Ken Hanly writes: What has any of this to do with socialism?The major means
of production distribution and exchange remain in private hands and profit
not need is the basis of production. Outside of the U.S. in many European
countries the systems you suggest already exist. However neoliberal policies
have eroded such systems. Truly socialized medicine would involve socialized
inputs but almost all inputs into the health care system are from private
corporations, medicines for example. The same is true of education inputs.
While these systems are socialized they serve as benefits to the underlying
capitalist system. Of course to move in the directions you suggest is
positive but they really do not show that citizens are ready for socialism.
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This is correct with one qualification. "Socialism" has many possible sense
as a word -- that is, senses established by its actual use in conversation
and writing. Hence you can't really insist on some 'real' meaning of the
word -- that being one of the reasons to honor the youthful Marx's denial of
interest in writing recipes in the cook shops of the future.
Now, given that, _one_ of the crucial USES of "socialism" in popular left
usage is an implicit claim that one need not, in order to be "socialist" or
"anti-capitalist," join in collective struggle aimed at the overthrow of the
capitalist state and the popular convoking of a constituent assembly. One
can feel perfectly "socialist," perfectly "anti-capitalist," perfectly
"virtuous," merely by remaining on the sidelines and throwing verbal
spitballs at this or that particular horror thrown up by the capitalist
system of social relations. In fact, the verbal spitballs need not even be
one's own; it is sufficient to maintain one's anti-capitalist creds and
consequent ego-satisvation, merely by posting a link to some web page which
offers and "exposure" of some particular horror but refrains from giving any
indication of the real difficulty, even the probable impossibility, of
overcoming capitalism.
Bleacher Bums of the World, Arise.
Carrol
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