Perhaps its truest form was some of the early, primitive, Christian groups; where concepts such as sharing, helping, equality, community, brotherhood (the good side of human nature) were practiced. The darker side of human nature, however, is always lurking in the form of envy, power, arbitrary rules, etc. Even some moderate / neutral elements of human nature (meritocracy, competitiveness, and the need for “leadership”) undermine socialism.
Too bad it doesn’t work, at least not in the long run.
I agree 100%. I'm just tired of people banging on about political reform while doing NOTHING in their own lives. You believe in White privilege and you're white? Give up some of your fucking privilege. NOW. DIRECTLY. You believe that emissions are a terrible danger and we should embrace no growth policies? Stop buying clothes online and flying commercially. You believe that communities should de democratic and socialist? Get involved in your own community and begin to pool your resources. All of these things can be done WHILE you babble online or vote or whatever.
Instead people use these ideas as badges and signs to express things about themselves or their inclinations. That only succeeds in showing that their ideas are weak and the believers are ridiculous. Talk is cheap, as they say, and it's cheaper than ever before. I worry that our natural urges for action and community are being wasted, dissipated online, to the benefit of our corporate overlords.
An economy that shows growth in per capita GDP over time is a capitalist economy. This is because the only way you can grow an economy is by growing the amount of capital in the economy and that process IS capitalism (that's why it is called capitalism).
If the government owns the means of production this is state capitalism. So, yes the USSR was state capitalism, not socialism.
Socialism is when all the corporations are owned by the workers or the community. These can compete in a free market and it could look a lot like what we have now except there would be no stock market. I am not sure there has ever been a socialist economy.
As far as I can tell, communism is a bizarro system in which the economy is first organized as state capitalism. Somehow the state is then supposed to wither away (huh?) leaving some sort of socialism? It is as I said, bizzaro.
Even among private, free market capitalisms there are different kinds, depending on the rules and structures imposed by the state on the operation of that capitalism. For example, in Germany labor unions participate in corporate management (they have seats on the board). This is called Rhenish capitalism.
In America, tax and other policy affects the kind of capitalism one gets. America had "SC capitalism" focuses on growing non-financial capital operative in the decades after WW II and since around 1980 has had "SP capitalism" focused on building financial capital.
The real question is not moving towards the stupidity of socialism but rather how to deal with those issues that capitalism by its very nature tends to ignore. For example how does a capitalist system protect the environment? Air and water pollution are real yet in the US every time the pro capitalist party is elected to lead the country one of its first steps is to cripple the very agencies that have been established to deal with the problem. What exactly is the Republican party’s strategy for dealing with issues like climate change other than to deny that it exists? Do you know that when Trump last ran the executive branch he installed a coal company executive as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency? Was that move anti-socialism or insanity? Where is the middle ground on these issues?
It is not the job of a capitalist system to protect the environment. That is a government responsibility. The job of a capitalist system is to grow the amount of capital. What structures are to be used in this pursuit and what KIND of capital is to be grown are political questions and fall to the government.
Mike: You are absolutely correct. It’s the responsibility of government to protect the environment. So when Republicans are in charge of the government as they will be if Trump wins again in November what are their plans for protecting the environment? It’s a fairly simple question.
I don't think protecting the environment is something modern Republicans particularly care about. So I'd expect them to do nothing. But for me the chief reason I can never support Republicans is their support of SP type capitalism. I prefer the old SC type and would go back to that if I were in charge.
Good post.
Socialism, in some form, will always be with us.
Perhaps its truest form was some of the early, primitive, Christian groups; where concepts such as sharing, helping, equality, community, brotherhood (the good side of human nature) were practiced. The darker side of human nature, however, is always lurking in the form of envy, power, arbitrary rules, etc. Even some moderate / neutral elements of human nature (meritocracy, competitiveness, and the need for “leadership”) undermine socialism.
Too bad it doesn’t work, at least not in the long run.
I agree 100%. I'm just tired of people banging on about political reform while doing NOTHING in their own lives. You believe in White privilege and you're white? Give up some of your fucking privilege. NOW. DIRECTLY. You believe that emissions are a terrible danger and we should embrace no growth policies? Stop buying clothes online and flying commercially. You believe that communities should de democratic and socialist? Get involved in your own community and begin to pool your resources. All of these things can be done WHILE you babble online or vote or whatever.
Instead people use these ideas as badges and signs to express things about themselves or their inclinations. That only succeeds in showing that their ideas are weak and the believers are ridiculous. Talk is cheap, as they say, and it's cheaper than ever before. I worry that our natural urges for action and community are being wasted, dissipated online, to the benefit of our corporate overlords.
But not forever.
An economy that shows growth in per capita GDP over time is a capitalist economy. This is because the only way you can grow an economy is by growing the amount of capital in the economy and that process IS capitalism (that's why it is called capitalism).
If the government owns the means of production this is state capitalism. So, yes the USSR was state capitalism, not socialism.
Socialism is when all the corporations are owned by the workers or the community. These can compete in a free market and it could look a lot like what we have now except there would be no stock market. I am not sure there has ever been a socialist economy.
As far as I can tell, communism is a bizarro system in which the economy is first organized as state capitalism. Somehow the state is then supposed to wither away (huh?) leaving some sort of socialism? It is as I said, bizzaro.
Even among private, free market capitalisms there are different kinds, depending on the rules and structures imposed by the state on the operation of that capitalism. For example, in Germany labor unions participate in corporate management (they have seats on the board). This is called Rhenish capitalism.
In America, tax and other policy affects the kind of capitalism one gets. America had "SC capitalism" focuses on growing non-financial capital operative in the decades after WW II and since around 1980 has had "SP capitalism" focused on building financial capital.
https://mikealexander.substack.com/p/how-economic-culture-evolves
The real question is not moving towards the stupidity of socialism but rather how to deal with those issues that capitalism by its very nature tends to ignore. For example how does a capitalist system protect the environment? Air and water pollution are real yet in the US every time the pro capitalist party is elected to lead the country one of its first steps is to cripple the very agencies that have been established to deal with the problem. What exactly is the Republican party’s strategy for dealing with issues like climate change other than to deny that it exists? Do you know that when Trump last ran the executive branch he installed a coal company executive as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency? Was that move anti-socialism or insanity? Where is the middle ground on these issues?
It is not the job of a capitalist system to protect the environment. That is a government responsibility. The job of a capitalist system is to grow the amount of capital. What structures are to be used in this pursuit and what KIND of capital is to be grown are political questions and fall to the government.
Mike: You are absolutely correct. It’s the responsibility of government to protect the environment. So when Republicans are in charge of the government as they will be if Trump wins again in November what are their plans for protecting the environment? It’s a fairly simple question.
I don't think protecting the environment is something modern Republicans particularly care about. So I'd expect them to do nothing. But for me the chief reason I can never support Republicans is their support of SP type capitalism. I prefer the old SC type and would go back to that if I were in charge.