What's so bad about socialism?

Question

What's so bad about socialism?

Answer 1

hmmmm....the worst part about it is that is DOESN'T WORK. It bankrupts countries as we've seen with Greece. The rich, who pay the most in taxes, leave. The poor, who benefit the most, don't pay taxes. The middle class collapses under the weight of the taxes they pay because they can't hold up the weight of the entire country. Eventually, they end up out of work because their companies are either big corporations, that leave, or their smaller companies go out of business under the weight of their taxes. So, more people end up needing state services than are paying for those services and keeping the state going. 



It IS true that socialized medicine is the worst. My sil from Canada developed leukemia and was in the hospital being treated within 6 weeks of developing it. If she had gone back to Canada, she would have had to wait for 6 months to be treated and she'd be dead. Much like my friend's father in Scotland. He had an infection in his foot. Went to the clinic. The put him on the hospital list and told him to keep coming to the clinic. It took months for him to get into the hospital and the infection got worse and worse. He died in the hospital walking around in the hallways. His body was discovered. They have never explained what he died from.

Answer 2

Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.

Socialism is what they called public power. Socialism is what they called social security.

Socialism is what they called farm price supports.

Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.

Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.

Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.

When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan "Down With Socialism" on the banner of his "great crusade," that is really not what he means at all.

What he really means is, "Down with Progress--down with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal," and "down with Harry Truman's fair Deal." That is what he means.

(Harry S. Truman - October 10, 1952)

Answer 3

Countries with socialized healthcare have the worst quality of care. You are 2x more likely to die from a disease in England (which has socialized healthcare) than in the US because we don't have socialized healthcare. Less socialized healthcare means more people paying more money for the care which means BETTER CARE! In the US we have some of the best care in the world but it is just expensive. In England it can take 4-6 weeks to book an appointment for an MRI..... Iwould rather pay the $260 copay but have it today... I understand people want everything to be free but nothing is free. Taxes will increase which will cause more and more to be unable to pay taxes which will cause massive issues. Businesses will leave the country bc they dont want to pay taxes. People will lose their jobs and business because they cant afford it. Prices of everyday products like gas and coffee and other **** will be like $8 for gas and $15 for a dunkin coffee.People will go poor.

Answer 4

It could only benefit the poor. It would only cost the elite a little fraction of their obscene wealth, to purchase the stability. Places like Switzerland and Norway, Germany and Iceland, have benefitted from some sharing of the collective wealth. It requires a certain banality of the spirit to enjoy seeing your fellow creatures in abject poverty whiles ye stuffs your faces on caviare.

Answer 5

You mean like Social Security, public roads, public parks, etc? Nothing as far as I can tell

Answer 6

Socialism, in a country where a large number of people are on welfare and depend on the government for a paycheck, will be devastating.  The few hard workers can't support the hoards of lazy and eventually everything falls apart because those few really hard workers decide to join the lazy and we all have nothing.  You can't spread the wealth if everyone is broke.  And I always wondered about the people at the top who really want to spread the wealth when they have more money than anyone and refuse to share it.  Mind blowing!

Answer 7

it can be corrupted easily ..................................

Answer 8

When they run out of your money, they take you car, then your house, then give you a job @ $15 per month, and a tiny apartment within walking distance. "You don't need no stinkin' car!" Socialism eventually turns into Communism. Just look at Venezuela 20 years ago, and compare it with today. (THAT'S was a Dominion controlled vote too!)

Answer 9

Not a lot really.  The main flaw with some socialism is that it isn't very Green, but on the whole it's simply the one rational way to run society.  The only reason we don't realise this is that the whole of society is biassed towards capitalism, e.g. the media, education and so on.  It's like the world is being run by flat earthers and creationists.

Answer 10

America is both.  People like to say America is purely capitalist. that's not true. we have  Social Security, Fafsa, Energy Assistance, TSA, SNAP program, Disablity, 911 fund, Hospitals, ACA act, Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs.  That's not a bad thing. It's a great thing. America provides a safety net (although a very thin safety net, but a saftey net nonetheless).  People don't like socalism because it's expensive and they find it unfair.  I.e. I studied and I got an A, but for socialism: Every one gets an A so why should i strive to do better? and Americans are very indivualised. that's the problem (some) people have with everyone

Answer 11

Nothing, if you don't mind economic and social stagnation.  Under socialism there is no reason to do more than someone else since you won't get more for doing more.  The only people who ever get ahead are the few at the top who make the decisions for everyone else, exempting themselves from any negative consequences, much like our own Congress. 



The programs many people claim are "socialist" like the communist welfare state programs, socialist medicine (Medicare, Medicaid) and "Social Security"  are also unconstitutional.

Answer 12

Can you make  for me a Maltese Malta midget with a huge penis and  wallet full of worms that scream every time Maltese  waste money. One one midget 

Answer 13

EVERYTHING and it does NOT work!

Answer 14

You will lose freedom of speech, religion ,no land ownership,Loss of most of your pay check,.Another word for socialism is Communism.Read up on it.

Answer 15

Nothing, really.  After all, in the US, they already HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY,  public schools, and fire and police departments...

Answer 16

Because it encourages people to depend on the government for everything in their lives, instead of being responsible for themselves..... actually it doesn't encourage it. It FORCES it.

Answer 17

Ask China 🇨🇳 

Answer 18

Socialism for the rich is not different than socialism for the poor, each is about getting money. It's actually a balance act.

Answer 19

Theoretically its marvelous dogma, but not practically.

Answer 20

A handful of millionaires, billionaires, and the oligarchs are not allowed to run the economy to enrich themselves further.



Socialism advocates for an egalitarian redistribution of wealth and power in society through the redistribution of society’s means of production i.e. means of making money.



Socialism, envisages making more of an effort to balance the scales between the rich and the poor.



It can vary from workers or communities as stakeholders in a cooperative, managing businesses, to varying degrees of governmental ownership and administration.

Answer 21

Asking this anonymously is a start.

Answer 22

First of all we must understand that it's not a political model.  It's an economic model.  So we can easily have, and do, socialist economic sectors in democratic nations where the people vote on their governments.  The Scandinavian nations are prime examples of this.



Second of all socialism can be applied discretely to specific sectors and not applied to others.  We have that here in the USA.  Although most of our economic engine is modeled after the capitalist supply and demand model, we do have some sectors that are government owned and operated, which is socialism.  The US Postal Service is one such socialist economic sector in the US.



Socialism got it's bad reputation from the communist nations.  None of them has ever been Marxian communist.  Despite their Communist Party labels  their governments have in fact been fascist authoritarian governments run by ruthless dictators like Stalin, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh, Xi, and the little fat guy Kim Un.  



And the major economic sectors in these communist nations were seized and run by their authoritarian governments after they took power...they became socialist economic sectors at that point.  In other words, socialism did not cause the dictatorships; the dictatorships caused the socialism.



My point is clear...creating socialist economic sectors in the US will not create a dictatorial government in the US.  We will continue to have government by popular representation, a democracy.  So socialism really is not a bad thing.  But is it a good thing?



It's simplistic, but close to the truth, to claim that capitalism is great for creating wealth but lousy for distributing it.  And on the flip side socialism is lousy for creating wealth but great for distributing it.  So the solution is to use a hybrid  economic model that manifests the best features of capitalism and socialism without their respective worst features.  



And that's what Bernie and others are recommending with their "soft-socialism" concepts.  I prefer to call it social-capitalism to get rid of the socialism stigma and emphasize that capitalism is still a major aspect of their hybrid economic sectors.  



Medicare for all, as it has been proposed by some sectors is a prime example of social-capitalism (soft-socialism).  In this model, government owns the health insurance for coverage of the major ticket items.  But private pharmas can supplement that basic coverage for added cost and the government actually hires private insurers to implement the basic insurance.  In other words, Medicare for All will be government owned but commercially operated.  And in the end all...all...Americans will have access to affordable health insurance.

Answer 23

Socialism isn't defined the way most republicans wrongly interpret it!



socialism

[ˈsōSHəˌlizəm]

NOUN

A political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Answer 24

Nothing. It works fine many places.

Answer 25

Socialism empowers workers.  It's only bad from a billionaire point of view.

Answer 26

Today --it's actually less frightening than new Republicanism 

Answer 27

First we  need an unbiased truthful definition:



Definition of socialism

1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

2a: 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



Ok....now....



There are 2 major systems that govern what a country is....economic ideology, and political ideology. They are separate but are very much interlinked and self supporting or perhaps and at times at odds end.





In the USA our system of government is the belief in democracy, that government is merely a representation of the people making law and policy on behalf of the people as their elected representatives....and we have regular elections so that we can vote out the politicians who we think are not representing our will and put in new ones.  



In the USA our system of economics is capitalism which basically means we believe in the idea of markets being free and let supply and demand for products and services being the main determinant of what is produced, what is bought and at what price.



Personally, I believe that structurally we have chose correctly and that most of the world have also chosen the same things that we have...democracy and capitalism.  They are interdependent because they both advocate freedom and oppose tyranny. At least that is the idea.



What has happened is that in reality you cannot have straight pure capitalism because markets need to be regulated and there must be some government involvement in regulation and so forth if for no other reason but for public safety.  If producers of goods were left alone, a lot of bad things would happen to consumers. Furthermore the government plays a better role in providing certain services like a post office, or a military, or police or fire department or the building of roads and bridges etc....because it makes more sense and things are more efficient that way.  So even in a capitalistic society you do have a strong influence of socialism even in the most capitalistic countries.



If you did not have that socialistic element in capitalism it would adversely effect the political ideology of the country, so that as capitalism becomes more corrupt and that special socialistic sauce is receded, the democracy also becomes adversely affected and the country becomes less democratic and more fascist.



I could write a whole book about this, but in short socialism even strong socialism is an economic choice. Its not the most efficient economy because the strongest economies are those that innovate and compete and a strong socialism country would have less of both. Yet socialism is a choice that a democracy can make. Voters of their own free will can decide that they think its best that the government owns more means of production, like maybe airlines, or auto makers or maybe some grocery stores etc...Its not tyranny since the people have chosen of their own free will by elections....what is more tyranny is the country that is supposed to be capitalism leaving out the regulations part and letting things be a free for all and corporations become monopolies having way too much power. See....facebook, Google, tweeter, Amazon, etc.... this is not capitalism...its more oligarchy headedy towards fascism...... and there is more.  As these profiteers get richer and more power they seek to control government more to have their ideal systems in place to make more money. Business and government interests merge, the people are put on the back burner, democracy becomes the enemy and voila...you have a fascist state.  This is pretty much where we are now in the USA.

Answer 28

Part of the problem in the US, especially, is that the term is imprecise. It has been used as a scare word going back to the days of the Cold War and the Red Menace before that period. One strategy used by its "opponents" is to point to the obvious authoritarian practices of places like North Korea, the old Soviet Union, Cuba--especially under Fidel, Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, and so on to claim that this is what you get with socialism, guilt by association. Some even go so far as the dredge up a tired trope about the N.a.z.i.s as "socialist" because of the party's full name. Socialism is really about broad-based ownership of the economy. Authoritarianism is authoritarianism regardless of the label it chooses for itself. 



It is correct that what exists in many places in Europe is the social democratic model of socialism. However, there is a renewed interest in what socialism might bring to the US. There is clearly a need to address healthcare in a meaningful way and our current system of insurance profiteering only serves well paid executives. There is also a need for a social safety net which actually catches people and helps them reintegrate into the larger society and helps those who truly cannot help themselves. 



I do think that democratic socialism would work in the US, but on a slightly different model. Because the US is so large both in terms of landmass and population, centralized solutions have a one-size-fits-all feel, which doesn't work in a highly diverse and decentralized society. You end up splitting the differences and end up a bland, often unworkable middle road set of solutions. I suspect that a decentralist model along the lines of the Cleveland Model or using ideas such as the Mondragon Cooperatives might offer a local planning model which also encourages maximum participation by local folks (that's another problem with highly centralized approaches, you lose the participatory element, witness Russia and China, both authoritarian, just to make their system work). Laws and rules which facilitate making large businesses employee-owned and using worker cooperatives to offer goods and services also democratizes capital and begins to address the radical wealth inequality from which we suffer. Extreme wealth is extreme power. 

Answer 29

Depends on what you mean and which political party you ask. Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor is a classical political-economic argument which states that in advanced capitalist societies, state policies assure that more resources flow to the rich than to the poor, for example in the form of transfer payments. So, it can go either way. However, obviously many don't see it that way due to their political bias.

Answer 30

Margaret Thatcher said it herself, “The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other peoples’ money.”

Answer 31

People talk a lot with each other. They talk a lot. Chaos takes place. A strong battle begins.

Answer 32

Deeply thinking............ 

Answer 33

Socialist countries care more for their citizens than non socialist countries.  In the UK everyone, but the very poor pay 'Council Tax', which is used to maintain highway maintenance, street lights, rubbish and recycling collections, Education, Social Care, Emergency Services etc, including Benefits.  



National Insurance is taken from your wages which goes towards paying for our NHS - National Health Services -, which provides virtually free health care for everyone. National Insurance contributions if you earn more than £183 a week for 2020-21. you pay 12% of your earnings above this limit and up to £962 a week for 2020-21. the rate drops to 2% of your earnings over £962 a week.



The majority of British people have no issue of paying a contribution of the money they earn to help the whole.  No one knows what their own future will bring and when you maybe glad it exists.



I'm proud to be British and am glad we live in a democracy, I feel that we are one of the many modern countries.  The US seems to be going back in time or at least stagnating, many faults are arming it's citizens, rife religion causing 'brain washed' people that put religion before their own children, ensuring that Religious Leaders can take advantage of their own children and get away with it.  Plus those same Religious Leaders tell them fairy stories and they believe them.  Religion is not harmless and I don't like that virtually all Political Leaders seem to believe in the 'brain washing cult', that all Religion is made up of.  Weird.

Answer 34

Decisions may be made at your expense. Thats all i know...

Answer 35

It gives people things that they "do not deserve." That's the real beef.



FDR's Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, was in a discussion with a conservative who was fiercely opposed to any of the New Deal programs, saying that people ought not get things they did not actually deserve.



She replied, "Oh, I think that I often receive things I did not deserve, haven't you also had that experience?"

Answer 36

Fly to Cuba, Venezuela, or North Korea, and ask that question. You obviously NEED the education.

Answer 37

I have to take off the full month of January 2021 on full pay, I still have a further six day's to take. That is just to clear my 2020 day's, I still have to figure out 2021.I usually take three to four breaks a year. Because of covid I missed out on New York, Boston and Chicago in Spring. Canary Islands in Summer. Poland in Autumn and my Christmas break into the New Year again in the Canaries. 

I am in and out of hospital since 1988 at no cost. I carry a free Doctor card. I am an unskilled worker. I thank God I do not live in the US.Cheers from Ireland.

Answer 38

The fact that you don't bother to define it. Three quarters of the answers here are strawman-arguments

Answer 39

Most Americans don't have the slightest idea what that even means.

Answer 40

Apart from the 150 million dead?

You should go to Cuba to see it for yourself, but of the 5 eggs they give you per month, offer one or two to a neighbor.

It is poverty but you cannot complain even in the least. The Marxists who are so fond of violent protest in capitalist countries do not make any of these demonstrations, not one, in Cuba. Not the slightest or innocent.

Ah another advantage is the Chinese Big Brother who follow you with facial recognition and you lose score as there are some faults and they do not allow you to travel for example. The faults can be opponents or complainers with the government. Like the 7,000 dead for being opponents of the Chavista communist regime in Venezuela (report by the Chilean socialist Bachelet to the UN).



Democratic Socialism is like hot ice cream. An oxymoron.

Or the joke of calling the communist Germany that built the Berlin Wall Democratic Germany.

Answer 41

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money - Margaret Thatcher

Answer 42

Nothing, but stupid inbred redneck hicks want you to believe that having free collage and health care like in Sweden is a bad thing. 

Answer 43

Many of the richest European countries are socialist. I come from Vienna/Austria, where we have one of the best healthcare systems and a pretty good socialist safety net for everyone. Vienna also has the highest standard of living in the world and a fraction of the homeless numbers the US has.  



US-Americans tend to think that countries like North Korea are examples of socialist countries, when they are not. They are dictatorships. They may use the word socialism but in fact they are fascists. In socialism, taxes pay for necessary things like healthcare etc so that even poorer households don't fall through the net. In the dictatorships that Americans like to cite as examples of socialism, wealth is taken from the poor and given to the rich. That is the opposite of socialism. 

Answer 44

socialism is like capitalism , just a different name ..both give you propoganda ..

Answer 45

It's made up of socialists. 



I like a Democratic Republic, made up of Democrats and Republicans.

Answer 46

IF CONTESTED President-elect Biden WINS by SCOTUS decision:



1) Obamacare ( socialized health care ) will arise from the political dead---with that "individual mandate" reinstated--FORCING working Americans to BUY over price gouged "marketplace health care plans"---EPIC HUGE NEGATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE U.S. ECONOMY!!  Oh....it gets better.....



Biden's blundering is gonna force YOU to start growing home gardens and break out WORKER COMMUTER BICYCLES--just like the Chinese ( remember THEM? ); make sure your commuter bike meets U.S. Republic guidelines, comrade!!



2) Ah, but wait for a second!!  Isn't Biden going to call for America to connect to the Euro financial global market network--being "attached" financially to OTHER SOCIALIST COUNTRIES....like say.....France, Spain---or even RUSSIA???



Why yes; the sooner Biden can have that done, the better---especially for Russia--who is DYING ( literally ) to get that welcome Soviet economic boost from the U.S. monetary markets. Sure as hell is NOT going to IMPROVE America's damaged economic system---that WAS BEING REPAIRED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP.....but fear of gay rights being rescinded---and the desire to see a BLACK FEMALE PRESIDENT---finally dethroned President Trump.



And this is where Biden is going to FORGIVE CHINA for their "accidental" global exposure of COVID-19--and as an "olive branch" extension of Peace......China's multi-TRILLION DOLLAR DEBT to America is NO MORE!!!



3) Longer COVID-19 NATION-WIDE LOCKDOWNS: Law enforcement authorizations per DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS, to issue expensive citizen citations for ANYONE violating curfews; look at it as being a potential slush fund MONEYMAKER for counties and states.



4) Strict PUBLIC FACE SHIELD MANDATES--again, loudly hailed by DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS AND MAYORS NATION-WIDE!! Violators caught by law enforcement face paying EXPENSIVE court-ordered fees. Yet another MONEYMAKER for corrupt U.S. counties/commonwealth offices and State bureaus!! 



Is that stranger in the park, staring hard at you, an undercover Compliance officer--or just a bitter lonely old geezer???



And you can expect "backup" penalities set up for anyone who DEFIES paying those violations of MANDATE ORDERED LOCKDOWNS AND/OR FACE SHIELD VIOLATIONS.



5) Oh---and don't forget your CONTACT TRACING BOOK, when you DARE venture out; have it ready for on demand police inspection when they ask to see your papers, comrade---or it's yet ANOTHER expensive police written court citation.



Aggressive authoritarian control of public masses; it's IN the pages of Das Kapital--and explanation clarified IN the book "Animal Farm".  



Remember kids: IF......CONTESTED President elect Biden wins---all this any way more darker scary events WILL unfold.....



....but hey--it's all for protecting those gay marriage lifestyle rights--let's see if Kamala girl can be elected POTUS herself---and run America............

Answer 47

Not a damn thing. Socialism pays for our roads, our police, our education, our military, and so on

Answer 48

Socialism doesn't work. For example, Venezuela.



Also, what pt109 wrote.



Also, what mustagme wrote.

Answer 49

The undeserving are as well off as the producers. That is a clear violation of human nature. 

Answer 50

Pure socialism saps innovation and creativity. Personally, I don't think any pure systems work. Pure capitalism leads to monopolies and dangerous products. Pure communism leads to economic stagnation and poverty.

 

The best systems are a mix of capitalism and socialism, what some people call "Democratic Socialism."

Answer 51

Ask the EU........

Answer 52

I'm sure welfare mooches and trailer trash love it. Other than that, it benefits nobody else. 

Answer 53

Socialism sounds great on paper but the fact is every socialist country has failed.  Socialism Starts off well meaning but seems to always gets taken over by some dictator who controls the life of everyone and is quite happy to have millions of people murdered to keep them in power.  They build up massive militaries to keep them safe and in power.  People are paid by the government who give them meaningless jobs that stifle their creativeness.  No one is allowed to run their own business and get rich.  Finally the system becomes too many people doing little that actually makes money for the country and it becomes hard to pay everyone a wage then the country starts to have major problems with their people going months before they are paid.

  It happened in the USSR, Venezuela, and other socialist countries like China, Vietnam, Cuba, Laos and more who realized unless they turn to capitalism they would become peasant nations again with no power to sort out their problems.  China claims to be a socialist country but basically it is a country run by one party who has no intention of letting any other party have a chance to rule.  Socialist countries seem to need vicious secret police to grab and torture any person they feel is undermining the country with many taken away to labor camps to be worked to death or murdered.

  Socialism just does not work as it has too many flaws such as lazy people who have little incentive to work hard as they will not be promoted and they cannot be fired from the job.  Their wages depend on the job they were given to perform.  Doctors and scientists were the worst paid and those who do the hardest physical work get paid the most so why would anyone want to be a professional.  The whole system just does not encourage effort by most so they go to work drunk or hide away down the back as they know they wont be fired.  Factories are not modernized as it would take away jobs so the whole country becomes totally inefficient.

  In the USSR it got so bad the government started to have trouble supplying food for everyone.  They tried to pay for exports with their poorly made cars and tractors and other products that were very inferior to products made in westernized countries.  The the government could not pay all the wages and many people had to survive for months working for no pay until it was their turn to be paid.  Finally the Russian president admitted socialism had failed and Russia would become a capitalist country to survive.  Other countries saw what happened to Russia and decided to open up to capitalism before they also became desperate and their countries collapsed as badly as the USSR.

  Socialism just does not work no matter how good it seems on paper.  None of the socialist countries could ever make it work properly and it caused the death of so many millions while they tried to get up and running.  People are nothing to the socialist governments and people are treated like ants and are considered expendable for the good of the country.  Do you think you would like to work in a dead end job for just enough money to survive on poor quality food.  Few could ever have a car or buy much.  They tend to have to rent very small apartments and even share with other people in line after line of sterile apartment blocks.   Do you think you would like to live knowing the secret police could take you away because you annoyed someone and they made up a criminal story about you and you are tortured and sent to a labor camp, to be worked and starved to death.  That is what living under a socialist government is like.

  

Answer 54

There is that mass murder tendency that they love so much.

Answer 55

The truly delusional think that Social Security, fire departments, public roads, public parks and public schools are "aspects of socialism". They're not. Socialists like to look at history and claim credit for hundreds of things they had NOTHING to do with only because they like those ideas - while blaming everything they DON'T like on more successful systems like Capitalism. Such people are typically best described as nanny state crybabies that want a government agency formed to just change their dirty little diapers for them for free. 



Socialism is public ownership of the means of production - nothing more and nothing less. And it fails every time. All socialist countries resort to mass murder in the end. Socialists are the ONLY people to have murdered more people than the Nazis.

Answer 56

What's giod about not having your freedom?

Answer 57

 Ignorant poor folks think it truly leads to Communism zxj

 . . . . . . . . . .

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Answer 58

if we exclude the economy and Siberia

1917 Russia under the leadership of the tsar where people were starving

after 50 years of bloody communism, the USSR was the first in space

I don't know what to add...

Answer 59

It only works until you run out of someone else’s money

Answer 60

Nothing.  I love socialism.  I am living off the fruits of other people's labor. 

Answer 61

What is so bad about socialist policies in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Canada? What is so bad about universal healthcare, free higher education, etc? It is only bad for the 1-2% billionairs who dont want to pay taxes and dont want to contribute a dime to society even though they wipe their a$$es with money. 

Answer 62

It has never worked anywhere in the world, at any time in history. Anyone claiming socialism is a realistic economic model has to be either so evil to ignore the death and misery of the past century or so intellectually dishonest to be unworthy of conversation.

Answer 63

Nothing.  You lot already have it.  It's called medicare, social security, government funded public transport, and your interstate highway system.

Answer 64

Socialism works until you run out of other people's money to tax or spend. Every attempt at socialism has failed. Current failed models are Venezuela and Cuba. Other failures have been USSR, Italy and other European countries. Sweden, Norway and Finland went capitalism when they realized socialism was a failed system



If you are playing a tennis match and you are ahead 5-1, do you think the judge should take 2 games away from you and give them to your opponent so that the match can be more even/fair at 3-3?



If you earn $100,000 and the government says they are going to take 63% your money in taxes (which they do in California and NY) to pay themselves and give a little to welfare programs for people that don't want to work, THAT is socialism.  It is government seizing your money because they think they can spend your money better than you can.



.

Answer 65

Here in Europe they bring in millions of unskilled migrants from dangerous Muslim countries with rape culture

Answer 66

it makes people dependent on the government.

Answer 67

It fails when you run out of other people's money to finance it.

Answer 68

In small amounts nothing.  In large amounts, it leads to lack of productivity and incentive.  The best system is in the middle, with capitalism and socialism to varying degrees. 

Answer 69

Socialism is a failed economic system. Capitalism is a far superior system and is self regulating. In fact, the less you regulate it, the better it works. 

Answer 70

It's made up of socialists. 

I like a Democratic Republic, made up of Democrats and Republicans.

Answer 71

That would be - Socialists.

Answer 72

It is a misguided theory where everyone shares. The problem is the elitist and bottom feeders. The elitists take what they want, the bottom feeders don’t care and the rest of the people suffer greatly.....other than that it’s great. 

Answer 73

It's not going to be the same every time, but basically, it's just increasing the size of national government, giving it more power and control. It wants to help people, but finally learns that people have to help themselves. Welfare turns into labor camps. It takes all the wealth, and tries to make a life for everyone, but then how could the government possibly become that organized to do that more effectively than people could do for themselves? The reason socialism happens, is because the people in a capitalist country become greedy, and selfish. Community dies. Nobody wants to sacrifice a lousy me for a better US, because they forget what a better US looks like. Socialism believes its the better US, but becomes the worst US. People need to organize their own communities, and become more neighborly, the Government cant do that for us. Maybe build better community centers or churches... The Philippines has Barangay, something like that adequately utilized would work if it were promoted half as much as forcing people to like other people. 

Answer 74

Ask anyone who has lived in a Socialist regime... No freedom

Answer 75

Socialism advocates for an egalitarian redistribution of wealth and power in society through the redistribution of society’s means of production i.e. means of making money.A handful of millionaires, billionaires, and the oligarchs are not allowed to run the economy to enrich themselves further.

Answer 76

Socialism only serves the politicians, they become the wealthy and super-rich while the rest of the nation looses everything!

Answer 77

Absolutely nothing.  Most of the services in the US are run by socialist principles.  You all pay varying taxes and you all get to drive on the roads for example.  Other countries are more socialist and we all benefit from that.  People in the USA are TOLD how bad socialism is by those who benefit from fascism.

Answer 78

Sometimes it can get out of hand 😕

Answer 79

"Socialism" is a general term that refers to a variety of forms of political economy.



In my view, there is nothing wrong with European-style "soft socialism" (sometimes called Social Democracy), which is the form that interests Americans.  This combines capitalism with good benefits for citizens, such as universal health care.



We already have soft-socialist programs in the US. They include Medicare and Social Security, public schools, and the Veterans Administration.



Social Democracy should not be confused with Democratic Socialism, which is more purely socialist in nature, and of course it's not at all similar to Soviet-style Communism.  No one wants that.

Answer 80

There are different kinds.  Notice how every answer a right winger gives is completely wrong, nonsense 

Answer 81

simple.  you dont and shouldnt have the rights to the fruits of someone else labor.  taking the incentive to produce or create weakens us as a society and is cancerous to our future as the failure of obama proved.

Answer 82

There are flaws with socialism.

When a socialist comes to power, rather than nurture

businesses, they see big business as competition to

their power. So they punish the job creators, and 

generally think wealth is evil. Usually, it dampens down capitalism, because it reduces the reward for innovation, makes investing less profitable with taxes, and makes it more difficult to open a business. Also, often times, the person who promises the freebies is just trying to gain power, and once they get it they take too much control. 

The don't understand and recognize that big business

does a valuable service to society with new inventions,

technology, and more efficiently run companies with

much better customer service. Anything run by the

government has horrible customer service because

they have no competition. 

Answer 83

Socialism is a marriage between State & Business Consider China. Factory workers make $17 a week. They must walk to work & farm a small plot for food. Cuba? About $5 a week. But, most things are "free". Chicken & rice, tobacco, gasoline (if you have a motorbike). European Socialism? Europe isn't socialist, they're capitalists. "Free" medical? Medical is paid by a VAT (Value Added Tax). Everyone pays a percentage when they buy. So, it's really a tax on the poor.

Big Business gets favors & bureaucrats get money. You get neither. Every government exists for the rich. 

Answer 84

As long as it is accepted and not forced it is the politco-economic system of the future..look no no further than the Scandinavian countries as your role model..

Answer 85

Not a thing.  We could be like Venezuela with everyone living in near poverty.  

Answer 86

What's so bad is it doesn't work. Anyone who's studied rudimentary economics and business knows it's a flawed system. For example, how do socialists address demand-pull inflation? How would socialists keep the rich from leaving the country? These are but two examples. 

Answer 87

some of it is good...  it's needed or the ball doesn't go round...   my sister freaks about it....  no joke..

Answer 88

Is 'redistribution' too much to ask for: SIGN into LAW the top 10% elite class 'pay back' their FAIR SHARE of taxes (restrict deferred taxes) 39.6% income, capital gains & corporate taxes! SIGN into LAW 'Cost of Living Wages': small business $15hr. - large business $20hr.! SIGN into LAW affordable health care, housing & education! All we ask for: Middle class shared equal opportunity prosperity! =<)

Answer 89

Go get Chinese citizenship, live in China for a couple of years. Then come back and tell us how it was.

This definition -"a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole"



NEVER HAPPENS - there is always a group that has control over others.

Answer 90

Nothing, tell Bernie Sanders you want one of his houses and see his response 

Answer 91

It depends how pervasive it is. In the U.S., we have public schools, municipal police and fire departments, Medicare, Social Security, and all the rest. I don't hear many people complaining about the existense of those services. 

Answer 92

Look into a mirror.....................

Answer 93

Actually nothing. There are different economic systems. America is a free-market Capitalism. But people lie and call every control or regulation of the free market socialism. Read Karl Marx Miem Kemp to learn about socialism.



But don't fall for the lie. Rules and Regulations in the free market protect the market from abuses. 



America Government sometimes gets involved in an industry as a business competitor to save the industry especially when it become non-profitable to invest in. Commercial Trains, Post Office, Electric plants. But that isn't socialism. That is capitalism using a tool of socialism to keep its free-market system working. Example - Trillions of dollars of business survive off the government-controlled post office.



Socialism isn't bad. Everyone will point to Greece and Venezuela, but they are recently having problems and government corruption was the main problem. Many countries are socialistic or democratic socialist and everyone is happy.



We are not. We are Americans. We are Free Market Capitalist. We impose rules and regulations on our Free Markets and use socialism to save dying industries. And that is how we roll.

Answer 94

Soc less publicly over exerts itself by implementing mechanisms of SOCIAL CHANGE. See mental “health” general medicine, domination of public exchange of ideas, censorship, anti religion, anti material expression, anti buisness, anti family, anti fatherhood, anti straight white men. For those of us who’d gladly die for black people’s wellbeing, know that the policy of the left (even before defund the police) is hands off, allow gangs and drug dealers to take control of orgs. Decriminalized zones already exist and in these areas children are raised to be violent, hateful, drug addicted. The law needs to improve itself not promote anarchy. Every step closer to Marxism is a step further from God.  

Answer 95

history has shown us the problem with socialist

 systems many times. To think America is somehow immune to corruption or economic failure under socialism is naive. 

Answer 96

The leaders of every socialist society become not so secretly rich, and the appetite for taking from the “rich” is insatiable, so that after the weath of the rich is stolen and squandered , they just continue to take from everyone. 

As opposed to a free capitalist society where even the poorest person can work their way to an enjoyable life on their own terms.

Answer 97

Astute question, anonymous.  The United States is, by Founding Fathers' deliberate design, a Yin-Yang balance between SOCIALISM (taxpayer-funded, people owned) and CAPITALISM (for-profit, privately owned) and we are strongest as a democratic representative republic when this crucial balance is protected and preserved.  



The word 'balance' is key here, since each functions as a checks and balance for the other.  Too much capitalism without the socialism of oversight, regulations, and consumer protections (the GOP's whole "less government" schtick) produces unbridled bottomless-pit corporate greed and corruption---"Absolute power corrupts" principle. Too much socialism without the competitive edge of for-profit capitalism, however, can cause slow economic growth or even stagnation.  A nation needs both.

Answer 98

Do people even know what socialism is?

Answer 99

The MASK that's what. The lockdown. That's what. Understand you will always have to live that way. Every single day of your life.

Answer 100

The poverty and the killing. Mostly the killing.

Answer 101

There is the old debate about fairness . There are those contributing and those receiving while giving nothing . In some cases considerable amounts of someone's honestly earned cash becomes 'public money ' . Did you know ABBA were taxed at 85% by the  Swedish government in  the seventies ? Mind boggling and unfair .

Answer 102

Having a little bit of it is not a bad thing, we get social security so.........

Answer 103

Because there is no incentive to work hard - everyone gets the same anyway, so what is the point?

Answer 104

Switzerland, the renowned international banking and finance country, all highly capitalistic endeavors, is a socialist country.  Look at their health care and social nets.

Answer 105

They own your body

Answer 106

OP Anonymous:   The wealthy 1% do NOT want to share.  

Answer 107

Simple, they also have a lot of enemies.

Answer 108

When any head of government has authority over too many branches - military, civil service, justice, banks etc. all it takes is one person to take power and then it becomes a personal dictatorship because that power structure is already in place. This is what happened with Stalin and Mau and what is currently going on again to some extent with Putin. And let's be honest, if Trump could have taken over everything and been a dictator, he would have. The only thing keeping him at bay was the foresight of the Founding Fathers.

  

So the problem isn't necessarily socialism as such because the Scandinavian countries seem to blend capitalism and aspects of socialism successfully. But in practice various regimes that started out with the idea of redistribution of wealth by the government, it turned into authoritarianism over all individuals and branches of government very quickly and then the country is at the whim of the single person in charge, which usually doesn't end well.

Answer 109

Socialism holds back people that strive for success.



Did you go to school? Were you a good student? How would you like your grades averaged out with those that didn’t even try? But they feel good about themselves.

Answer 110

For one, you would make a lot less money if you lived in a socialist country. North Koreans live on $5 a day. Even the USSR at the height of the cold war had an economy a fraction of the size of the US (despite having more people) 



You would have no opportunity to better yourself or your family. You'll be poor and you'll stay poor no matter how hard you work. 



You would have no freedom. If the government controls your life you have no freedom. 



Technological advances would slow to a crawl if not reverse. Nearly all technology of the last 200 years has come from capitalism. 



Socialist countries tend to be extremely corrupt because the government has unchecked power. As a result they don't listen to the people. 

Answer 111

do you want to be controlled by a government or have the freedom of certain things. I hope you decide on the second one because socialisms is related to communism and where there is communism. well look who controls China. Not the people but the government. 

Answer 112

Just look at how antifa trash represent themselves.

Answer 113

Ask a Chinese person that knows they are safe from their commy big brother that would surely kill them and or their family for even a perceived notion other than commy. One that is soo thankful to be in the best country on earth. Ask them why they think this.

Gotta say, why aren't you living in a commy country? Ask yourself that.

How's that for ya, China?

Answer 114

NAZIS are Socialists.  Socialism is Media Propaganda Slavery

Answer 115

Democratic socialism as outlined by Bernie Sanders, for instance, in a capitalist country sounds good to me.  We have already implemented some socialist programs in our United States economy that have been in existence for many decades. 



A lot of people are scared silly by even the mention of the word "socialism" and are therefore not even inclined to listen to any rational proposals.  They need to not be so close-minded and should listen to what people are actually proposing. 

Answer 116

 nothing at all



Most developed countries are socialist



But the republicans have conned you into believing socialism = communism - IT DONT



 (most of the answer make me laugh cos they show just how far you been conned cos they are referring to COMMUNISM - not SOCIALISM)



the US is already partly socialist and has been for decades (it goes back BEFORE WW2)



 it has medicaid, medicare and benefits for the unemployed and disabled dont it? THOSE are socialist principles

socialist countries do NOT prevent you from making the most of your talents and making a fortune as a result



In all socialist countries its the electorate who decide how far those principles go by voting for the candidate who represents THEIR wishes

Answer 117

Do some research on the history of Venezuela over the past 25 years and Cuba over the last 75 years. That will show you how bad socialism can be.

Answer 118

Nazi Germany would like to enter the chat.

Answer 119

Its not in keeping with the Constitution.

Answer 120

Really?  You're clueless!  Read some history books. 



Maybe you are asking what's so bad about a social program in a democratic country.  Such a properly run program would be NON PROFIT!!  That is the problem part in the USA.  There would be so much more medical services available for those in need, if such a large part of the COSTS (that which is paid to medical caregiver companies) weren't transferred as PROFIT to certain people's pockets!  All you young pseudosocialists need to work on breaking down the large money sucking/laundering systems of the rich investors and the government. 



Surely everybody needs sensible health care.  But you must also sensibly live and sensibly take care of yourself.  Presently, the government (and others) profit from alcohol and tobacco production and sales.  I profit the most by not consuming alcohol and tobacco products!  So should YOU!



Some people need to live in real socialism!  The healthy ones who don't want to work, and want everyone else to take care of them, and cater to them. 



Some people CAN'T work.  We need to care for them.  The people who CAN work, need to put in some effort.  About 40-45 years worth. 



ALWAYS in a socialism system are those who put themselves in charge of it, and take an unfair large amount for themselves from it.  This is what's wrong with our present capitalistic health care system. 



HOW MUCH of YOUR INCOME are you willing to give to OTHERS?  Half?  More than half??  Because it's easy to whine about things and want to fix the broken "system", but when it gets right down to the whiner fixing anything, he just whines louder!  So give half of your income to the socialist government, then ask for more aliens to be brought in so you can pay more!



P.S.  TheGOPHateAmerica wrote:



"Not a damn thing. Socialism pays for our roads, our police, our education, our military, and so on" 



There is some truth to this.  But not everybody drives.  Not everybody calls/uses police.  Not everybody goes to school (but should!).  Not everybody is in the military.  Et cetera.

Answer 121

Rich people would start moving to Canada . Trust me they love there money more than America . If Canada has lower taxes they will leave 

Answer 122

The only bad thing about socialism is Marxism-Leninism.

Answer 123

No one does more than they have to and than most do almost nothing. The reason the peons will only do the minimum hence less tax revenue less services it only goes down hill from there.

Answer 124

Nothingroider! It is only the racist cons that have a problem with free $hit!

Answer 125

Crack a history book and find out for yourself.                                     

Answer 126

Lack of incentive for discovery and invention. If you will not make any money with your work, why should you contribute?

Answer 127

SOCIALISM - noun



Definition of socialism



1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods



2a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property

2b : 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 unequal pay, according to work done.

.

Source: MERRIAM WEBSTER DICTIONARY (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism)

Answer 128

The U.S. is the richest country in the world right now, thanks to Capitalism.  Many countries tried socialism and rejected it.  You can google that.



Socialism borderlines on communism.  basically, everyone is equal for everything, salary, housing, transportation, healthcare.  Most European countries that are socialists have extremely homogenous cultures (no diversity).  But, ultimately, their socialist structure fails and have to resort back to capitalism (e.g. Sweden).

What is so bad is the sharing.  It's not equal.  If I work hard to earn $100,000 a year, why should I share that with someone who doesn't work hard for $20,000 a year.  If the government makes me give $40,000 dollars to that person so we both earn $60,000, I would consider that unfair and stealing, but the other guy would not mind taking it.  There's a video of a guy asking college students if they want socialism and they all said yes, but when asked if they would share their GPA with another student, they said no.  It's the same exact principle.



Also, taxes. Those European countries that have free healthcare, they are taxed 70% or more.  We are taxed roughly around 30% as an average.  So imagine earing $100,000 and only able to live off of $30,000.  

Capitalism is what drives people to invent better technology and become wealthy.  Socialism would halt any incentive to want to better ourselves in that manner.  Watch Kamala's ad and review the comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4kowE_YIVw



Socialism is based off everyone having equality.  So, if you have two houses, the government will take one of them and give it to a family that does not have one.  It's basically a form of stealing.  Look up all the countries that tried this and rejected it.  You no longer have the option to make more money than your neighbor no matter how hard you work.  It's how you level the playing field.  Of course, the politicians will be exempt of this.

Answer 129

Do you know? North Korea have no Covid 19 person.

Answer 130

The IDEA is perfect, the human experience is not.



It fails in a group of more than 12 (10 actually) because of an individual GREED, Grab for POWER, SELF-Gratification.

Answer 131

Socialism is great until you run out of other people's money.

Answer 132

Read these answer it is clear why socialism is on the rise because some many of these idiots don’t know the different between a close and open market economy.





A welfare state is not a socialist concept, if you don’t understand this Google the different….here is a hint TAX.





You hate a government you are not a socialist as you essentially want ot give those people potential absolute power to your spending and lively hoods.





You go to a store and chose an iPhone over a Samsung, you are not socialist as in a close market there is limited choice.





This idea of democratic socialism is a fallacy, as it does not exist. It’s a pretty way for the political selection of people in power to exert their forms of close market economics while also benefiting from free market economics.





I have known a lot of people that grown up under the control of a communist or socialist ideology. I have friends and friends and family that have lived in parts of former Soviet Union, Alegeria, Poland, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia. NONE of them say socialist is a good thing, and none would go back to those days.







These Western democratic socialist fools have zero clue what they are talking about.







Why is socialism bad ? because it negates the basic human right that we have evolved with; Choice.

Answer 133

It's the most overblown concept among the American electorate, it used as a scare tactic and people that are scared by it, can't even define it.

Answer 134

Venezuela......