Posted by vga42 1 day ago
Time will tell if this is truly the "cap" of his ascent though. For the next few years sure, but he is young, as the article says.
Even America has become a socialist country. The current Republicans are doing their best (thankfully) to slowly roll this back, but it's a long, slow process.
As evidence that America has become a socialist country, you just need to look at the massive expansion of medicare/medicaid and social security.
Here is a great place to start (Scroll down to the table called "Historical Social Security Tax Rates" and see how the numbers have just exploded): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_(United_States...
For example, in Germany, the socialist/left/green pretty dominate and control almost all power here. Democracy is one of the few last standing barricades to germany becoming a full-blown communist state.
Yet, even democracy is starting to fade here.
Besides Germany, most of europe is well grounded in democracy. Therefore, I wouldn't call most of european countries communist states.
However, once socialism reaches a certain point, societies start to fail, and economies start to stagnate or even go backwards. We are starting to witness this here in European. Stagnating or retreading economies. Germany's economy hasn't grown in years.
Why is Medicare proof of the US being a socialist country and not the existence of e.g. the US Army? The former is a formal agreement of the majority to spend money on citizens' health, the latter a formal agreement to spend money on citizens' protection from invasion by a foreign country. Obviously everyone agrees an army is needed, so why not health care?
Therefore, the continual dramatic expansion of Social Welfare (especially for the old) means america has become a shitty social state.
Why is spending money on people's health social welfare, and spending money on their safety not social welfare, whether it's financing the army, police, fire department? Should it not be the responsibility of each individual to protect their life, family, home etc. from danger? Why should these dangers and the protection from them be SOCIALIZED? I for one am perfectly capable of protecting my property of fire, if someone is not, well it's their problem.
What? How are any of "western economies" socialist AT ALL??
Do the workers on "all western economies" own the means of production in any way, shape, or form?
You sound like an ignorant american. Germany prides itself on being a socialist state. It's even anchored in their constitution (Article 20): "Germany is a democratic and socialist state."
Lots of other european countries are similar in this regard to Germany. The word socialism is well integrated in almost all european countries except for the english speaking ones. Most European countries consider themselves to be socialist states.
> Do the workers on "all western economies" own the means of production in any way, shape, or form?
You're drawing from some sort of book definition, like an ignorant american. You don't understand what "socialism" means.
In ideal world you have it all, thats what Star Trek and similar utopias were based on. In reality, the more you push to the left, the worse system gets since it always fails on the same premise - it expects ideal human beings, rather than greedy selfish real people(TM) with their own priorities that may diverge from common good.
I've seen the mix of socialism and communism dictatorship in my home country (so a vastly different concept than you describe even if spiritually in same direction), it destroyed the spirit and work ethics of entire nation so deeply that even 2 generations after it all collapsed its not back in any way, and maybe never will be (to detriment of entire nation).
While capitalism doesn't care, it pushes everybody to their max, for better or worse, weak or unlucky are allowed to fail all the way to the bottom and all the glory to the best and only the best.
Great comment, by the way. What country are you from?