Q&A: What IS socialism? An escape from poverty, or a luxury for prosperous exporter nations?
Question by gws35: What IS socialism? An escape from poverty, or a luxury for prosperous exporter nations?
Take your pick from the following list of nations, and decide which ones have a successful form of socialism, in your opinion:
Switzerland
France
Germany
Canada
Denmark
Finland
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Japan
China
Russia
Ireland
All of these countries, other than France, have a trade surplus. France had a trade surplus up to year 2000.
Successful socialist nations DO NOT depend on imports, like the USA does. Or if they do, they export even more to pay for them and maintain a positive trade surplus.
Socialism is a LUXURY reserved for nations that successfully sell their products to the rest of the world.
Which is oddly a very capitalist thing to do for such supposedly socialist nations.
Euro/Canadian “socialism” is a social agenda, not an economic policy.
This brand of “socialism” relies on a healthy CAPITALIST economy to pay for the social programs.
They need the income from exports to sustain the high taxation of their citizens.
And the citizens depend on the trade surplus to generate enough income for them live on after the high taxation.
Here, check the economic statistics for these countries for yourself:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Balance-Of-Trade.aspx?Symbol=NOK
Norway Balance of Trade
You can select a different country in the box at the upper left corner.
9 out of 10 supposedly “socialist” nations are exporters, or they were up to 2008.
And the ones that are not exporters are deeply in debt. Switch to “Current Account” to see if the nation is a creditor nation (positive current account balance) or a debtor nation (negative current account balance).
And don’t forget to check the stats for the USA and China, for comparison purposes.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The USA would have to cut WAY down on its imports if it ever hopes to adopt Euro/Canadian style “socialism.”
Best answer:
Answer by Shawn
socialism:
You pretend to work.
We pretend to pay you.
Add your own answer in the comments!
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August 8th, 2012 at 11:27 pm
I agree 100%. Our weakness is that we have ceased to be a nation of producers and are now gluttonous consumers.
August 9th, 2012 at 12:22 am
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
August 9th, 2012 at 1:21 am
It’s when we all chip in for the common good of all. For instance, socialism is why we don’t have toll booths all along our highways, it’s why we have a strong military, and a public education system that put man on the moon and eradicated many of the worlds most dreaded diseases.
A dash of socialism here and there has always enhanced American lives.
The fabric of freedom should be woven from the finest threads of all ideals.
August 9th, 2012 at 1:28 am
Socialism is a way to lock people into classes. People in these utopias don’t rise and enter a different class from the ones they were born into. They come here to America. People admiring these lovely places should pack up and go there.
August 9th, 2012 at 2:28 am
We don’t “hope” to adopt Socialism. I have never met one American who said “gee I wish we were more like Canada”.
Socialism is govt. baby sitting and Americans like to roll the dice in life and life their own lives and make their own decisions. That’s what makes us the land of the free and the home of the brave.
We don’t want it any other way.
August 9th, 2012 at 3:16 am
Not one of those countries is a true socialist nation. China was but is becoming capitalist and is beginning to thrive as a result. Russia was part of the former USSR, which failed rather spectacularly and is now moving towards capitalism. Switzerland is beginning to realize their social programs are not working well and has begun privatizing their health care industry.
Now, Cuba is socialized and has many serious financial and social problems. You forgot to mention them. As the US has become more and more socialized, its economy has gotten weaker and weaker. Interesting coincidence!
August 9th, 2012 at 4:07 am
The difference is in how they use the money they do get. In their case they have chosen to use it to better everybody. In our case the riches have been accumulated at the top.
Yes we need to re-establish our productive and manufacturing base. The US is large enough to be self sustaining we don’t need to export things we could have enough work just by satisfying internal demand.
August 9th, 2012 at 4:10 am
Socialism breeds LAZINESS!! If it weren’t for the entrepreneurs in America and good hard work….we’d still be living in the dark ages!!
EUROPE SUCKS and is way overrated. They are a bunch of lazy drunks.
August 9th, 2012 at 4:40 am
What was the last blockbuster drug from any of the above nations?
….If you hear crickets, you are correct. The above countries wait for U.S. patents to expire so they can make the generics. They let the U.S. corporations throw all that money away into research while the generics reap the benefits of another’s genius.
America has it right.
By importing from China and other countries at an inexpensive rate, we EXPORT inflation. That’s just basic economics and a brilliant strategy to keep living in America affordable.
Americans are the ‘smarter’ capitalists. The above mentioned countries have high levels of inflation — most in double digits.
But under this administration, socialism is REDISTRIBUTION of wealth from the producers to the non-producers. What is worse, they attempt to take over the medical banking, medical and auto industries. That, my friend is FACISM.
The trade deficit is just an age old war cry to rally unionization. If a car costs $ 30,000 in the U.S. and $ 20,000 to buy and ship from Japan, I’d enjoy buying the Japanese car AND enjoy a trip to Kyoto for $ 30,000
Americans are forever looking for a deal and they’ve found it. Go USA.
August 9th, 2012 at 5:19 am
The utter lack of understanding is astounding.
When confronted with the obvious, they just won’t admit it’s obvious.
If asked about the $ 12 trillion national debt, they’d wave a flag and yell AMERICA’S #1.
What to do about the debt?
REDUCE TAXES.
it’s like a 2 year old, entitled to everything, not willing to pay for anything.
of course there is a difference.
the 2 year old likes learning.
August 9th, 2012 at 5:26 am
I agree 100%. Our weakness is that we have ceased to be a nation of producers and are now gluttonous consumers. Socialism is destroying America.