Views from democratic socialist (stats, speech, government, state)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I should be able to live my life as I want and be able to go to Starbucks daily and eat out nightly with friends. If I cannot pay for all that, my student loans on my feminist dance theory degree, and travel freely, spending money as I wish and get ahead, that is not my fault.
Someone else should be paying for my services, so I can live my life as I want!
But you refuse to call a right to health care and a right (to) housing socialism.
There is no right to that which the labor of others produces, and if there were, it wouldn't be socialism that creates that "right", it would be slavery.
b.) A society that allows a few people to own the majority of the resources, while many people live in poverty and don't receive medical care.
Countries which label themselves as Social Democracies do not choose between those two options.
They have free market economies which ensure than successful people can enjoy the fruits of their success. Sharing everything equally simply does not work. It kills all motivation to do anything more than what is mandated by law. I'd hate to live in such society.
This term floating around of 'democratic socialism' is really a misnomer. The countries often referred to, such as the Nordic countries aren't socialist at all.
These countries have open and free capitalistic economies, with private ownership of the means of production, banking, lending, housing, etc. Under a socialist economy, these things would be in the collective hands of the government.
What these and other European countries do have is a well developed welfare state and safety social net with higher taxation and more wealth transfers. This safety net along with public education, roads, the military, etc are NOT socialism.
It seems many are very confused today. If Bernie and others are advocating for the latter, such as a more well developed safety net, then that is not a very scary thing. However, if they are calling for state ownership of factories, banks, etc, then that is a very scary thing indeed as can be witnessed in North Korea or Cuba.
There is no right to that which the labor of others produces, and if there were, it wouldn't be socialism that creates that "right", it would be slavery.
About 40% of what I make has always gone to the government, but I am not a slave. A slave does not get paid a salary, and nor do they get to keep anything they produce.
Last edited by Finn_Jarber; 09-06-2018 at 07:23 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.