation, or rather the lack of innovation.

Edit: Disregard Command Economy. A better
term could be controlled.

Last edited by Oroborus on 18 Jun 2017, 2:36 am, edited 2 times in total.

Socialism doesn't require a command economy though, there's a number of ideologies that are described as 'market socialism'. Leninist socialism often makes the argument that the state owns 'the means of production' and therefore can't not be managing in the people's interest, whereas one could argue that if the means of production are privately owned, but with the entities that own them were democratically self-managed by their employees that would allow for a form of socialism with far less state-intervention than you see in 'social democratic inspired mixed economies' (like Sweden) or in Leninist 'deformed worker's states/state capitalism'.

Further even capitalism has command economies on a smaller scale, every business is effectively a command economy unto it's own.

You do make a fair point. I should of used better terminology. I presumably was thinking about a specific type of socialism.

That's fair, other than the kibbutz movement most socialism as practised has been either the 'social democratic inspired mixed economies' flavour or the Leninist 'deformed worker's states/state capitalism' flavour.

(sarc) But, it's not real socialism. Let's try it, again.

My stance on socialism is that it can work if it's put into use properly. If the bare necessity is provided to those who need it like shelter, food, power and public transportation then I'm all for it. But luxurious things is what people have to earn such as a new car, a bigger house, xbox, or anything that people don't need but have a desire to obtain.

It's never the "real" one.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_LKH0HUMAARDVR.jpg

I think I would modify this relationship, slightly, to portray corporate welfare and social welfare as a viscous circle, or shell, in which the forever-failing, social contract shields the banking interest from scrutiny. Whose fault is it.

Neither crony capital nor the poorer kind of beggar are living on terms of their own choosing. They are not culpable, except for being useful idiots.

'If You Are Not a Liberal at 25, You Have No Heart. If You Are Not a Conservative at 35 You Have No Brain'...
Always loved that quote...<chuckle>
Someone should tell it to the Brits...

What I personally love about said quote is how mentions political conformity. Political conformity is somewhat of a pain. If you disect the quote you come to the understanding of individuality, especially in terms of politics.

Funny quote, funnier still when you consider how often it's misquoted. An older, more correct version is:

He who is not a républicain at twenty compels one to doubt the generosity of his heart; but he who, after thirty, persists, compels one to doubt the soundness of his mind.”

It's of French origin, possibly from or regarding Edmund Burke.

As attributed to Victor Hugo:

“If a man is not a republican at twenty, it is because he has no heart, and if he is one at forty, it is because he has no brains.”

Mixed, as in "Angry Foreigner" and "Sweden, yes."

Corbyn scares me. he bribed the students to follow his crazy plans.

https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status ... lang=en-gb

Food shopping in Venezuela under late-stage socialism: Highway mob forces sugar truck off the road with a Molotov cocktail, ransacks truck, steals all the sugar.

What scares me is the idea of children having the vote...
Don't quote me but I think it was suggested over here that 16 years olds should have the right...
You'd have a PS4 in every room in every household but the country would be broke...

They made a movie decades ago about the under 30s gaining political power...legislating putting LSD in the water supply(?)...
These days it would be ecstasy...
And don't talk about Logan's Run where they terminated anyone hitting 30...
Fright night move over...