"Grandpa, why are you so opposed to Socialism?"
Grandpa just grinned as he responded, " Because, boy, I have more confidence in myself than I do in the government when it comes to providing for my family. That is the simple answer. "
With this said he paused to allow that to sink in my thick head. Then he spoke again and here was what he said;
"Free Enterprise is an economic system of the people, by the people and for the people. It is a system where people make the decisions for their lives. It is a system where people must accept responsibility for their own decisions. And in doing so a person reaps the rewards of their own good decisions but also they must accept the consequences of any bad decisions.
Socialism is an economic system of the government, by the government and for the government. It is a system imposed upon a society by government dictates. It is a system with the intent and purpose of spreading responsibility upon society as a whole with the few making decisions for the whole. It is a system where the few get credit for good decisions but the whole must accept the consequences of the bad decisions.
The difference between free enterprise and socialism are many but there is one significant difference. Free enterprise is an economic system that evolves naturally in a society. It is an 'you have something I want and I have something you want, let’s trade' system. And each party equally profits from that trade.
Socialism is a government imposed form of economic system. It is a government takes and government gives as it sees ability and need. Affordability is the foundation of this form of economic system. Since affordability is the determinant it imposes a forced inequality upon a society.
Free enterprise feeds the competitive spirit of man. In order to survive it only needs to recognize the opportunities of life and an attitude of 'can do'. It emphasizes the individual’s role in society. And the appitite of the spirit is never sated
Socialism feeds upon the lack of security that man feels. In order to be imposed it must create a perception of the lack of opportunities and a 'can’t do' attitude. Socialism relies on persuading certain groups that they are the exploited of another group. Socialism advocates victimization.
Now, boy, don't get me wrong. your grandfather thinks that Karl Marx was unique in his thinking and I admire him for it. His ideas has been taken on by many students of society as well as many students of politics as all ideas will that appear to solve the problems of any society. but that is as far as I'll go with my admiration and respect for the man. His ideas may have pointed out flaws but his solutions are the least perfect of any other form of economics. They deprive the spirit of men of the food it needs so that men may live as men should. And when the spirit dies so does the man."
WELCOMES YOU to his little home in cyberspace.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
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14 comments:
Yes indeed Griper!
A thought from Karl that doesn’t need to go on stage!
We have the victim card being played out all the time!
Give em all a fishing poll was my thought!
"How can you tell a Communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. How do you an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin."
-- Ronald Reagan
That's a great post, very thoughtful.
Thanks Griper!
and i thank each of you also for the comments. with comments like these a fella could get a big head in a hurry. lol
Ok I'm back and I have a pin ;)
he laughs with dcat. that's why i love women so much. they give us the support we men need when we be down and they also are there to see that our heads do not get too big.
Uh, Are you sure your Grandpa knows how Socialism works, because his definition is completely off.
First of all Marx theorized that Capitalism had to come before Socialism, but that Capitalism would lead eventually to such wealth inequality (which is what we see today, both in the US and further in wealth inequality of the global South compared to the global North) that the poorer class would revolt against the Capitalistic class and Socialism would be born.
Socialism is not a system in which the government owns everything, in fact it is one in which the entire population collectively owns everything. Socialism will need government intervention at first, but will phase into a pure democracy in which the government is literally the countries people. Socialism is not Authoritarian as some would have you believe, but completely democratic. Take a look at Switzerland if you don't believe me.
I would argue that Capitalism is based upon greed and selfishness, while Socialism is based upon sharing and cooperation.
nice rosy picture of socialism, dcda, but unrealistic. and Switzerland is no where near being a socialistic nation.
in fact, Switzerland is more like the nation that took after the ideas of the founding fathers of this nation, ideas that this blog is an avid advocate of.
and for a little more information grandpa will say that the theories of socialism is a theory that is thousands of years old and has failed each time it has been tried to be fully implimented. it has even been tried in this country and failed miserably.
i suggest you get your head out of the dreams and back into the world of reality by reading and understanding history as well as you think you understand political and economical theory.
"Swiss are required to purchase basic health insurance, which covers a range of treatments detailed in the Federal Act. It is therefore the same throughout the country and avoids double standards in healthcare. Insurers are required to offer this basic insurance to everyone, regardless of age or medical condition. They are not allowed to make a profit off this basic insurance, but can on supplemental plans.
Regulations also restrict the allowable policies and profits that a private insurer may offer,"
...doesn't sound like a
capitalist paradise, nor does their excellent public owned transportation system, nor
the public ownership of their telecommunications.
But, obviously Grandpa agrees with all the above as "Switzerland is more like the nation that took after the ideas of the founding fathers of this nation, ideas that this blog is an avid advocate of." :)
grandpa had to laugh, BB. he enjoys your sense of humor.
btw, BB, just a little trivia. this is one of my more popular posts that i have written. almost 4 years old and still getting hits every day.
I noticed someone commented on the old post.
My wife has a lot of relatives in Switzerland, so as Grandpa knows, I consider myself an ex-purt.
(Even if I can't yodel) :)
well, BB,
as gramps will tell you, he is no expurt on Switzerland so he says he must rely on the knowledge of others on this issue.
the only thing he knows is that from his hasty research he has found that Switzerland is a federation of autonimous Cantons with a market economy and that they used the ideas of the founding fathers as a model for their government, per Wikipedia and the Cia.
as for the issues you bring up that would depend upon how they worded their Constitutions so as to allow federal interference not on ideology.
Socialism is public ownership. Capitalism is private ownership. Communism is ownership by the government/no private ownership. Fascism is corporate/government partnership and control over the economy. We are not becoming socialist or communist. The Oligarchs who control this nation will not surrender their wealth, position,or power. They are, however, neo-fascist.
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