What are the 10 Steps from Freedom to Socialism?
"The 10 Steps For Taking Over a City"? (The movement was a predecessor to ACORN). At the bottom of the page, it mentions the plan for Sacramento. And they implemented much of it... Anybody remember?
There is work being done transcribing old materials, newspaper articles and the like, so that it will become part of the online searchable data base. Things like this will unearth many a modern day politician's Van Jones moments. Rather like Pelosi's admonishments never to sign a bill you haven't read. These way-back machine moments haven't gone down the Memory Hole just yet.
Look at the CED (Campaign for "Economic Democracy" plan... kinda sounds like our local boys... Remember "Balls to the Wall" Ken Miller/Richard Salzman/Michael Twombly?
Rose, what's your beef with socialism? You and your family benefit from socialized policies such as Social Security and all the social infrastructure that is socialized like our fire departments, police, road maintenance, water works, etc. Only health-care and insurance seem out of the socialist loop and we see what a social disaster that has created.
ReplyDeleteRose, you gotta remember that the alternative to socialized basic community services has been ruthless exploitation by corporations picking your pockets, taking your hard earned dollars to finance their high-life living style. It isn't right that someone who works all their life to have some tiny group of private doctors organizations dictate the economic fate of so many American lives. This goes for most everything an individual or community needs for health and well-being. I don't know why anyone would champion a system where a few get to so dominate the many. Remember our Declaration of Independence's motto, "We the People.." It never was meant to mean "We, the rich ruling class.."
not exactly. Rose and her family are the ones paying the bills.
ReplyDeletestephen, i think you confuse socialism and social services. how is health-care out of the 'socialist loop'! we have medicaid and medicare.
ReplyDeleteare you advocating government ownership of all industry, property, and resources?
Stephen - do you not remember the Boston Tea Party> Do you not remember that people came here to ESCAPE excessive dictatorial governments?
ReplyDeleteNo corporation is picking my pocket, quite the contrary, a thriving business community is what makes all the wonderful services you cherish possible.
There is a huge difference between productive men deciding to pool some of their wages/assets in order to PAY another man in the tribe not to go on the hunt with them, but to act to protect the village.
You can imagine in the beginning they all had to take turns standing watch. But as time went on they found some liked the duty more than others, some were better at it, while others were better hunters. So they worked it out.
It's a huge leap from there to socialism. Even socialism, if you look at it as pooling all the proceeds of the hunt might work, IF it were not for those who contribute nothing. That's the basic problem, Stephen.
There are plenty of socialized countries, if you really prefer that system, I sincerely suggest moving there. Not being derogatory. To each his own. You might really love it. Or you might find, as Berit mentioned on another thread, it's not all it appears from this lovely distance.
Native Americans as a whole are STILL the most disadvantaged people in America. Every tribe not in a population nexus where casinos can offset disadvantage is still incredibly poor compared to the rest of America. These are people we European-Americans forced into this position with our gigantic immigration to the New World. I don't see any sense of honor in your position, Rose, neither to NAs or those millions of Americans who are not white, did not inherit the white person's entitlement to better education, better jobs, better health services. Where's your sense of social responsibility to those who make the capitalist system you seem to adore work? It works on the backs of such people and now, not having enough empoverished Americans to use as low paid lackies, corporate capitalism outsources to find new lackies to pay minimum wages without benefits.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism is carried forward only by paying off the middleclass enough so they won't bitch about their lot in life, but capitalism cannot exist without creating social division between those who have wealth and those who don't have it and those who will never have it.
Free enterprise is not free when it creates social inequity that must be paid for by somebody. NA societies before the European invasion was almost purely socialistic as are most all pre-industrial societies. They made sure every member of their societies were taken care of regardless of differences in ability to contribute. You, Rose, have that same draconian Hobbesian idea that those who have more deserve it because they got it and others don't--too bad-the strong rule the weak, the rich rule the poor, and forget social equality which was the major aim of the American experiment in democratic government.
Remember, I favor a two-tier system and to think I want everything socialized in order to counter my view is wrong. There is plenty of room for free enterprise in the non-essential sector of our economy. But if we do not democratize our basic necessities for individual and community well-being we end up like we are now, with these huge disparities in basic needs of every citizen.