Is Obama a Socialist?

[denuseri]

The United States? Great Brittan?.um..France, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Japan, China,??/ ...the list goes on and on and on.

All these countries and more use socialism to one extent or another and have been for many many many generations.

At least in so far as I understand Socialism to be its proven above board to be more sucesful than pure capitalism ever has.

[leo9]

At least in so far as I understand Socialism to be its proven above board to be more sucesful than pure capitalism ever has.

Outside of such wild cases as the American frontier and Pol Pot's Cambodia, there has never been a purely capitalist or purely socialist economy. And those cases didn't last long and only survived by drawing on the mixed economies beyond their borders.

The US has never been as purely capitalist as it likes to claim, any more than China is as purely socialist as it pretends. All successful economies are a mix of state provision and private enterprise: the argument is over the best balance, which depends on the circumstances and can't be decided by pure theory or ideology.

Most economists agree that our present troubles come from the US and its client economies tilting way too far on the side of unregulated capitalism, and needing a good dose of state control to right the balance. There have been other times when economies have failed through too much socialism (Wilson's UK is an arguable example), but we are very far from that today.

[DuncanONeil]

The simple definition of socialism is "state ownership of industry" such has not been the case in modern nation states.
Further social programs in a capitalist state does not make the country socialist.
Further I would have to take the position that a pure system of politics, which is likely to never occur, is also like not a good thing. However, a system that rewards the person for effort is immeasurably better than one that tries to make everyone the same regardless of effort. With no reward for effort all you produce is mediocrity.

The United States? Great Brittan?.um..France, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Japan, China,??/ ...the list goes on and on and on.

All these countries and more use socialism to one extent or another and have been for many many many generations.

At least in so far as I understand Socialism to be its proven above board to be more sucesful than pure capitalism ever has.

[leo9]

Further social programs in a capitalist state does not make the country socialist.

A very sensible judgement, so why are you so panicked over the possibility that some very moderate social programs may be introduced to the US?

[DuncanONeil]

Because there is nothing moderate about them!

Social Security is actually a moderate program and look how intrusive it has become.

A very sensible judgement, so why are you so panicked over the possibility that some very moderate social programs may be introduced to the US?