Brazil Following Milton Friedman?

[odanny]

Originally Posted by MalaMan

Brazil can be defined as "a capitalist country with social programs to reduce inequality and improve welfare, with regulation of the markets, and with some strategic government-owned companies doing business in the market".

All of which is better than the rapacious economic system in place in the U.S.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by MalaMan

Well, from the American point of view it can be "socialism", because it's the political tradition in the U.S. to call "socialist" any country that is not an "unregulated free market paradise".

But nobody in Brazil thinks Brazil is a "socialist" country. The political tradition in Brazil is more of an "European tradition". The political thinking tradition here is more like that of Germany and France.

Both Germany and France are socialist nations, as is the US since 1989. If a nation's government spends more than 50% of its budget on social programs, it is a socialist nation.

[MalaMan]

Originally Posted by Glitch

Both Germany and France are socialist nations, as is the US since 1989. If a nation's government spends more than 50% of its budget on social programs, it is a socialist nation.

That's your definition, based on your political tradition. But nobody in Germany thinks Germany is a socialist nation, nobody in France believes France is a socialist nation, and nobody in Brazil thinks Brazil is a socialist nation.

As I said, the political thinking traditions are very different.