Quote Originally Posted by BanginJimmy View Post
I can, and have several times, but Webster does it better.

1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2: a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done





Now, can you tell me how the police andfiremen are the govt ownership or control of a means of production? How does a highway end the notion of private property?
Alright! That's good. We can both agree that this is a standard definition of socialism, so we can both take def. number one--the various economic and political theories--and agree that socialism is an all-encompassing term, just as we can agree that capitalism is also an all encompassing term. Both have a bunch of theories within them. If we can agree that there are good and bad theories in capitalism, as well as good and bad theories in socialism, is it fair to market only the good parts of capitalism and only the bad parts of socialism?

One of its theories basically says, and conservatives can agree, that socialism is pretty much taxpayer money used on government programs for the betterment of society. Healthcare is a good example that conservatives hate. Government takes taxpayers money, puts it into a big account, and now less fortunate people can get their doctors visits taken care of.

Let's expand on less fortunate for a second. Some conservatives say there's no such thing as less fortunate people. Just lazy-asses. Let's get one thing straight--you're not gonna get rid of the working class, the lazy ass people they speak of. Simple as that. And that's a fact some have yet to come to terms with. Just as you need a CEO to run a big company, you need a waiter to run a restaurant. You need someone to assemble that Ferrari, you need someone to sell it to you, and you need someone to change its oil.

So with that said. Let's expand on another taxpayer funded program. The interstate highway system. Based off the German autobahn, a brainchild of the German Reich and the Weimar republic. You pay your taxes, the govt. puts that in a big account, and they pay for roads with it. Now you and the rest of the driving population can drive across the country conveniently. This idea was implemented by a republican president by the way.

So I could go on and on about police and the taxpayer funded United States military. But hopefully I've enlightened you to at the very least look at socialism objectively, as there are good and bad theories