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'm racking my brain to figure out how this is a 'media' thread. It's about political economy--socialism, social democracy, and capitalism. Guess there are kinks to be worked out in this new forum.
The term 'socialism' is perhaps the most ambiguous term out there with the exception of 'fascism'.
Socialism means the collective ownership of property and means of production. This can come in many forms, including at the most basic level, coops or communes, but most often refers to state ownership and state planning and management of the economy by bureaucrats.
It is often thought that European countries such as the Scandinavian countries are socialist, when in fact they are capitalist with a highly developed welfare protection system. Countries such as Sweden have overwhelmingly private ownership of the means of production - i.e. factories, private banking and lending, private construction of housing, private companies, firms and small businesses, and so on. It is not a socialist country.
Again, socialism refers to the ownership of property. Paying taxes for highways, libraries, social security, health insurance, etc are not socialist principles, but a part of the caplitalist welfare state system.
The term 'socialism' is perhaps the most ambiguous term out there with the exception of 'fascism'.
Socialism means the collective ownership of property and means of production. This can come in many forms, including at the most basic level, coops or communes, but most often refers to state ownership and state planning and management of the economy by bureaucrats.
It is often thought that European countries such as the Scandinavian countries are socialist, when in fact they are capitalist with a highly developed welfare protection system. Countries such as Sweden have overwhelmingly private ownership of the means of production - i.e. factories, private banking and lending, private construction of housing, private companies, firms and small businesses, and so on. It is not a socialist country.
Again, socialism refers to the ownership of property. Paying taxes for highways, libraries, social security, health insurance, etc are not socialist principles, but a part of the caplitalist welfare state system.
I have to disagree with your definition, although I would admit it's a quibble. Socialism is collective ownership of the means of production (factories, farms, warehouses, stores, etc--anything that contributes to getting the product to the end-user).
Communism is collective ownership of everything--no private property whatsoever. All is owned by (in practice) gov't.
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.
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.
