On Sep 2, 2005, at 1:21 PM, Stephen B. Saunders wrote:
Socialism is country-level communism without the lust for world domination. Contrast socialism with capitalism - it's the opposite of a free market (don't contrast it with the US because there isn't much free left to our market) Socialism is advertized as collectivist (sound close to democracy? - government by the people) but in practice results in government by the few (just likedemocracy) ... an oligarchy or a dictatorship ... totalitarianism.
This problem is not unique to socialism. Nor does it have to be the result of socialism. Socialism can work well if given a good opportunity.
Democracy doesn't last. It's bad enough that we turned our government into a democracy but it's even worse that we've tried to do the same to others (soundlike communism? - forcing our form of government on others).
No form of government is perfect. Currently the US has a fairly good balanced mix of capitalism and socialism. Certainly there is room for improvement, however this mix seems to be the one that works the best so far.
<opinion flamesuit="true">I do see that this great system is in danger of spiraling into dictatorship. I see new laws all the time reducing our freedom all the time (Patriot Act, DMCA, etc). Somehow the people's apathy is allowing big business and the power elite to control the direction of our government. This is especially evident now, with their puppet in the White House.
</opinion>I encourage all people to take action in your government. That includes all levels, especially local, county, and state. Apathy is our country's greatest danger.
--lonnie
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