SOCIALISM AND CAPITALISM, Two Evils.
by Richard Cummings
"Socialism and Capitalism are not from the Devil or heaven sent. Everyone living in the United States is a Capitalist and demonize Socialism without thought." by R.Cummings
1-Socialism is a definition of an economic system.
2-Socialism describes a political system.
3-Socialism is not understood by those who have lived in a Capitalist society.
4-For many who are Capitalists, Socialism is evil.
5-Socialism eliminates the freedom of all according to Capitalist in the United States
6-Socialism is the scapegoat or is the primary blame of internal conflicts is in various countries.
7-"Economic and political system where the ways of making a living (factories, offices, etc.) are owned by a society as a whole, meaning the value made belongs to everyone in that society, instead of a group of private owners." [1].
8-"The gap between rich and poor is bigger than in any other advanced country, but most people are unconcerned."[2].
9-"The political consensus, therefore, has sought to pursue economic growth rather than the redistribution of income."[2].
Seven out of nine of the above statements are true about Socialism. After you have read all nine of them, can you guess which ones are not true? Number 8 and 9 are descriptions of Capitalism.[2].
Before going too far, I would like to inform the readers of this article who call themselves Capitalist, there are actually many types of Socialism. The purpose of this book is help all of us capitalist, to understand Socialism better.
The words Socialist and Communism are words whick carry a very negetive stigma in this country. It is rarely taught or mentioned to our children in schools. The result is many of us adults and even children are kept in the dark, relying on stories from our grandparents. For me, communism is mind control, something I experience in my church organization. Perhaps as students in high school or as a teenager, we may have felt and tried to have rebelled against what we distinguished as a mind control. Certainly, we believed there were too many rules. Some of us may work in a business today with rules which are too controlling. As we go about our lives, no matter how many rules or controls, the last thing we want to hear is the word communism or for some, socialism.
Another type of Socialism is Market Socialism. To describe it accurately "The government has an important role to play in protecting the poor, the environment, and future generations, but should not set prices or interfere too much in the market." There is a Capitalist city who had 7,500 homeless. San Francisco is the 13th most populous city in the U.S. with a density of 6,266 people per square mile. It's the second most densely populated city in the country. This is the estimated homeless count back in 2016, and it has drastically increased for this year 2019. A continuous and uprising problem in most of our cities. Many advocates for the homeless want govenment to spend more money on housing for these people.
One of the biggest complaints about Socialism is this group desires to protect the environment at almost any cost. One question is to ask what have been the Capitalistic solutions to our current environmental problems? Eco-Socialism, may need to be re-visited, ignored."Despite dramatic progress cleaning the air since 1970, air pollution in the United States continues to harm people’s health and the environment. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA continues to work with state, local and tribal governments, other federal agencies, and stakeholders to reduce air pollution and the damage that it causes."[6]. "Eco-socialists argue these problems can only be solved by government intervention, and the capitalist motives cannot be reconciled with environmental protection. They advocate strict limits on pollution and extractive industries such as mining, fishing, and drilling." [6].
The Capitalists look at glance to decide if environmental risk factors are severe enough to pay attentiion to. "The risks to public health and the environment from climate change are substantial and far-reaching. Scientists warn that carbon pollution and resulting climate change are expected to lead to more intense hurricanes and storms, heavier and more frequent flooding, increased drought, and more severe wildfires - events that can cause deaths, injuries, and billions of dollars of damage to property and the nation’s infrastructure."[6]. Taking Socialist/environmental solutions appear to be in line with the objectives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as far as urgency. "The National Research Council (NRC) and other scientific bodies have emphasized that it is important to take initial steps to reduce greenhouse gases without delay because, once emitted, greenhouse gases persist in the atmosphere for long time periods." [6].
The last two types of Socialism are more controversial not only to Capitalist but also Socialist. Lets look at the "Nazism" approach. Traditional Socialism was not even accepted as Hitler began to design a "third approach". Capitalists need to remember Nazism facist ideology was based on authoritarian capitalism rather than socialism.[3].
Socialist Anarchism
Anarchism, according to the latest definition in the Encycopedia of Britanica is "a cluster of doctrines and attitudes centred on the belief government is both harmful and unnecessary.[8]. It is further defined as "an extraordinary family of political philosophies, some of which belong to the socialist tradition. Socialist anarchists believe that a socialist society can only emerge from the destruction of all existing governments, and argue new, more socialistic systems will emerge after worldwide collapse."[3].
There are two reasons for the current acceptance of Socialist Anarchism. "According to one CNN analyst, millennials rallied in the many thousands behind Sanders because they are socially liberal — especially on LGBT rights — saddled with mountains of student debt, disillusioned with the status quo, “and eager to break with traditional [political] models.” Bernie provided solutions to all their problems."[7]. The second reason has to do with the historical 2008 collapse. " It tore a huge hole in the American people’s belief in capitalism as the way to a better life and sent them looking for alternatives." A 2016 Harvard poll determined that 33 percent of Americans under 30 wanted socialism.
Anarchism is nothing new in U.S. history. "Anarchists don’t preach pandemonium. They have a relatively coherent (if fanciful) ideology, which holds that if people in society organize themselves without rulers or laws, natural human instincts for altruism and cooperation will bring about greater freedom, happiness, and equality. Anarchism has a long pedigree in America, dating at least to the 1840s. The governments' involvement in the Vietnam War was the most memorable to me along with Civil Rights, both causing chaotic rioting at times.
The current political venues and the 2020 battle between candidates will escalate. Anarchy will change our belief system inside the government. For some, it is a certainty a new political party will be needed to secure our peace and provide answers to our financial crises. We hear the word, Socialism, and automatically refuse it when it may actually benefit us. For those who desire change, organization and education need to preclude any off the cuff violent rioting. Today, resolve to open our minds to change and then decide what political direction you want to take.
References
1. Wikipedia. Socialism is a system of government where the means of production are socially owned.Retreived 19. https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
2. The Economist. SPECIAL REPORT: INEQUALITY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM. Inequality in America. " The rich, the poor and the growing gap between them". The rich are the big gainers in America's new prosperity. 2006. https://www.economist.com/special-report/2006/06/15/the-rich-the-poor-and-the-growing-gap-between-them
3. Philosopy Terms. "Socialism". Retrived 2019. https://philosophyterms.com/socialism/
4.Curbed San Francisco "San Francisco gets ready to count its homeless population. Federal government-mandated count will happen Thursday despite criticisms." Brinklow 2019. https://sf.curbed.com/2019/1/23/18194760/san-francisco-point-in-time-homeless-2019
5. Wikipedia. "Poverty" extracted 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty
6. United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Progress Cleaning the Air and Improving People's Health". 2017. / Air Pollution, Future. Current and Future Challenges. 2017. https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/progress-cleaning-air-and-improving-peoples-health
7. The Heritage Foundation. "What Americans Must Know About Socialist". 2018 https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/what-americans-must-know-about-socialism
8. The Encycopedia of Britanica. "Anarchism"Woodcock, Arif, Miller https://www.britannica.com/topic/anarchism
9. Slate. Anarchy in the U.S. "A century of fighting the man". Greenburg, 2000. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2000/04/anarchy-in-the-u-s.html
