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matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Middletown, CT

4 edits

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matrix3D to karlmarx

Member

to karlmarx

Re: Americans have gotten too Greedy

Socialism is about fairness and equality, yes? At least, from what I can tell, that's the spin you're trying to put on it. However, in a socialist economy, skill or achievement are not recognized, period. A highly skilled computer scientist who spends years paying for higher education would therefore have the same "equal access" as somebody who decided they did not want to pursue higher education and instead works full-time in a less skilled position simply because they have no personal motivation, skill or drive. One chooses the long and hard way and one chooses the easy way... why is the person who chooses the easy way owed the same "equal access" as somebody who chose the hard way? Socialism and communism do absolutely nothing to promote the general welfare of a society in the long term because nobody will have any incentive or drive to do a damn thing.

EDIT: Also, I'd just like to point out that what you described ("Socialism is society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended.") is actually capitalism. You have the opportunity for equal access in this country. Your compensation is determined, to a large degree, by how much time you invest in yourself and your own ideas ("amount of labor expended" as you put it). So what's the problem with the system? Just because certain people want to sit on their ass and leech off the system doesn't mean the rest of society owes it to them to let them continue to do so.

Perhaps a new DNS redirect is necessary? www.communismreports.com or www.socialistreports.com anybody? I've always been amazed at how political this site is considering it's supposedly "technology focused." But now it makes a lot more sense...

Also, I really hope you were being sarcastic when you said the Bill of Rights were not laws but "guidelines." If you were not sarcastic, it shows it's not the view of people who invoke the Constitution that is warped, it is your own. The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. Or is the Constitution now just "guidelines" as well?

karlmarx
join:2006-09-18
Moscow, ID

3 recommendations

karlmarx

Member

Wow.. umm, I don't really know how to respond.

Of course, if my username was tkjunkmail, it probably wouldn't be sarcasm. But, yes, the original post was SUPPOSED to be a sarcastic remark about how much power the corporations have over use.

And, btw, socialism, as I see it, means universal health care, it means government ownership of the backbone of the internet (BUT NOT THE SERVICES). It means that like electricity and water, every household in American has a RIGHT to a fiber connection. It means that we have GOOD public schools to teach science and math and birth control, with no religious interference. It means separation of church and state. It means the end of tax exempt status for religious organizations. And what it REALLY means, is that we bring manufacturing BACK to the US. It means we severely punish any company that moves jobs offshore. It means we set reasonable limits on executive compensation, and and end to market manipulators. It means big oil can make a profit, but NOT $40 BILLION DOLLARS every quater. I means a progressive tax system, where those who make under 50,000 pay no income taxes. It means a national sales (consumption) tax. It means a return to the 90% top tax tier for those making over 5 million.

crookedtrail
@dslextreme.com

1 recommendation

crookedtrail

Anon

Unfortunately that dream will never be realized, because we live in a world economy, where if you do many of the things you are proposing, we would be breaking free trade agreements with other nations, and incur their wrath. Also, many of the things you propose would probably screw our nation and its innovative spirit, as anyone with an active brain cell and a good idea would leave for somewhere they could actually earn a profit on their invention. Also, separation of church and state is good and all, but your interpretation of it is actually counter to the founding fathers original concept. The Constitution is actually meant to protect the church from undue government interference. Many people say negative things about religious organizations and such, but forget that many times during natural disasters and the like, they are the largest non-government giver of aid received by those affected by such disasters.

badtrip
Premium Member
join:2004-03-20

badtrip to matrix3D

Premium Member

to matrix3D
said by matrix3D:

EDIT: Also, I'd just like to point out that what you described ("Socialism is society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended.") is actually capitalism.
Sorry, that is not true. Back to Wikipedia with you!

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism

Capitalism/Socialism/Communism has little to do with compensation. It has everything to do with ownership. Further, compensation is only marginally tied to "time invested".

Yes capital can be in the form of "money" but often times it is not. Please try not to spout the government line unless you know what the government line means....

karlmarx
join:2006-09-18
Moscow, ID

1 edit

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karlmarx to crookedtrail

Member

to crookedtrail
I beg to differ. Lets be honest, the US is one of the VERY few countries in the world that has all the natural resources we need to be self sufficient. I'm all for free trade with Europe, but I think China is the biggest threat we will face over the next 25 years. When you say the constitution is meant to protect the church from the government, it actually goes both ways. I firmly agree the right wing nut cases have every right to elect their radical type congresscritters. And, again, you are right, religious organizations are the largest non-government givers, but know this. As my nickname is often quoted "Religion is the opiate of the masses". The vast majority of americans are afraid of death, and that's why religion exists. I have no problem with the concept of 'it's over' when you die. We are just the end result of a random chemical reaction that occurred billions of years ago. We exist, quite simply, because statistically, we SHOULD exist (see: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr ··· equation ). I don't subscribe to any belief except those I can measure and test. I was raised Catholic, but once I reached the age of reason (about 13), I realized it was all a great big scam.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

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sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin to karlmarx

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to karlmarx
said by karlmarx:

Wow.. umm, I don't really know how to respond.

Of course, if my username was tkjunkmail, it probably wouldn't be sarcasm. But, yes, the original post was SUPPOSED to be a sarcastic remark about how much power the corporations have over use.

And, btw, socialism, as I see it, means universal health care, it means government ownership of the backbone of the internet (BUT NOT THE SERVICES). It means that like electricity and water, every household in American has a RIGHT to a fiber connection. It means that we have GOOD public schools to teach science and math and birth control, with no religious interference. It means separation of church and state. It means the end of tax exempt status for religious organizations. And what it REALLY means, is that we bring manufacturing BACK to the US. It means we severely punish any company that moves jobs offshore. It means we set reasonable limits on executive compensation, and and end to market manipulators. It means big oil can make a profit, but NOT $40 BILLION DOLLARS every quater. I means a progressive tax system, where those who make under 50,000 pay no income taxes. It means a national sales (consumption) tax. It means a return to the 90% top tax tier for those making over 5 million.
I totally agree with everything you said, except for the part about outsourcing. I don`t think you fully understand the necessity and usefulness of outsourcing matured industries to developing countries, in terms of aiding the global economy by increasing global specialization and efficiency.

Outsourcing normally incentivizes a developed country to invent new industries and pool money into advanced collaborative scientific research and development. Think about the manufacturing industries. First came the mechanical revolution in the `60s and `70s, where factories went from predominantly humans using their hands to create things, to humans using machines.

That was outsourced, and `80s ushered in the computer revolution, where many of those machines started to be more efficiently controlled by software.

That techology was eventually outsourced, and manufacturing eventually ushered in robotics.

Why do you think a country like Japan, with practically no natural resources, an ever shrinking population, and constant outsourcing to an extremely close China, doesn`t have an issue with losing jobs overseas? Because they lead in the manufacturing of advanced materials like fiber optics, things that can only be manufactured in a developed economy with the proper infrastructure and human expertise.

Our main problem of the 2000s was that we had no innovation and development of new industries. The Bush administratino eliminated a great deal of government funding and support for research in various fields, and people instead found new jobs in the very low-paying retail sector.

Basically neoconservatives since the `80s have caused the US to fall behind in many research and development areas where it used to lead.

Bor
@telus.net

Bor to matrix3D

Anon

to matrix3D
said by matrix3D:

However, in a socialist economy, skill or achievement are not recognized, period.
Wrong. That's communism, not socialism, and it's the primary difference between the two.

Capitalism without inherited wealth could arguably be described as being moderately similar.

But, as it is, your compensation is determined, to a large degree, by who your parents were, or more bluntly, the luck of the draw. Which is not to say there is no social mobility, just not nearly as much as some people like to think.