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anon944273 Post 99

You think that the 1 percent that controls more than 60 percent of America's wealth actually works for their money? They don't. Look at the real numbers because they don't lie. People are living in fantasy land if they think people who are rich are those who work hard because that's not true. I don't see a problem with socialism. Period.

You people are arguing about something that can't happen. We're too spoiled, obese and lazy, complacent and greedy to ever try to have true socialism. We would have to have a world wide disaster that wiped out most of the population. Then we would all hopefully work together for the common good.

Look at Star Trek -- what do you think they're practicing in the Federation? True Socialism, not the bastardized versions of reality. Man ruins most everything he sticks his finger in.

Socialism, or as we call it in Europe social-democracy is different in terms from the socialism of Latin America. In Spain, the socialism of Latin America we call communism that even exists but it's a minority.

The social-democracy defends also capitalism and its basic rule is to attempt to reduce the lack of equality between the rich and poor. It defends the middle class.

When you say that Spain is a socialist country, that is a big mistake. Spanish people are more liberal than socialist or conservative. The socialists must moderate their election manifesto and speech in order to govern.

In the case of the conservatives, they are even less supported than socialists and must win the liberal voters in order to govern. If in Spain there were a Democratic Party like in the USA, neither the Socialists nor the conservatives will ever win. The Spanish democratic party disappeared in the 80s.

The first and second elections in the Spanish democracy showed the true Spanish reality: Spanish democratic party: 35 percent; Socialist/social-democratic party: 29 percent; Communist Party: 11 percent;

Conservative Party: 8 percent.

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What Is Socialism? (with picture) - wiseGEEK

Socialism is an economic and political system where the workers control the means of production, such as machinery or farmland, instead of their bosses. Those people that advocate this cooperative society are called socialists. Another key belief is that goods and services should be produced for the people's use, not for profit. Socialists believe that everything in society is made by the cooperative efforts of the people.

There are many varieties of socialism, so no one definition can apply to all of them; however, in all varieties, the workers own the means of production.[1] The major differences between the different varieties are the role of the free market or planing, the method of ownership of the means of production, the role of management of workers and the government's role in the economy.

Socialism is an economic and governmental system where the workers own and run companies. Its goal is to have the industries make money which can be used for the benefit of everyone. It wants to give workers control over their workplaces.

Social democracy is a form of socialism that tries to mix parts of communism with capitalism. In this system, the government redistributes wealth from the rich to the poor like a communist state, but people can also run their own businesses and own private property like a capitalist state. Unlike communism, it is public money raised from taxes being redistributed to the poor, rather than private property eg. seizing all funds over $1 million to give to everyone. It supports gradual reform over revolution. Much of the time the people collectively (as a group) contribute money or other goods for the benefit of the entire community. An example of this would be the U.S. fire departments. They rely on taxes paid by the people to keep equipment and staff for the benefit of the community, should something catch on fire. Some of these countries use a progressive tax, where richer people are taxed more than poorer people. This tax, and other measures, helps to reduce the inequality between rich and poor in a nation.

In many countries that practice social democracy, specific services, and some industries, are subsidized and/or partially controlled by the government. For example, education, health care, housing, utility companies or public transportation are some industries that might be owned/maintained by the government in a socialist system. For the most part, people working in these industries are paid by the government, with money paid by the people as taxes. Welfare is likely offered under socialism.

Another kind of Socialism is "Collectivization." In this system, money and goods are shared more equally among the people, with the government in control. In theory, this system results in the divide between classes getting smaller, with the poorest of a nation's people being better cared for while the richest accept higher taxes and economic regulations. Of course, socialism as it is commonly practiced differs in many ways from communism (See "The History of Socialism and Communism", later in the article.)

Today, many democratic socialists, especially in Western Europe, want industries to be guided jointly (together) by representatives of shareholders as well as the workers working together in what is known as an industrial democracy because both groups have interests in the success of the enterprise. This would be a more direct democratic way of organizing rather than control by central government. Trade unions and/or workers councils would represent the interests of the employees.

Many countries see Socialism differently. Social Democracy, for example, a Democratic form of Socialism, is the most common kind of government in the world. Socialist International is an organization dedicated to the cause of promoting socialist ideals, and has ties with many Socialist parties, especially Social Democratic ones.

Most non-communist people say "communism" when they mean the Marxist and Leninist ideas of Russia's Bolshevik party. Marx believed that capitalism followed the economic and political system of feudalism. He also believed that capitalism would oppress many people, and those people would eventually revolt and use socialism. Then he thought that socialism can be another bridge, but to Communism. However, many people incorrectly use the term "Communist" to refer to a socialist state. Others call this 'State Socialism,' to distinguish it from the communist goal that does not need a state or any form of government. To non-communists, the word 'socialism' is now mostly used for attempts to come close to this goal in a democratic state. Often in United States politics "socialism" is used as a slur against liberals, by conservatives.

A Welshman, Robert Owen, was the first socialist. His followers began calling themselves socialists in 1841.[2] He is still regarded as a pioneer of the Co-operative Movement in Britain. He said that workers should own the companies they worked for. The workers would then share the profits among themselves. He set up a new model factory in New Lanark, Scotland.[3]

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Socialism - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Cindy Ihrke's letter on Feb. 17 regarding corporatism, capitalism and socialism, she states: "Socialist Europe wallows in impotence and poverty."

Really? Has she not heard of the European Union? She must be in a time warp viewing Europe right after World War II. The EU consists of 28 countries led by Germany, France and the United Kingdom. It is a formidable common market and currency that is a major trading power. I'm glad that the Union is an ally of the U.S.

Of course the EU has problems don't we also have some problems in this country? To call the whole European continent poor and impotent is ridiculous.

Major countries today are not purely capitalist or purely socialist. Successful countries have elements of capitalism and socialism in their economies. In the 1930s, the U.S. was in terrible economic shape with millions hungry and jobless. FDR injected socialist elements to our capitalist economy like Social Security and government spending in the private sector. We learned back in the 1950s that private plots in Russia were yielding better than the collective farms and eventually the pure Soviet Socialist system failed in 1991, leading to reforms that blended capitalism and socialism.

When I read the letters accusing other writers of being either capitalist or socialist, I view it as being rather grade-school-ish. Private economic incentive is important in all economies as is government intervention in the economy. It's all about degree.

VERN ZEHR

Fisher

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Most countries blend capitalism, socialism