What Kind of Socialist Is Barack Obama?

[NYcarbineer]

What kind of kook is Jonah Goldberg? A really, really far rightwing nut.

He's a C-list rightwing propagandist.

 

[JBeukema]

There can be no free market without regulation, for the unregulated market quickly becomes the market of the Bourgeoisie, who prevent the petty bourgeoisie and proletariat from being able to compete openly and fairly in anything resembling a free market. The free market can only exist so long as there is competition. Competition can only exist so long as the petty bourgeoisie and aspiring proletarian have a real chance of competing with the established bourgeoisie and their trusts and conspiracies. Such an ability to compete can only exist so long as the People, through the State, act against the interest of the Bourgeoisie, limiting their ability to dominate and control the market and manipulate and exploit the lower classes. This process is known as regulation, and it is comprised of several major points: the bourgeoisie must be forced to be transparent and open in its dealing [one example is forcing accurate ratings of investments, the failure to do so directly contributed to America's recent economic turmoils]; the petty bourgeoisie and the aspiring proletarian must be given the means to compete in their early endeavors [this oft manifests as tax cuts for small businesses]; the proletariat must be allowed to keep the fruits of his labours or fair compensation [minimum/living wage, tax breaks for the proletariat- known in Republican lexicon as the 'working class']; the proletarian must be ensured his safety at his work [OSHA and the numerous workplace safety laws] and the right to earn a means to improve his condition [see 'right to work' laws]. These are among the basic principles present in an early socialist society, as they manifest in its economic system.

You'll notice that all are also promises made by the Republican party.

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[JBeukema]

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Communism:

You have a cow.

I have some chickens.

Someone down the road grows bell peppers and such.

We get together.

You give him your cow's shit to add to his fertilizer. I also let him take the chicken shit.

When you're at work, I check on your cow.

When I'm away, he feeds my chickens.

When he's away, you and I check to ensure no varmints get to the garden.

Ever morning we meet for breakfast. We have omlettes with fluffy eggs, milk, cheese.

We sell what surplus we have on the open market and we buy a bigger plot of land so we can keep more chickens and have a bigger garden. When we save up, we buy a bull with our pooled resources.

On special occasions, we eat a calf and a few chickens and enjoy the feast.

It worked for hundreds, if not thousands of years and it still works today in many places.

Eventually, you and I have kids, and the guy down the road adopts a few orphans. The clan continues to expand upon the farm and, like many Midwestern families who own land, many societies past, and a number of intentional communities that choose form form clans not necessarily bound by blood, we live communally, everyone labouring to produce what they can and everyone reaping the spoils of our combined effort. We know what belongs to each of us and we know what belongs to us all.

Eventually, our first son, Xotoxi refuses to work and is denied to spoils of our labour. He goes to the city and soon learns he must labour harder, for someone with no vested interest in his welfare (for he is but a squishy little cog that can be replaced), in order to get by. He joins the numerous people labouring under the capitalist system for mere survival, not benefiting directly from his labours, alienated, and exploited to line the pockets of a man who never worked a day in his life because he was born into money.

Eventually, he returns to the commune (farm) and rejoins our clan, bringing with him a wife who becomes a part of our community. We establish regular trade and mutual cooperation with surrounding families, clans, and communities, aiding eachother during hard times and pooling our resources to get better equipment and supplies. We share information, specialize what we grow, enrich our diets, and throw great feasts every few months. We then join the Federation of Egalitarian Communities and go about our lives as America's economy collapses and those labouring under the capitalist system struggle to get by. We send people to educate them and help them start small coops in and around their cities to help them improve their daily lives, growing their own food while establishing the strong communities lacking in much of life in the city. Xotoxi becomes a leader of several of these groups, is declared a communist by some idiot McCarthyite and imprisoned, and dies a martyr's death while the McCarthyite end us on the streets as the 21 financial bombshells explode one after an other.

 

[CMike]

A dishonest one.

He was wants to transform the US into a socialist country, without Americans realizing it.

 

[JBeukema]

America already is a socialist society, genius.

 

[Mr Natural]

What kind?

The kind rightwingers see in their fevered little imaginations when they realize they've been rendered irrelevant.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Why didn't he run on a platform that even remotely resembles the way he has governed?

 

[Some Guy]

America already is a socialist society, genius.

How can it be a socialist society when thousands of people own their own businesses?

 

[PoliticalChic]

Why didn't he run on a platform that even remotely resembles the way he has governed?

He did, CF.

One doesn't promise to 'transform' the nation, if you think it's fine already.

 

[CMike]

Why didn't he run on a platform that even remotely resembles the way he has governed?

He did, CF.

One doesn't promise to 'transform' the nation, if you think it's fine already.

The problem is that few people cared enough to listen.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

What do advertising, public education, and Holllywood have in common? See above paragraph.

If you're implying Hollywood is a socialist enterprise, you're flat out wrong. Its the industry closest to pure Captialism that you can find in the United States.

 

[JBeukema]

America already is a socialist society, genius.

How can it be a socialist society when thousands of people own their own businesses?

Because you don't know what socialism is.

See:Mixed Economy

 

[Some Guy]

America already is a socialist society, genius.

How can it be a socialist society when thousands of people own their own businesses?

Because you don't know what socialism is.

See:Mixed Economy

No shit it's mixed, but correct me if i'm wrong, but you're not saying we're a socialist society?

America already is a socialist society, genius.

How can it be socialist while being mixed?

 

[JBeukema]

How can it be socialist while being mixed?

wow...

Google:Marxian Marx socialist definition


Socialism is an intermediary stage of socioeconomic development. It is a transitional period between capitalism and communism.