There is no difference between Socialism and Communism
Oh yeah? Then how come we have nations on this globe that have socialist policies and such, and then we have outright communists?
You don't get it because you do not want to get it. You are so god awful up in arms about the taxes that you pay, that you jump on any bandwagon that will paint any sort of socialist ELEMENTS with a broad brush stroke, trying to make it all look like communisim. Does the UK look like a bunch of pinko commies to you? Seriously?
Please. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. IF YOU DON" T GET IT, GO LOOK IT UP. I'm done looking things up for people tonight.
Oh and one more thing. You are in your early/mid-twenties, correct? How old are your parents? What do you think your thoughts might be on things like universal health care if one or both of your parents were diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there was no way to treat that illness until and unless their assets were liquidated? Are you willing to tell your own parents NO on something like this? Think hard, my friend. It's happening to a lot of middle class people right now--how to get their loved ones treated without losing everything.
And how about if you lost your job. In this economy, you know, you could see that happen. Suppose you had a child. You ran out of money (and it's happening right now to a lot of people). Suppose your child was diagnosed with leukemia. That does happen, you know. What do you think your thoughts on all of your socialist rants would be if your child was denied treatment all because you lost your job and there were no socialist ELEMENTS available? Ponder that one: watching your child die because you were out of money.
It's so easy to gripe and complain about your own taxes until such a time comes that you have to see things for yourself, ie, become a victim of your own rhetoric.
And this:
T
he argument that we ought to have elements of socialism is flawed to the core, because it fails to adequately address the fact that a healthy community must be built from with in, and can not be built from with ou
Oh yeah? Flawed to the core? Well, let me tell you who taught me that little tidbit: my own father, a highly educated ECONOMICS major from a nationally renowned university, who was a lifelong republican and dedicated to the free market. That's who showed me that one. And he and I could go round and round, debating each other. This man, a very reasonable person, concluded that what we need is a mainly a capitalist society--because COMMUNISM destroys incentive, while capitalism encourages it--with ELEMENTS of socialism, because to leave out those elements would make us no better than those in Calcutta, watching people starve to death on the streets and just accepting that as common place, everyday life.
Don't tell me that this argument is flawed. It's NOT. YOu want to live in a society that lets children die because their parents don't earn enough or, worse, are dead? How about that scenario?
You're dead wrong, and I think I've finally figured out that your only agenda is your own. And yet? You're too young to have parents aging and/or dying on you, a spouse who develops a brain tumor for which the most innovative treatments are unavailable to you because you do not have the right insurance, or a child who could fall victim to a deadly disease (or even an accident), leaving you to watch the horror.
It's not a flawed argument. It's one heck of a lot more reasonable than unleashing social darwinism. And don't forget, you yourself could need some help one day. If so, and you've gotten your way and all social programs are kaput, I hope you remember my face