Socialism in America

[FR7 Baptist]

Why is it the U.S. doesn't have a major party which advocates democratic socialism or social democracy like Canada, the UK, and Australia do? It seems to me that our two major parties simply want to tweak the current system as opposed to making major changes.

Maybe a better plan would be to try to bring social democracy to one state. I don't think it would work too well in my home state of Florida because the voters aren't left-wing enough. Perhaps Vermont would be a better bet because they elected the only socialist U.S. Senator, Bernie Sanders.

What do y'all think? What would it take to bring socialism to America?

 

[mandym]

A war.......

 

[Walguy]

Why is it the U.S. doesn't have a major party which advocates democratic socialism or social democracy like Canada, the UK, and Australia do? It seems to me that our two major parties simply want to tweak the current system as opposed to making major changes.

Maybe a better plan would be to try to bring social democracy to one state. I don't think it would work too well in my home state of Florida because the voters aren't left-wing enough. Perhaps Vermont would be a better bet because they elected the only socialist U.S. Senator, Bernie Sanders.

What do y'all think? What would it take to bring socialism to America?

Don't look now, but it's already here, and there IS a major party behind it: the Democrats. And if Obama is re-elected, it's here forever.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

A war.......

That wouldn't be good. I want a peaceful, orderly transition. I don't even want to amend the Constitution in doing so.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Why is it the U.S. doesn't have a major party which advocates democratic socialism or social democracy like Canada, the UK, and Australia do? It seems to me that our two major parties simply want to tweak the current system as opposed to making major changes.

Maybe a better plan would be to try to bring social democracy to one state. I don't think it would work too well in my home state of Florida because the voters aren't left-wing enough. Perhaps Vermont would be a better bet because they elected the only socialist U.S. Senator, Bernie Sanders.

What do y'all think? What would it take to bring socialism to America?

Rightly or wrongly the word "socialism" is viewed very negatively by most Americans. Any party using the word in their name would not stand any chance of being elected.

Conservatives here scream about socialism as it buys them votes among some people. Frankly, the vast majority of Americans really know nothing about what socialism is really all about. It is good politics to claim others are socialistic just as it is good politics to paint Capitalists as evil in some other countries.

 

[mandym]

That wouldn't be good. I want a peaceful, orderly transition. I don't even want to amend the Constitution in doing so.

Americans are not going to put up with all out socialism and there are to many impediments in the constitution to have this country transition to it without amendments.

 

[mandym]

Rightly or wrongly the word "socialism" is viewed very negatively by most Americans. Any party using the word in their name would not stand any chance of being elected.

Conservatives here scream about socialism as it buys them votes among some people. Frankly, the vast majority of Americans really know nothing about what socialism is really all about. It is good politics to claim others are socialistic just as it is good politics to paint Capitalists as evil in some other countries.

Or maybe that is just what it is.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

Rightly or wrongly the word "socialism" is viewed very negatively by most Americans. Any party using the word in their name would not stand any chance of being elected.

Conservatives here scream about socialism as it buys them votes among some people. Frankly, the vast majority of Americans really know nothing about what socialism is really all about. It is good politics to claim others are socialistic just as it is good politics to paint Capitalists as evil in some other countries.

CTB, do you consider yourself a socialist?

 

[mont974x4]

We do have people pushing for it.
We also have many standing for freedom and want our nation to survive because we understand what history teaches. There has yet to be a nation that really survives the horrors of socialism.

 

[Crabtownboy]

CTB, do you consider yourself a socialist?

No I am not a socialist. But I am not in favor of unbridled Capitalism either. I know my history and do not want us to return to the days of the Robber Barons either.

 

[gb93433]

We do have people pushing for it.
We also have many standing for freedom and want our nation to survive because we understand what history teaches. There has yet to be a nation that really survives the horrors of socialism.

Have you ever looked up what the average citizen pays in taxes and other fees? Sales tax, property tax, state income tax, federal income tax, social security, and many other taxes. Just look at your pay stub. Is that not socialism? If not how much further would we have to go to be there? Medicare? Welfare?

 

[mandym]

Here is a reason not to embrace socialism:

Socialism—defined as a centrally planned economy in which the government controls all means of production—was the tragic failure of the twentieth century. Born of a commitment to remedy the economic and moral defects of capitalism, it has far surpassed capitalism in both economic malfunction and moral cruelty. Yet the idea and the ideal of socialism linger on. Whether socialism in some form will eventually return as a major organizing force in human affairs is unknown, but no one can accurately appraise its prospects who has not taken into account the dramatic story of its rise and fall......

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Socialism.html

 

[FR7 Baptist]

Have you ever looked up what the average citizen pays in taxes and other fees? Sales tax, property tax, state income tax, federal income tax, social security, and many other taxes. Just look at your pay stub. Is that not socialism? If not how much further would we have to go to be there? Medicare? Welfare?

No, it's not socialism because it doesn't entail worker ownership of the means of production.

 

[mandym]

No, it's not socialism because it doesn't entail worker ownership of the means of production.

Socialism is government ownership of the means of production.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

Socialism is government ownership of the means of production.

Not true. For most things, I favor private, worker-owned cooperatives.

 

[mandym]

Not true.

Yea it is true you need to go study socialism a bit more.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

Yea it is true you need to go study socialism a bit more.

You need to go study the variations of socialist thought. We're not stuck in the USSR anymore. Adopting socialism through a gradual, evolutionary process would be great for the United States.

 

[mandym]

You need to go study the variations of socialist thought. We're not stuck in the USSR anymore. Adopting socialism through a gradual, evolutionary process would be great for the United States.

If the government does not control production then its not socialism. What you are talking about is a form of Capitalism not Socialism.

 

[matt wade]

If the government does not control production then its not socialism. What you are talking about is a form of Capitalism not Socialism.

Maybe you need to do a little elementary study on the topic?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism

 

[Salty]

Not true. For most things, I favor private, worker-owned cooperatives.

So you were against Obama Motors.....