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Furor over socialism wrong, damaging
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It’s no secret Sen. Barack Obama has been condemned as socialist by Sen. John McCain in recent weeks. Republicans accuse Obama of trying to “spread the wealth around” and take money from hard-working Americans so the government can decide how to spend it: clearly socialism at its worst. By pouring taxes into government programs, Republicans fear Obama will create a web of safety nets for the less fortunate, thereby taking away any incentives for ambition and hard work. They fear this will indisputably lead to a tyrannical government taking a hammer and sickle to the free market system.
By presenting Obama in this light, McCain is attempting to echo 1950s McCarthyism. During this period, Sen. Joe McCarthy sought to control the public through fear by suggesting communists and communist sympathizers had infiltrated the United States. This tactic is often resurrected during election years to paint political opponents as un-American enemies of the state. Americans see communism as the enemy of capitalism, and many confuse communism with socialism, yet they aren’t the same. All communists are socialist, but socialists are not necessarily communist.
To be precise, capitalism uses greed and humanity’s thirst for competition to profit and grow within a free market. Greed cannot exist under communism: a system in which there is no private ownership, only governmental control. A socialist system on the other hand, maintains equal opportunities by preventing the wealthiest citizens from exploiting and oppressing the public to maintain their wealth. At the heart of socialism is genuine democracy.
Ironically, it isn’t the wealthiest of Americans who need capitalism to succeed: It’s the least fortunate. Capitalism offers them a way to better themselves and the opportunity for a better life for their children. These ideas are the cornerstone of America, and no amount of government programs will take away these incentives for success.
Gordon Gecko, the character from the 1987 movie “Wall Street,” is famous for the speech in which he says, “Greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
But the truth is greed is a fickle mistress. Greed is the reason socialism doesn’t work. Greed and compassion are both parts of human nature. But when it comes to desperate self-preservation, compassion never comes first. People don’t help others unless they can already take care of themselves. Yet greed is also the reason a purely capitalist system doesn’t work. Unchecked capitalism is just as disastrous for the public as unchecked governmental control. Both total private and governmental control accommodate cheating and allow greedy, unscrupulous people to use and abuse the system for personal gain.
In a perfect America, every honest, hardworking American would have a healthy family and a beautiful home with a white picket fence. Unfortunately, history has shown us repeatedly that capitalism without governmental restraint breeds corruption. This is why the current economic crisis has hit during the height of the deregulation trend. Without governmental restraint, the evil side of greed was allowed to thrive as investors became reckless in gambling with other people’s money. These parasites have continually sown wealth in the private sector while leaving the public sector to reap the losses. As Gecko said, “The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest.”
It’s clear the government needs to take a bigger role in regulation for honest competition, ambition and hard work to stand a fighting chance. The United States government recently took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: $5 trillion in Mortgage Market assets combined. Meanwhile, the recent bank bailout cost taxpayers $700 billion: more than the cost of the Iraq War to date. The current Republican administration has already exhibited starkly socialist tendencies in its attempt to solve the financial recession; if McCain’s supporters don’t think so, they’re kidding themselves.
Even if new government programs create safety nets for the lower classes, this merely suggests the poor will only be able to fall so far off the social ladder. By shortening the climb to the top, it will usher in a new era of healthy competition under capitalism. If social Darwinists are truly among “the fittest,” then they have nothing to fear and will be able to defend their wealth and prosperity against any industry that comes along. However, those willing to remain passively content with their class status and who have no desire for growth are against American opportunity, innovation and democracy. It is these citizens, who have no desire to be honest, hard-working members of society and not socialists, who are truly un-American.
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Capitalism without government restraint?
I don’t know where you’ve been living, but obviously not in the United States. The federal government continues to become way too involved in every aspect of our society.
I do agree that some throw around the term ‘socialist’ as a fear-mongering technique, but Obama’s ideas are very similar to other policies in ‘socialist’ countries.
IP hash: 07028cd4
Tax breaks for oil companies is “spreading the wealth around,” but spreading it in strange places. The $700B bailout is spreading the wealth around, but in strange places. Farm subsidies, again, is spreading the wealth around.
John McCain’s health care tax credit of $5000 is SOCIALISM; it gives money to people who “don’t contribute.”
Don’t kid yourselves, the job of government is essentially deciding where to spread the wealth. McCain will continue trying to prove that Trickle-down works; the fact is, the wealthy are just as irresponsible with money as are the poor.
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“At the heart of socialism is genuine democracy.”
No, Casey. At the heart of socialism is oppressive taxation and a police state that must oppress in order to maintain order. You won’t have to look far to find a litany of countries that tried socialism. And look how long they lasted. They didn’t. No thanks, I’ll stick with a system that can only survive for as long as people have money to spend. Wall Street, are you listening?
IP hash: d0fee513
Casey,
Would you mind sharing some points from your GPA? I’ve taken incredibly hard theoretical math classes, and I’m guessing that you haven’t. Since you approve of socialism, would you send me half a point from your GPA so I can have a 3.5?
IP hash: 3562718f
Government regulation caused this housing mess in case you have not heard. The Community Redevelopment Act was government regulation telling banks they had to lend to minorities and people without jobs or income or assets. Wait then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sold stock on these mortgages to the whole world and then it all collapsed because these people WITHOUT JOBS couldn’t pay back the mortgage. Government regulation clearly helps the world…..not.
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8:30 -
Such as Sweden?
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How does ‘incredibly hard theoretical math classes’ have anything to do with this article? Certain classes being harder or easier than others is a whole other debate for another time.
But, I would like to point out that the last 8 years has been FULL of government encroachments in the lives of America Citizens, directly from the hands of George W. Bush. Labeling only Obama’s policies as ‘socialist’ is more than absurd. Let’s spread the blame around a little more. The whole idea of taxes to start, is socialist, but hey don’t freak out. We, as students all benefit from this. Ever heard of financial aid? Unless, however, you are one that is trying to argue that only the rich and powerful should have the opportunities to further themselves, and thus this country, then by all means, freak out and condemn taxes, Obama.
IP hash: 34f51f46
8:30, you should look at our pals across the pond, the Brits, who are democratic socialists. Stop thinking Soviets, start thinking Western Civilization. Was Clinton a socialist, because I seem to remember the economy THRIVING under his “oppresive” tax scheme.
Besides, Obama is talking about raising the top bracket from 35% to 39%. Up until 1986, the top bracket was over 50%, after WWII, in fact, the top bracket was over 90%. Do some research, 39% is fair.
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Clinton enacted NAFTA and ended welfare. No, he wasn’t a socialist.
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Sarah Palin is a socialist, just like all Alaskans thanks to their oil revenue.
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11:51pm and 12:35pm, Sweden and Britain are not socialist countries. They simply have a few more government-funded programs than most other western countries. But they are still far from socialist.
Also, 12:35pm, under Clinton, we lost a lot of jobs to China and Mexico during that time. Most of the job gains were in the technology sector. Madison was riding high at that time and the US had a budget surplus in 1998. However, Clinton took the leash off the IRS and many small businesses were crushed by greedy IRS agents while huge corporations got away with all sorts of evasion.
Still socialism is a good idea? There are plenty of Americans who would be happy to lay down their lives to stop you from forcing it down everyone’s throats.
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“Also, 12:35pm, under Clinton, we lost a lot of jobs to China and Mexico during that time. Most of the job gains were in the technology sector.”
Where were the jobs gained under the capitalist super hero George W. Bush? Still want to dabble in trickle down?
IP hash: 07028cd4
5:56, you might want to check with the Labour Party in the UK about democratic socialism. Might I refer you to Tony Blair or Gordon Brown?
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Ah, what the heck, I’ll do it for you.
Labour Party: Party electoral manifestos have not contained the term socialism since 1992, although when Clause 4 was abolished the words “the Labour Party is a democratic socialist party” were added to the party’s constitution.
Internationally, the Labour Party is a member of the Socialist International, and in Europe it is member of the Party of European Socialists.
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The current economic crisis has hit during the height of deregulation? Where are your facts?
There were over 51,000 NEW regulations passed in the last 12 years. Freddie and Fannie we’re created by government specifically to push investing in subprime loans. The Feds manipulated the money supply in order to provide cheap credit and inflate the housing market.
How in the world can this be called the height of deregulation?!?
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“At the heart of socialism is genuine democracy.”
Why don’t you go to half the countries in South America and say that, see what kind of response you get. Better yet, why don’t you go live in venezuela. I’m sure their genuine democracy is awesome.
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Coveting, the Hebrew Decalogue instruct us, is sin; and so socialism is a system which advocates sin. Socialists like Obama, for example, favor higher capital gains taxes even if lower tax rates bring in more revenue. The only justification for that is to bring more successful people down to the level of less successful people. That is seething rage, self-righteous sin, feral coveting— all masked behind the calm mask of Obamessiah socialism.
Obama wants to take more money from Joe, the Plumber— a man who actually works hard in service to others to get his money— simply because Joe, the Plumber has earned some money. This ordinary American simply wants the chance to improve his life by his own efforts without Socialism. He works to do so. But to the extent that Joe, the Plumber succeeds, he offends the champions of mass coveting, the bosses of socialism.
The candidate who constructed his whole image around the peculiar notion that change is the answer actually offers nothing more than the ancient curses of those who covet against those who do not. Like all sin, coveting carries the seeds of self-destruction. Socialism has never, ever, worked. The decline of Europe is directly traceable to the embrace of socialism. The whole hideous Hell of Bolshevism, Nazism, Maoism and other ghastly incarnations of socialist Leftism were united by their gleeful embrace of hating those deemed successful at the expense of the people. Nothing new here. No “change,” unless you consider the imposition of murderous totalitarianism to be “change.”