What is Socialism?

Discussion in 'West Mall' started by Musburger1, Apr 14, 2016.

  1. Phil Elliott

    Phil Elliott 2,500+ Posts

    He's Milton Friedman with more street cred.
     
  2. iatrogenic

    iatrogenic 2,500+ Posts

    Yes. He actually brings empirical evidence instead of just theory.
     
  3. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts


    Youtube demonetized the Rubin interview of Sowell

     
  4. Monahorns

    Monahorns 5,000+ Posts

    There is a great opportunity right now for a real competitor to youtube. The idea and service is awesome but the discrimination is disgusting.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    Getting back to the original question -- In 1971, Soviet scientists set up a natural gas rig in Turkmenistan.
    The rig collapsed, and poisonous gas spread out.
    So the Soviet researchers lit it on fire.
    Almost 50 years later, it is still burning.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    Socialism is offering every American (who wants or needs one) a $15/Hr, federal job with health care benefits and thinking you can pay for it with tax hikes on the rich and large corporations. Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and others have proposed just this lately.

    http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/...e-proposal-to-guarantee-jobs-to-all-americans

    Of course, these proposals are ridiculous, but they're sure to fire up a certain segment of society. Bernie hasn't announced for 2020, but if he does run, look out Trump. Every dead beat that's never voted in their lives will turn out for this one to get themselves a piece of the pie. Wonder what Bernie thinks all those hundreds of thousands of new federal employees would do?
     
  7. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    Hmmm so Bernie thinks people now on welfare living what is for them an acceptable life without working are actually going to show up for these jobs and or training?
     
    • Like Like x 2
  8. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

  9. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

  10. OUBubba

    OUBubba 5,000+ Posts

    Isn't authoritarianism (and that part that came with communism) the real evil? I mean that's where we're headed with many countries around the world right now. Democracy is on the way out, sadly.
     
  11. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    Democracy is largely a Western institution. If you teach people that Western civilization is corrupt and evil, it stands to reason that they will eventually reject democracy. Nevertheless, the prediction of democracy being "on the way out" mostly don't know what democracy is. It's grossly overstated and mostly for partisan political reasons, not a genuine concern for democracy.
     
  12. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    Jon Meecham was interviewed on Fresh Air yesterday. He had some insight on similarities in the rise in White Nationalism in the 20's and the tenor of the American populace when FDR took office.
     
  13. Phil Elliott

    Phil Elliott 2,500+ Posts

    Please somebody explain what the hell "demonetizing" is? I thought it meant you could not attach an ad to your YT video, hence, you could not make money. But I just went and searched for Rubin's interview with Thomas Sowell, and it's got a Walabot ad in front of it. Did YT "re-monetize" it? Or do I just not know what it means?
     
  14. Monahorns

    Monahorns 5,000+ Posts

    The problem with communism is communism. Authoritarianism is a by product of the centralizing of the economy and social value to the government. Read "Road To Serfdom", if you want to understand way. Oppression is not a bug of communism. It must happen if you are going to have it.
     
  15. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    "Demonetize" means Youtube altered what they'll pay the user who posted the video. They raised the bar to "X" number of subscribers/views to reach a payout stage. This is what the woman was upset about that walked into Youtube's corporate office and opened fire. Essentially, her channels fell under the required amount to get paid. Youtube may have also lowered their rate of payment.

    tl;dr Youtube will still run ads but the payout for the video owner may no longer exist or be as lucrative. That's a business decision by Youtube, not some conspiracy.
     
  16. OUBubba

    OUBubba 5,000+ Posts

    Youtubers. We're going to be passing through LA this month and I told my 20 year old that "U2" was there at the same time. She said, yeah, all I know about LA is a lot of "youtubers" live there. I didn't even know it was a thing...
     
    • Like Like x 1
  17. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    Siri, what is socialism:

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Phil Elliott

    Phil Elliott 2,500+ Posts

    From Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit: "Socialism is the Axe Body Spray of political ideologies: It never does what it claims to do, but people too young to know better keep buying it anyway."
     
    • Like Like x 4
  19. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    A man, a plan, a canal--Panama

    So, here is a plan
    In Venezuela, protestors are in the streets resisting socialism.
    In the US, liberals are in the streets demanding socialism.
    OK, so why dont they just move to Venezuela?
    This way, everyone gets what they want

    Make Venezuela Great Again
     
    • Like Like x 1
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2018
  20. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    Back in the day, the leading pro-slavery writer in America was George Fitzhugh
    Fitzhugh was a "Democrat Socialist"
    In 1854 he wrote:

    "Slavery is a form, and the very best form, of socialism”
     
  21. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 1
  22. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    And it is no coincidence either that Chile has had highest GDP per capita income most of the last 40 years in all of South and Central America + the Caribbean region.
    Yet the majority of people in these areas still will not recognize him for this.
     
  23. bystander

    bystander 10,000+ Posts

    Equalizing the misery?
     
  24. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Gotta say it's getting old that people keep posting stuff about how you can't be against socialism while you're driving on government funded roads and accepting social security. The fact that we think that's socialism shows that we have a whole bunch of people who don't know what they're asking for.
     
  25. bystander

    bystander 10,000+ Posts

    It's the same as when Obama said, "You didn't build that." The idea that we pool our resources for the common good is smart. But a road or a wire that transmits electricity provides no discernible advantage to one person versus another. It is a cynical attempt to curry favor with those prone to bitterness towards the rich because what could possibly be left after all the gifts we've received from the government except to thank them or beg forgiveness for using these gifts to our advantage in order to earn more than our fair share.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
  26. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    Apparently the new socialist darling from NY thinks socialism/progressiveism is ok for everyone but NOT her.
    When she was bartending last year she kept $510.00 of a tip jar and gave a waitress only $50.00 .

    Then when she was running her own business she was against paying taxes .
    http://dailycaller.com/2018/07/05/ocasio-cortez-tax-cuts-business/

    Are these the actions of a real socialist?

    There is a word for people like her.
     
  27. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    That's a pretty weak story. First, who knows if it's true, it's one person. Second, who cares? She screwed over a co-worker one time and that's news? I don't like it when people go through conservatives' backgrounds looking for meaningless stories about how they're really jerks in real life, and I don't like it when we return the favor.

    She's a socialist. She has stupid ideas. She's a 28-year-old bartender who's being used by the Democrats who have absolutely no interest in doing anything with her other than using her as a prop to pretend they're ready to hand over the reins to the "young firebrands." That's plenty of ammo.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  28. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

  29. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    The BBC now and 6 years ago
    They are seemingly unable to make any connection on their own. This despite the fact that it is always the pattern when the socialists take over


    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 1
  30. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

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