I admit I'm hesitant to post this, but I'm honestly curious, and it's certainly a relevant item nowadays. Reason: Bernie Sanders has currently established a wide advantage over his democratic rivals. So...there's that.
Bernie Sanders is also a socialist, which is pretty uncommon (if not to say: extremely rare) in the United States. And from what I can tell: just about unique.
So let's start with some simple politics: what is socialism, exactly? Well...google defines it (correctly) as "any system in which the production and distribution of goods and services is a shared responsibility of a group of people."
Whether it's something for you is something I've been described with bread. My apologies if I don't recall it correctly, but it was something like this:
At the very least, it illustrates the difference between communism and socialism (I've seen Americans who couldn't tell the difference but thought they knew what it meant regardless). But even so, there's some differences in how to pursue it. For simplicity's sake (and because I'm no expert on the matter, though I'm a half-assed socialist myself ) I'll put them on a sliding scale between what I would call "Scandinavian socialism" and "Fox news socialism".
Scandinavian socialism is the kind practiced in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. It has a strong state that is in service to its citizens. It has strong worker unions, taxes that redistribute the wealth to those who need it most and things like universal health care. I've read that it's the type Sanders seeks to implement, but I've got to admit I'm not too familiar with his plans yet at this point.
Fox news socialism seeks to eliminate all personal possessions and put a strong emphasis on taxes (especially estate taxes) to the point where every yahoo has the same benefits as those working their asses off each day. I call it that because it's the kind fox news conjures when they describe socialism.
...but since fox viewers aren't going to consider voting Bernie, I'll kindly ignore them for this thread (okay, okay: I'll give them a voting option ).
So...what are your opinions?
I'd say "please no flaming", but I suspect it'll be unavoidable after some pages. Still: please no flaming.
Bernie Sanders is also a socialist, which is pretty uncommon (if not to say: extremely rare) in the United States. And from what I can tell: just about unique.
So let's start with some simple politics: what is socialism, exactly? Well...google defines it (correctly) as "any system in which the production and distribution of goods and services is a shared responsibility of a group of people."
Whether it's something for you is something I've been described with bread. My apologies if I don't recall it correctly, but it was something like this:
A bread has been baked. Who owns it?
Communism: the state in which the bread was baked
Socialism: the baker, the baker boy and anyone else who helped baking it
Liberalism: the baker, even if he hasn't touched it himself
Capitalism: whomever pays the most for the bread
Neocon capitalism: the free market
At the very least, it illustrates the difference between communism and socialism (I've seen Americans who couldn't tell the difference but thought they knew what it meant regardless). But even so, there's some differences in how to pursue it. For simplicity's sake (and because I'm no expert on the matter, though I'm a half-assed socialist myself ) I'll put them on a sliding scale between what I would call "Scandinavian socialism" and "Fox news socialism".
Scandinavian socialism is the kind practiced in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. It has a strong state that is in service to its citizens. It has strong worker unions, taxes that redistribute the wealth to those who need it most and things like universal health care. I've read that it's the type Sanders seeks to implement, but I've got to admit I'm not too familiar with his plans yet at this point.
Fox news socialism seeks to eliminate all personal possessions and put a strong emphasis on taxes (especially estate taxes) to the point where every yahoo has the same benefits as those working their asses off each day. I call it that because it's the kind fox news conjures when they describe socialism.
...but since fox viewers aren't going to consider voting Bernie, I'll kindly ignore them for this thread (okay, okay: I'll give them a voting option ).
So...what are your opinions?
I'd say "please no flaming", but I suspect it'll be unavoidable after some pages. Still: please no flaming.