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"Socialism" and "capitalism" are not switches you turn either on or off, they're a set of policies and practices you can apply to varying degrees and extremes.

"Socialism" and "capitalism" are not switches you turn either on or off, they're a set of policies and practices you can apply to varying degrees and extremes. The military is quite socialist as when you enlist you're given food, housing, equipment, medical care, and other things to perform your job, but it's also part of a large capitalist system where equipment and supplies are provisioned from a (theoretically) competitive marketplace. What we need to do is find the right balance between dog-eat-dog individualism and insufferable collectivisim.

nikolay 9y ago
I disagree that the solution is a balanced one somewhere between the only two puristic and unrealistic options as in both money is key, and I disagree that it should be the centerpiece of our society as it's already proven to be a weak motivator and leads to very negative consequences. There are good things in both orders, we need to learn from them, but something in the middle we already have in EU, and it's not working so well.
- oconnore 9y ago
  You are trying so hard to escape from a fundamental truth that echoes throughout history: government, money, economy, it's all about power. You can't sidestep the issue of power by throwing technology at it: you will just create an unbalanced, poorly thought out power dynamic (that uses technology!). Technology does not mean you get to throw out your history books. On the contrary, it means you probably need them more than ever. The EU is not perfect, nor is the US, Canada, China, or anywhere else. We need to carefully analyze and experiment, not mash the reset button in the hope we get something better next time.
- astrodust 9y ago
  Everyone is in the middle because no country, no political state of any kind, has ever been, nor likely ever will be 100% capitalist or 100% socialist. Achieving such extremes is so impractical as to be impossible. The difference between the EU and America is actually pretty slight on these two scales, but tiny shifts in policy can have a huge impact on society.
nikolay 9y ago
What do you think about The Venus Project [0] and Jaque Fresco's resource-based economy [1]? Edit: I'm saddened to find out that Jacque has recently passed away. I was planning to meet him in person as he was at an honorable age. [0]: https://www.thevenusproject.com/ https://www.thevenusproject.com/ [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacque_Fresco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacque_Fresco

nikolay 9y ago

I disagree that the solution is a balanced one somewhere between the only two puristic and unrealistic options as in both money is key, and I disagree that it should be the centerpiece of our society as it's already proven to be a weak motivator and leads to very negative consequences. There are good things in both orders, we need to learn from them, but something in the middle we already have in EU, and it's not working so well.

oconnore 9y ago
You are trying so hard to escape from a fundamental truth that echoes throughout history: government, money, economy, it's all about power. You can't sidestep the issue of power by throwing technology at it: you will just create an unbalanced, poorly thought out power dynamic (that uses technology!). Technology does not mean you get to throw out your history books. On the contrary, it means you probably need them more than ever. The EU is not perfect, nor is the US, Canada, China, or anywhere else. We need to carefully analyze and experiment, not mash the reset button in the hope we get something better next time.
astrodust 9y ago
Everyone is in the middle because no country, no political state of any kind, has ever been, nor likely ever will be 100% capitalist or 100% socialist. Achieving such extremes is so impractical as to be impossible. The difference between the EU and America is actually pretty slight on these two scales, but tiny shifts in policy can have a huge impact on society.

nikolay 9y ago

What do you think about The Venus Project [0] and Jaque Fresco's resource-based economy [1]? Edit: I'm saddened to find out that Jacque has recently passed away. I was planning to meet him in person as he was at an honorable age. [0]: https://www.thevenusproject.com/ https://www.thevenusproject.com/ [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacque_Fresco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacque_Fresco