ruveyn wrote:
1., Man is morally perfectible
Is this indeed a central tenet of liberalism? I suppose that the Conservative perspective is that man is not morally perfect, except by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior.
ruveyn wrote:
2. Centralized Political, Social and Economic power can be exercised without corruption
Corruption is an indelible part of the human condition.
ruveyn wrote:
3. Economies can be based on need rather than productivity
Economies are based on needs, aren't they? If you're producing something that no-one needs, then improvements in productivity will be a waste.
ruveyn wrote:
4. All but personal property can be socially collectivized. The failure of agriculture in the late an unlamented Soviet Union is clear disproof of this bit of wishful thinking. Farmers will cultivate best land that they own.
Or lease. Farms can be regarded as personal property. Were Israel's farming communes successful?
ruveyn wrote:
We have seen since the end of the 19th century the socialist economies simply cannot match the material performance of more or less capitalist (i.e. market based and private ownership) economies.
There was a time when the USA feared the advancing material performance of the Soviet economy.