Is Socialism really such a bad thing?

Socialism on the face of it as fair as any other economic principle. The problem lies in the implementation of the same. Unfortunately, people look at Socialism and Communism as one and the same thing. The answer is that they are different. Socialism talks about looking at things with a social thought process. So things like Healthcare and Education which are necessary for any society are more regulated and this is in line with what Obama's views are currently in this elections. Unfortunately, when implementing such high ideals, the question that comes to the fore is who is judge of the abilities and the needs? In Capitalism, the judge is the individual, in socialism it is a society which decides and in communism it is the central forum which decides the same. So at the end of the day, the question is always about the right people doing the right things!! Cheers! Ram

the theory itself of Marx is good and right.it has produce enormous impaction on the world including the capitalist countries' social policy. some Bush goverment's policy to ecnomical crisis are also from it.the problem is how to excute and deliver it correctly.

Marxism, which is what you are really talking about has never been tried. Russia and the like are authoritarian regimes, which went half way to Marxism but never completed the process. Of course the problem is one of power, once in power no-one gives it up without a struggle, and the so called communist parties were no different unwilling to hand power over to the people. So, Marxism is not such a bad idea, but has never been tried and doesn't work. Now here's so more news that's really hot, neither does capitalism! There is no free market economies, US for instance, practices heavy protectionist trade policies and subsidises exports. Japan is heavily subsidised by US What does work are mixed economies all the best urban

Socialism mixed with capitalism can work. It takes care of the unemployed, the ill, the disabled and the old while limiting the excesses of the wealthy. It does not stop entrepreneurs, it does not stop industry but it does protect the workers rights and balances it with the employers needs and profits. Australia has a system like this. We have welfare that ensures that people do not starve just because they are out of work or ill. We also have a minimum wage so a worker cannot be paid starvation wages, there are also minimum conditions of employment to protect their basic rights. We have a government with a surplus, a tiered tax scheme that means that he rich pay a bit more tax than anyone else and rebates that protect low income earners, families and businesses. There are also tax incentives to invest in protecting the environment. It is not perfect but it is a lot better than America. We also have a scheme that helps unemployed people try and start their own business. We do believe in private enterprise but we balance it with social justice. Neither extreme works. No extreme is ever any good. Unbridled Capitalism tramples the weak and the poor and allows the rule of a few over the many, exploiting everyone not strong enough to look after themselves and treating them like slaves. Prices go as high as the richest can afford and if the poor cannot pay they are left to starve, it is the survival of the richest and it needs poor people as who else will work in the factories. People get unhappy and you need secret police to keep them under control. Unbridled Communism destroys incentive. If everyone gets paid the same no matter how lazy one is then why bother. That is why it was dumped in the end. People get unhappy and you need secret police to keep them under control. It is still the rule of a few over the many who are treated like equal peasants.

I don't see where it is as bad. I remember people in my country talking about Michael Manley our past Prime Minister who is now deceased who wanted to do the things that Obama is talking about. Person didn't understand the impact of it and there were others who know what it was all about and put a negative spin on it (the rich folks). Because of this negative spin persons vote against Michael. In my beliefs I don't see anything wrong with it but that the country will be better. The rich has been exploiting the poor for too long. Giving us what they think is our rightful share which is not enough.

sounds fair to me. who knows, maybe communism could work. if done properly, but we have no good examples. look at all the failed communist governments with horrible offenses against their people like russia, china, cuba That's what people are afraid of. Many people have no clue what communism actually means. They just get this image of people being imprisoned for their beliefs, and executed for saying anything against the government.

Socialism is based on the idea that people are chattle whose sole purpose is to perpetuate the society. It is a bigoted system that teaches hatred for people based solely on their income. You can't separate socialism from class warfare and class warfare is inherently bigoted.

Compare it to those who live in communal societies - some do exist within the united States - everyone works for the commune and all income goes to the commune. The commune then decides how much of what it has brought in is going to be divided between it's members. The members are required to work for the commune in payment for what they receive.

DoriLentrich, Socialism breeds apathy! Without the incentive of at least thinking you may be able to be rewarded more for a job well done or for actions above and beyond, people tend to ge a little lazy. If I am being rewarded the same for six hours work as Billy over there but he only works 4 hours then why am I busting my rear for two more hours? Pretty soon it escalates into "why work at all?" and this is why socialism never has and never will work!

In an idealized, theoretical model, nearly every philosophy works perfectly, including anarchy and capitalism. Everyone's needs are met, no one goes hungry and society as a whole prospers. In practice, every single one of them breaks down when you inject human nature. However, as others have pointed out, socialism is not communism is not Marxism. That statement is a simple, nutshell definition of Marx' beliefs. It gets far more complex when you extrapolate it out - which abilities? Who decides which abilities are most important to society? If you dig ditches for eight hours, is your contribution to society worth more than that of the person who teaches children for six? How about the guy that can help other people solve their differences by suggesting compromises that no one else considered? What about the old lady who can no longer work but who spent her life caring for others? Does she get according to her needs, too? Does the guy digging ditches need more food than the guy who keeps everyone's spirits up by telling jokes and singing? (I'd postulate that yes - the guy doing physical labor needs more nutritional and health care needs than the guy who isn't.) It's a lot more complex than 'does this sound fair to you?'

Well ya I does to me. Because that means people are responsible for taking care of each other. The poor and middle class would be supported by the rich. Russsia tried that. YOu know what happened. More and more people started doing the min. they had to to get their benefits and were basically living off others. More people starting taking from the system than were paying in and it bleeds the system dry.Look at our welfare system. You have generations of people who have been on it. I am not saying all people on welfare are lazy, but I have seen a lot that could work but chose not to because they can get it for free. And is basically a lot of their feelings on it," why work when I can get it for free". What is the incentive to do well? What is the incentive to work hard? There will not be one. In America you not only not only have the freedom to successed, you also have the freedom to fail. Plus I personally believe in independence. Each person is responsible for their own lives and how it is lived. Want more money? Work harder. Make good life decisions. Think about what you want and what you need to do to do it. Now of course people who are disable should be taken care of. But the rest need to take care of themselves. This country was founded on independence and hard work. Ya I would be nice to be rich like Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. But I am not their responsiblility. They owe me nothing. I do not have the right to say, Hey I want this but I can not afford it so you have to pay for it. They worked hard, they made the money, they should get to keep it. It sounds incredibly greedy of people to want to take their money to get them something they want or live a better life. You are basically taking something that does not belong to you, that you did not earn, and you have no right to. That is stealing.