Many Americans Prefer Socialism to Capitalism

[Truckerman79]

This was a poll conducted by Scott Rasmussen, who is a very respected name in that business. They explain their polling methodology on their homepage. Even though is only 1000 people polled, it is a random sampling with a margin of error of +/- 3% or so.

IMHO, what the numbers tell me is that 47% of those polled either prefer socialism or are ignorant of both systems but would be more likely to pick socialism because it "feels" better.

I'm not saying that all public schools are bad. I believe that INNER-CITY public schools are mostly bad, and unfortunately that is where most children are taught. My son goes to school in the country. They have a sign that reads "In God We Trust" in their reception office.

But the most disturbing thing about this poll was that people under age 30, the millenial generation as we are called, are divided in half regarding this issue.

 

[Fletch]

IMHO, what the numbers tell me is that 47% of those polled either prefer socialism or are ignorant of both systems but would be more likely to pick socialism because it "feels" better.

Especially given the way they're portrayed in the media. "Socialism" is what they have in Sweden, where everyone has free health care and a bikini-model girlfriend with blonde hair and big boobs. "Capitalism" is what they have in Flint, Michigan, where Michael Moore filmed "Roger & Me".

Never mind that America has been straddling the line between what Mises called "socialism on the German model" and "socialism on the Soviet model" for close to a century now, and that the only real capitalism in recent years has been the largely unregulated (or privately regulated) internet. But hey, that's what the media does -- shapes perception.

 

[jeremy]

Personally if someones to live under socialism I will be more than happy to provide them with a one way ticket out of my flipping country!

 

[hoosiertriangle]

We should start by stopping the socialists from coming into the country from out southern border. Latin American thinking is permeated with socialist values and ideals. There are always exceptions, but many illegals come here because our handouts are so much better than their handouts.

Personally if someones to live under socialism I will be more than happy to provide them with a one way ticket out of my flipping country!

 

[haldir]

the only real capitalism in recent years has been the largely unregulated (or privately regulated) internet. But hey, that's what the media does -- shapes perception.

That is why I have been screaming at the TV lately. I keep seeing the Democrat talking heads, saying "well we tried capitalism and it failed"... no we haven't. The problem with the banking system was government intervention, not the free market system. We need more capitalism in the markets not less.

 

[CulpeperMM]

Personally if someones to live under socialism I will be more than happy to provide them with a one way ticket out of my flipping country!

 

[CulpeperMM]

this is actually what many in the media want! (Lenin called them useful idiots!)

 

[Turtle]

kids should be told and shown the truth about places likr russia and china..... but they think.... well china makes video games so they must be cool.

 

[hornadylnl]

This is why I totally gave up on this election. I voted but it wasn't R or D. You can blast me all you want but the end results would have been the same if McCain won. It would have just taken a week or two longer. I was listening to Hannity today talking to some stoner surfer dude about "each according to his needs from each according to his ability" and the idiot agreed with it. He was 21. Once the senior generation is gone, our goose is cooked. The few senior citizens that haven't been bought off with social security are the only ones keeping us from falling over the cliff. Have you ever talked to senior citizens about social security? I know a few who you would swear were talking about meth when they get worried about it being taken away.

If you take government money, you are the f'in problem. They don't give it to you to help you, they give it to you to manipulate you. The whole reason the obamessiah wants to raise the taxes only on people making $200k or more is that it will officially put half of the population on the non paying side. Politicians don't give a flyin f what the $250k plus guys think. There aren't enough of them to influence any votes.

 

[rambone]

argh...

Socialism and Freedom cannot coexist for long. The more power you give your government, the more power it has to strip you of your liberties.

 

[hookedonjeep]

NEA = teachers union

NEA (can't find link right now) either takes or gives money to communist party usa.

NEA has really smart people who hide the truth and make stuff sound really good to teachers, as do other socialist/communist organizations

The thing that eveyone forgets to tell people about socialism, is that you can only enforce it by force, or threat of force/imprisonment. People will willingly participate in capitalism/free market.

HMMMMMM.... Didn't work out so well for Russia; what in the name of all that is Holy in this world makes Obama and his legion of Sheeple think that it will work here??????

 

[hoosiertriangle]

What makes you think they believe it will work here? Socialism isn't about working, its about consolidating government power. Consolidation of government power happens by making the people dependent on the government. My belief is the only reason their pushing it is to consolidate their power. Sure there are truly stupid people that think it will work on the national scale.

Truth is that it could possibly work on a very very small scale, say the size of your neighborhood (< 500 people). When the scale is that small, each person can really influence the governing body and everybody does benefit. Anything larger than that and the amount of money and power needed to maintain control grows exponentially as the population grows linearly.

HMMMMMM.... Didn't work out so well for Russia; what in the name of all that is Holy in this world makes Obama and his legion of Sheeple think that it will work here??????

 

[dross]

Socialism isn't practical and capitalism is practical, that's obvious for anyone willing to look at the record. The problem with this simple fact is that each new generation thinks their version of socialism would work.

Let's look at another side of the equation, the morality of capitalism, and the immorality of socialism.

Capitalism is the voluntary exchange of goods and services. Capitalism is the concept of natural rights applied to economics. Under capitalism, any individual may exchange his produce with another's, as long as both agree. There is no coercion involved. When I exchange my money for, let's say, a new CZ, I walk away happier than I was before the exchange, and so does the guy who sold it to me. I am happier with the CZ than I was with the money, and the other guy is happier with the money than he was with the gun. Truly a win/win outcome.

Again, capitalism is the economic manifestation of natural rights. The concept of natural rights (succinctly summed up in the Declaration of Independence) holds that an individual is born with certain rights than can never be involuntarily taken away. That individual is born without debt to anyone. No one has a right to that individual's life.

Socialism is the political and economic manifestation of the philosophy of collectivism. Under collectivist philosophy, the individual is born owing something to everyone else in society. The individual's rights are subordinate to the good of society. Everything the individual produces belongs to society, and anything the individual owns, he owns only because society has let him have it. This is why you hear about tax cuts costing the government money. "How will you pay for these tax cuts," you hear the socialist reporter ask. Think about the implication in that. A politician must find a way to pay for the money he wants to let the citizen's keep. The unstated premise is that everything belongs to the government, so letting a citizen keep more of his own produce is a cost to the government.

The base philosophy of collectivism and by extension, socialism, is that the individual is not born free. What is slavery? Slavery is when another forcibly benefits from the produce of your labor. Socialism holds that when you're born, you already owe your future labor to society. In other words, socialism is slavery.

Capitalism represents the highest of moral values - no initiation of force allowed. Socialism represents the worst of moral values - you are born belonging to another.

Capitalism is freedom, socialism is slavery.

 

[Fletch]

Great way to boil it down! Repped.

 

[Truckerman79]

Socialism holds that when you're born, you already owe your future labor to society. In other words, socialism is slavery.

It seems as if we are already a socialist state! We have generations that are not even born yet that will be working to pay for the bank bailouts and "stimulus" packages of today!

 

[Fletch]

It seems as if we are already a socialist state! We have generations that are not even born yet that will be working to pay for the bank bailouts and "stimulus" packages of today!

It didn't start with the stimulus packages. It started at least as far back as FDR with Social Security and the "New Deal". None of those programs ever died, we just didn't start feeling the pain until recently. Entire books have been written on socialist farm policy in America, with price supports and price caps, paying farmers to farm/not to farm, and that's been going on I believe since the 1920's. The creation of the Federal Reserve itself is a form of socialism, but monetary policy is too arcane a subject for most modern folks to be able to discuss it with any depth.

One could even go a step further and identify the socialist structure underlying 19th-century mercantilism, and that will take us at least as far back as Abraham Lincoln. All the average American can say about him is that he "freed the slaves", because schools don't teach how he led the charge in Illinois and later the nation to socialize the building of roads, highways, bridges, and rail. 150 years later, it's difficult to find even a so-called "pro-free-market" Republican who will even consider the idea that government shouldn't be in the infrastructure business.

Bush and Obama's stimulus packages are just the latest load being added to the mountain of debt. Socialism is nothing new in this country; Bush and Obama are just closer to being completely open about it than most have been.