From Pine View Farm

Red Scare Redux 0

At the Idaho State Journal, retired professor Wayne Schow takes issue with Doyle Beck’s hyperventilating over a little bit of social safety netting. He explains that democratic socialism and Soviet style communism are not, in fact, the same thing, a distinction of which methinks many Americans are similarly unaware (as many seem also unaware of the concept of the “common good”).

Here’s a bit from his essay; follow the link for the rest.

Let’s make sure we’re talking about the same thing. Socialism is not communism, which many confused Americans, hyperventilating, assume. Socialist governments do not take over the means of production. The socialist countries of northern Europe do provide more programs like social security, universal health care, free childcare, free higher education, et cetera — and they tax more heavily to pay for such benefits. But they are democratic and have market economies.

Share

Comments are closed.

From Pine View Farm
Privacy Policy

This website does not track you.

It contains no private information. It does not drop persistent cookies, does not collect data other than incoming ip addresses and page views (the internet is a public place), and certainly does not collect and sell your information to others.

Some sites that I link to may try to track you, but that's between you and them, not you and me.

I do collect statistics, but I use a simple stand-alone Wordpress plugin, not third-party services such as Google Analitics over which I have no control.

Finally, this is website is a hobby. It's a hobby in which I am deeply invested, about which I care deeply, and which has enabled me to learn a lot about computers and computing, but it is still ultimately an avocation, not a vocation; it is certainly not a money-making enterprise (unless you click the "Donate" button--go ahead, you can be the first!).

I appreciate your visiting this site, and I desire not to violate your trust.