Socialism

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What is Socialism?

Do you think its good or bad?

[TheRunt]

What is Socialism?

Do you think its good or bad?

Do you want my interpretation of it? Or a dictionary/encyclopedia definition?

I'd guess my interpretation because I know your not that much of an idiot to not look up the book definition yourself. :hug2:

My view on it is when a government take an active or controlling interest in it beyond what is necessary for public health. Ie making sure ass hairs aren't in my hotdogs. And that the rain from the next door nuclear power plant doesn't make my dog glow in the dark when I let him in. Personally I'm more concerned about the ass hairs myself. When the gov starts saying that my ass hair free hot dog can only cost so much so that everyone can afford one thats socialism. Or when the gov says I make more then my next door neighbor and that he can't afford the ass hair free hot dogs so I have to give him some of my cash to he can afford it. Personally I think its bad. If a person can only afford a ass hair hot dog where I can afford a ass hair free hot dog and the other guy next to me can afford filet miginon well thats life not everyones gonna have the same.

[Back]

When the gov starts saying that my ass hair free hot dog can only cost so much so that everyone can afford one thats socialism.

rofl. There isn’t anything in the stimulus package that says “all ass hair free hot dogs will now cost the same for everyone” because they already do.

[LMingrone]

Ahhhhh, socialism. The way I look at it is:

You work your ass off to give yourself and your family a good life. Then you have to pay for a bunch of deadbeats, that know they don't have to work because you're going to pay for them. I have no problem paying taxes to help those who actually NEED it. The problem, which is happening right now, is that people take advantage.

"I can have MORE kids that add to the problem, don't have to work, AND make money off of it?!?! Wooooo"

I mean, there's really no real Govt that is ideal. Socialism, republics, communism (the perfect govt if humans weren't all out for themselves), democracy (well a true democracy would be alright I guess).

It always comes down to human nature, and how there will always be selfish people who will ruin it for hard working people that generally care for the less fortunate.

Blahahahahahh. I'm bored.

[Back]

Ahhhhh, socialism. The way I look at it is:

You work your ass off to give yourself and your family a good life. Then you have to pay for a bunch of deadbeats, that know they don't have to work because you're going to pay for them. I have no problem paying taxes to help those who actually NEED it. The problem, which is happening right now, is that people take advantage.

"I can have MORE kids that add to the problem, don't have to work, AND make money off of it?!?! Wooooo"

You think CEOs don’t do the same thing?


I mean, there's really no real Govt that is ideal. Socialism, republics, communism (the perfect govt if humans weren't all out for themselves), democracy (well a true democracy would be alright I guess).

Agreed.


It always comes down to human nature, and how there will always be selfish people who will ruin it for hard working people that generally care for the less fortunate.

There have been, are, and always will be people who game the system regardless of economic status.

[Mtenda]

I think it works in small doses. I don't believe a government should be 100 percent capitalism or 100 percent socialism. I also don't believe that a vote for one party should be a vote for capitalism and a vote for another party should be a vote for socialism. Unfortunately many Americans see it that way and many media sources portray it that way. IMO, this country should be capitalist on most issues, socialist on some. It's harder to take complete advantage of the system when the system isn't totally run under one principle. I'm not sure whether or not this stimulus package was the right dose of socialism we needed. Only time will tell. I am fairly confident though that telling Americans to go out and spend more was not the answer this time.

[LMingrone]

You think CEOs don’t do the same thing?

Of course not, I know they do.


There have been, are, and always will be people who game the system regardless of economic status.

Agreed, that was pretty much my point. We are animals.

[Gan]

What is Socialism?

Do you think its good or bad?

Lets see your answer, Che Guevarra Jr.

[Xaerve]

Lets see your answer, Che Guevarra Jr.

:rofl: -- Perfect response.

That really is the funny thing about Backlash... he can constantly ask pointless questions but never answer them.

[Gan]

<crickets>


:lol:

edit:
My definition of socialism, keeping in mind that there is no really one correct definition for this theory, is the creation of a centrally planned economy directed by a state that owns all means of production.

[Nieninque]

My definition of socialism, keeping in mind that there is no really one correct definition for this theory, is the creation of a centrally planned economy directed by a state that owns all means of production.

Wouldnt that be communism rather than socialism?

Anyway:



FEUDALISM: You have two cows.Your lord takes some of the milk.
PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows.The government gives you a glass of milk.
BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: Your cows are cared for by former chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers.The government gives you as much milk and eggs the regulations say you should need.
FASCISM: You have two cows.The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.
TOTALITARIANISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.
PURE COMMUNISM: You share two cows with your neighbors. You and your neighbors bicker about who has the most "ability" and who has the most "need".Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk,and the cows drop dead of starvation.
RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the black market.
PERESTROIKA : You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the Mafia takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the "free" market.
CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you.
DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.
PURE DEMOCRACY You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.
BRITISH DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. You feed them sheeps' brains and they go mad. The government doesn't do anything.
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: The government promises to give you two cows if you vote for it. After the election, the president is impeached for speculating in cow futures. The press dubs the affair "Cowgate".
SINGAPOREAN DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. The government fines you for keeping two unlicensed farm animals in an apartment.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows.Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.
LIBERTARIANISM: You have two cows. One has actually read the constitution, believes in it, and has some really good ideas about government. The cow runs for office, and while most people agree that the cow is the best candidate, nobody except the other cow votes for her because they think it would be "throwing their vote away."
BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them.Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.
CAPITALISM: You don't have any cows. The bank will not lend you money to buy cows, because you don't have any cows to put up as collateral.
PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows.Either you sell the milk fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.
AMERICAN-STYLE ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull - and build a herd of cows..
HONG KONG CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly - listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother - in - law at the bank, then execute a debt / equity swap with associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax deduction for keeping five cows. The milk rights of six cows are transferred via a Panamanian intermediary to a Cayman Islands company secretly owned by the majority shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows' milk back to the listed company. The annual report says that the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Meanwhile, you kill the two cows because the fung shiu is bad.
ENVIRONMENTALISM: You have two cows. The government bans you from milking or killing them.
SURREALISM: You have two giraffes.The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.
OLYMPICS-ISM: You have two cows, one American, one Chinese. With the help of trilling violins and state of the art montage photography, John Tesh narrates the moving tale of how the American cow overcame the agony of growing up in a suburb with (gasp) divorced parents, then mentions in passing that the Chinese cow was beaten every day by a tyrannical farmer and watched its parents butchered before its eyes. The American cow wins the competition, severely spraining an udder in a gritty performance, and gets a multi-million dollar contract to endorse Wheaties. The Chinese cow is led out of the arena and shot by Chinese government officials, though no one ever hears about it. McDonald's buys the meat and serves it hot and fast at its Beijing restaurant.
FEMINISM: You have two cows. They get married and adopt a veal calf.
COUNTER CULTURE-ISM: Wow, dude, there's like... these two cows, man. You got to have some of this milk.
ENRONISM: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with the associated general offer so you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report states that the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
AMERICAN CORPORATIONISM: You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows using Bioengineered hormones. You lobby an ignorant Congress so as to make sure that you do not have to label your milk products - even if they cross state lines. You are surprised when one cow drops dead, but you work out a deal so that you can sell it to a renderer - and feed it back to your herd. Some of the older second-cycle cows cannot be impregnated - while others deliver twins - that have to killed and sold for pitance as vealers... You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.
FRENCH CORPORATIONISM: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch. Life is good.
JAPANESE CORPORATIONISM: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
GERMAN CORPORATIONISM: You have two cows. You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
ITALIAN CORPORATIONISM: You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman. You break for lunch. Life is good.
RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You have somemore vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count themagain and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle ofvodka. You produce your 10th 5-year plan in the last 3 months. The Mafia shows upand takes over however many cows you really have.
FLORIDA CORPORATIONISM: You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who like the brown one best, vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which is the best-looking one.
NEW YORK CORPORATIONISM: You have fifteen million cows. You have to choose which one will be the leader of the herd, so you pick some fat cow from Arkansas.
BUSHISM: Holy Cow! I'm the duly elected president of a nation of sheep who believe anything that the benighted news tells them, such as that my brother was a well-experienced politician - somehow elected to the Governorship of Florida, where due to some specially original voting technology, we cowed the even more specially qualified Vice-President by beating him at creating new means for originating out-of-state voters, with special ties to the war machine - that I am particularly fond of milking, and then turning around and selling them both new parts, new technologies, and fuel to operate them with, while creating not only new jobs, but new historical sound bites as I offend those who worship sacred cows, and feed others my most important product - really prime bullshit.
Other Definitions needing attention:
DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office that put a tax on your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money, buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous. Barbara Streisand sings for you.
SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So?
COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. By this time, it is expensive and sour.
SOCIAL DEMOCRACY - AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.
BUREAUCRACY - AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours the milk down the drain.

[Parkbandit]

:rofl: nice.

[ElanthianSiren]

Socialism -- the collective wonder about why Back does this to himself.

You should have asked what masochism is instead.

[Parkbandit]

Socialism -- the collective wonder about why Back does this to himself.

You should have asked what masochism is instead.


Y DO U HAVE 2 MARGINALIZE HIM ALL TEH TIME!!!???

[ElanthianSiren]

:lol: tongue-in-cheek musings of me are not marginalizing.

I suspect Back is trying to make people see bias (for or against) in their definition. Problem is, the didactic tactic pretty much turns into lecturing people with their hands over their ears screaming, "NO LALALALA!" especially on teh interwebz (which r...serious business as we all know).

[Xaerve]

Still waiting Backlash...

[radamanthys]

He just wikipedia'd it, and is horrified by what he's been touting all these years.

[Parkbandit]

He just wikipedia'd it, and is horrified by what he's been touting all these years.

That is extremely unlikely.

[radamanthys]

It was just a joke, heh. Supposed to be ironic. *shrug*

[BigWorm]

PB doesn't believe in irony

[Gan]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll102/learningtewfly/back2.jpg

[Parkbandit]

PB doesn't believe in irony


I believe in irony. You complaining about someone trolling would be a perfect example of irony.

[BigWorm]

I believe in irony. You complaining about someone trolling would be a perfect example of irony.

Hi pot, my name is kettle.

[Warriorbird]

http://cnczone.com/gallery/data/500/2793backlash.gif

[Gan]

Wouldnt that be communism rather than socialism?

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

If you believe traditional theory, then you'd agree with Marx that Socialism is the evolution of Capitalism before the end result of Communism.
Capitalism --> Socialism --> Communism

[Warriorbird]

Socialism to me means a government looking out for the needs of citizens who can't provide for themselves to the exclusion of maximum corporate profit.

Communism is similar... but with redistribution of property and wealth and the removal of capitalism entirely

[Back]

I view it as the citizens of a country chip in for the well being of all. Kinda like how taxes work. We pay some dues and get public schools, libraries, roads, bridges, police, fire and rescue etc.

I’d take it a bit further on the idea of “commons”. Think of commons as things a country owns. Natural resources of the land and sea. Oil, coal, energy. Agriculture. Steel. Mining. And various other things. Have the government run those things for profit then use those profits to improve everyone’s standard of living. Like healthcare and education and everything our taxes pay for now.

[Warriorbird]

Man. That's a fascinating distortion of property law. I'd say your notions edge more towards Communism.

[Back]

Man. That's a fascinating distortion of property law. I'd say your notions edge more towards Communism.

Just natural resources. It would not include unique products like cars or services like restaurants. Someone could still invent a paperclip and make millions.

[Xaerve]

Your response lived up to expectations, thanks!

[Parkbandit]

Hi pot, my name is kettle.

See? You can be very ironic when you try.

Well done.

[Parkbandit]

http://cnczone.com/gallery/data/500/2793backlash.gif

That's awesome.. except they spelled occur wrong.

[Nieninque]

See? You can be very ironic when you try.

Well done.

Fucking Septics wouldn't know irony if it jumped up and bit them on the arse.

[Rocktar]

...Septics...

Septics? What do infections have to do with it?

[Nieninque]

Too much, sadly.

[Back]

Your response lived up to expectations, thanks!

Well, honestly, the “commons” idea is not purely socialistic and not my own idea. Its actually more of a responsible capitalistic ideal that I view as a shade of socialist.

I’ve never been against the capitalist model. I’m just against a capitalist model with no social mores. Disregard for the environment, people’s rights, child labor etc.