1. He's not a socialist. He might of approve of some socialist practices, but he is not a socialist.
2. The problem I have with socialism is that I think it's anathema to human nature. The idea of putting the needs of the many over those of the few goes against our desire to be better than everyone else. As such, in a socialist systrm it would only be a matter of time before the system gets corrupted and it reverts back to a rat race anyway
That aside, I don't have anything against socialism, personally. It's one of those "gee, that'd sure be nice to see" things.
Originally posted by inimalist
to be fair: "are Obama's policies effective" and "is Obama a socialist" are two different questions.
That is true. Rather he is a socialist or not doesn't matter to me. I would be happy with a effective socialist, as long as that means the economy is in good shape. Ideology aside, I need to pay the mortgage and put food on the table.
Originally posted by Omega Vision
Alright, so here's what I'm asking.1) Why is Obama a socialist?
2) Why is socialism bad (and don't bring up strawmans that confute socialism with totalitarianism/communism)?
It's interesting people think socialism is bad. It isn't that bad. Free education, for example, police, firemen, general emergency services, benefits for the disabled and such are all socialist policies.
I don't believe these are bad at all. (health care is an issue which Americans disagree on, but from the European perspective, since that's free, it's also socialist).
Par contrast, China claims it's a communist country, yet healthcare there isn't free.
Mix and match of sorts, really.
Originally posted by lil bitchiness
It's interesting people think socialism is bad. It isn't that bad. Free education, for example, police, firemen, general emergency services, benefits for the disabled and such are all socialist policies.I don't believe these are bad at all. (health care is an issue which Americans disagree on, but from the European perspective, since that's free, it's also socialist).
Par contrast, China claims it's a communist country, yet healthcare there isn't free.
Mix and match of sorts, really.
Originally posted by lil bitchinessi think one source of confusion is that everyone seems to use their own definition of socialism.. especially here in america where the term has essentially been turned into sort of a taboo with which one can selectively demonize certain uses of government money, whilst supporting some of the more basic services you listed above. i personally like the idea of a government/society which collectively provides those services, including healthcare.
It's interesting people think socialism is bad. It isn't that bad. Free education, for example, police, firemen, general emergency services, benefits for the disabled and such are all socialist policies.I don't believe these are bad at all. (health care is an issue which Americans disagree on, but from the European perspective, since that's free, it's also socialist).
Par contrast, China claims it's a communist country, yet healthcare there isn't free.
Mix and match of sorts, really.
other people link socialism to the more fundamental idea of social ownership of the means of production, which is an experiment i'm not particularly confident in.
but i do think there is some practical value in trying to educate and uplift the masses through a proper infrastructure. i don't believe competition can be removed from the equation, but i do think you can improve competitiveness through direct investment.
A good laugh. Mostly facepalms
1. Obama is not a Socialist. He embraces the Corporatist policies of Lemon Socialism (the government financially prompting up industries and brands with no merit such as big banks) and the concept of wealthy people and artificial people privatizing profits while socializing losses. In other words, just another conservative douchebag proving that the Democrats haven't run a good viable candidate in a general election since 1972.
2. Socialism is bad because it is an inefficient extreme, just like free market capitalism. Socialism stifles innovation and can lead to disasters via central planning, not to mention a lack of consumer choice. However, two flavors of socialism-Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy (depending on the nation) are ideal forms of government as they provide the freedoms of liberalism with the protections of socialism. A free democratic society pays high taxes resulting in high purchasing power, high wages, universal services, the diminishing of importance, though not the elimination of class along with entrepreneurial opportunity for all along with greater self-determination as economic restrictions in education and health care are eliminated.