Socialism and Greece

[Purplehood]

Just an observation:

Shouldn't any rational man or woman considering Socialism as an alternative for the USA (heaven-forbid), look at the example of Greece and many other European nations and take pause? Perhaps to realize that maybe it isn't that great an idea to create a giant welfare state that strips the will of its populace to be productive?

//steps off of soapbox.

[bnc]

The problem is that those in control are far from rational, and the US is not far from socialism.

[longhorn_92]

Just an observation:

Shouldn't any rational man or woman considering Socialism as an alternative for the USA (heaven-forbid), look at the example of Greece and many other European nations and take pause? Perhaps to realize that maybe it isn't that great an idea to create a giant welfare state that strips the will of its populace to be productive?

//steps off of soapbox.

Rational:

** consistent with or based on or using reason; "rational behavior"; "a process of rational inference"; "rational thought"
** intellectual: of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind; "intellectual problems"; "the triumph of the rational over the animal side of man"
** having its source in or being guided by the intellect (as distinguished from experience or emotion); "a rational analysis"

Should I say more?....

[BobCat]

Purplehood is right, and people in this country (and elsewhere) are waking up to it.

The news tonight is full of talk about "austerity plans" for yrip; AP had a fairly ironic piece about the Queen of England showing up in a diamond-studded crown, horse and carriage, with "Beefeaters" in attendance, to give a speech about belt-tightening. The idea that socialism has failed in yrip was so clear I could see it without my bifocals. People in the US are getting the picture.

[Tamie]

The people getting the "free" health care and the "free" early retirement and other "free" government assistance are usually not the ones paying the bill through high taxes.

It's like the Iron Lady said. "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."

[silverbear]

The problem is that those in control are far from rational, and the US is not far from socialism.

The current administration is taking the US in that direction as fast as they can. Their incompetence with our economy, energy policy, health care, homeland security, foreign policy, fiscal responsibility, (the list goes on and on) is only worsening the problem and putting us at greater risk. Hopefully the November 2010 elections will end the legislative circus we have and be the start of corrective action.

My only concern is that I don't see a conservative leader like we had in Reagan after Carter. Perhaps one will emerge before 2012.

[Purplehood]

The problem is that those in control are far from rational, and the US is not far from socialism.

The current administration is taking the US in that direction as fast as they can. Their incompetence with our economy, energy policy, health care, homeland security, foreign policy, fiscal responsibility, (the list goes on and on) is only worsening the problem and putting us at greater risk. Hopefully the November 2010 elections will end the legislative circus we have and be the start of corrective action.

My only concern is that I don't see a conservative leader like we had in Reagan after Carter. Perhaps one will emerge before 2012.

Bailouts. What kind of nonsense is that? Throwing a bigger loan at an already bad loan? Any housewife managing the budget knows you don't do that (at least that is what they told me). If things continue on course, our Grandchildren are going to curse us for passing the buck.

[cougartex]

The current administration is taking the US in that direction as fast as they can. Their incompetence with our economy, energy policy, health care, homeland security, foreign policy, fiscal responsibility, (the list goes on and on) is only worsening the problem and putting us at greater risk. Hopefully the November 2010 elections will end the legislative circus we have and be the start of corrective action.

My only concern is that I don't see a conservative leader like we had in Reagan after Carter. Perhaps one will emerge before 2012.

[idrathernot]

I'm afraid that our house of cards fiat monies are in no better shape than Greece's, socialism or no. The only difference is that our ponzi scheme was bought into as the world reserve currency and the Saudis, Chinese, etc don't want to lose out on thier investment. As soon as they can dump the dollar for something else.... I might envy my grandparents for only having to live through the 30s.

[The Annoyed Man]

Socialism's Downfall
American Thinker
By Steve McCann
May 24, 2010

Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried, and it will continue to do so despite the best efforts of the die-hard true believers in the Obama administration and the rest of the world. The most recent example of this failure: Euro-Socialism is presently bankrupting the countries that embraced it in Europe. This will result not only in more social and economic upheaval, but also the ultimate demise of the ill-conceived European Union.

The original and current proponents of socialism fail to take into account one very basic but immutable factor: the fundamental nature of the human race.

The most dominant trait mankind has, as do all living creatures, is an innate desire to survive and prosper.

While some may willingly choose to pursue subsistence on their own terms, to the vast majority of the human race, the path of least resistance is the most desired. Thus, mankind is susceptible to financial scams, gambling, crime, and resentment or violence towards those who may have more. But above all, people are very open to the concept of a central authority providing them with the means of livelihood.

A secondary characteristic of human race, again shared by other species, is the need by some within the group to conquer or maintain control over their fellow man. Thanks to modern technology and weaponry, gone are the days when a megalomaniac could by sheer force of determination and arms conquer and impose his will on others.

The mid-19th century saw the Industrial Revolution and the rise in living standards and education for the populace in Europe. It was during this same period that the advent of socialist/Marxist theory occurred. Those that considered themselves superior to the masses, and in the past may have achieved ruling status through the power of intimidation over the illiterate and unwashed, now had to look to other means to achieve control of the levers of government.

The easiest course to assume this power was to promise, in return for the support of the people, that the state through a new ruling class would provide the citizenry cradle-to-grave economic security. Thus, a Faustian bargain encompassing the desire by the majority for ease of survival and others for the need to rule would be entered into. The populace, having committed itself to this compact, would expect never-ending freedom from adversity.

However, within this arrangement is the seed of its own destruction. For socialism to succeed, it must have an economic underpinning that can provide the foundation for massive social spending. The Soviet Union, as early as the 1920s and '30s, proved that complete state control of the means of production was a colossal failure, as it could not produce sufficient wealth to support the population.

Therefore, only the capitalist economic system, which is anathema to a powerful central government and its attendant oligarchy, can produce sufficient wealth to underwrite a social safety net for the general public and finance the agenda of the governing class.

Capitalism, reflective of that portion of mankind choosing to seek subsistence on their own terms, does by its nature celebrate the success of the individual, not the collective. Individuals, separately or together, driven by the motive of self-enrichment, produce goods or services desired by others. In the process, jobs and wealth are created, thus benefiting society as a whole.

A massive tension exists between those who adhere to central government control and swear fealty to socialist/Marxist philosophy and those who produce the wealth of a nation. The state inherently has more power than the individual, and once the radical element of the ruling class assumes power, government begins an inexorable process of injecting itself into the affairs of the individual and producer class (which is always a minority in any society).

Those who believe they have a manifest destiny to rule and are faithful to socialist tenets have a predisposition to control the populace and economic activity through laws, regulations, taxes, and intimidation. Despite the lesson of the Soviet Union and its state control of the economy, every new generation of adherents to socialist ideology believe they can make this fallacious philosophy work and maintain their arrangement with the citizenry.

But the reality is that they cannot, as the economic engine of capitalism will not continue to produce wealth if it is increasingly put under the thumb of bureaucrats and central planners inevitably attempting not only to institute state control of the economy, but to also to regulate the day-to-day lives of all citizens. The motivation of the producer class will be stifled and they will either drop out, join the dependent class or simply move on to other more hospitable countries.

Governments will, as history has shown (most recently in Europe), turn to excessive and unsustainable borrowings and inflation to finance their societal obligations. The contract between the statists and the citizens who were promised cradle-to-grave security cannot be maintained, as the economic underpinning of this arrangement will quickly erode.

Social and economic chaos resulting in dramatically lower standard of living must inevitably ensue, and in some cases, these conditions will lead to violence or revolution. No amount of promises, demonization of capitalism and seizure of the means of production, confiscatory taxes, or printing of money will reinstitute prosperity or security for the populace. This is the path on which President Obama and his fellow travelers have set the United States.

The founding fathers of the United States, one of the greatest confluences of brilliant minds in the history of mankind, understood the basic nature of human beings. They accordingly set forth a form of government and a written Constitution to greatly limit those who seek hegemony over the people, especially those seeking unlimited security from a central government. They recognized that only the individual free to pursue economic happiness would result in a society wherein all would benefit on a sustained basis.

The voters of the United States made a grave error in judgment in 2008; but unlike in many other countries in Europe and elsewhere, this mistake can be reversed, as the citizens of the United States do have the governmental structure to allow the country to step back from the precipice that this nation and many others are presently staring into. But will the general public understand that the socialist path the nation is on is preordained to fail? Will the citizenry change the government before it is too late?

[Purplehood]

Hey, that is what I said but with big words.

[SQLGeek]

I think Thomas Jefferson's quote in my signature sums up my feelings on this quite well.

[silverbear]

Hey, that is what I said but with big words.

Love it!

[UpTheIrons]

People keep saying that Americans are "waking up" to the socialist ideas being tried on us. I hope that is the case. Rational thought has been out of vogue for so long among so many that I'm afraid anything approaching it might be too hard for many modern brains. But I'm still a glass-half-full kind of guy.

I try to have an impact where I am, but I've got a rather smallish sphere of influence.

[Abraham]

Well, hey, Cuba's a shining example of how well socialism works.

Yeah, and France too.

Funny, Russia used to be a mess and now with Capitalism being all the rage there, it's economy is soaring. (This according to a friend who spends a great deal of time there)