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I grew up in a Marine Corps household, at the height of the Cold War. My father often observed that the military is much more socialist, in the literal sense, t
by kmavm 15y ago
I grew up in a Marine Corps household, at the height of the Cold War. My father often observed that the military is much more socialist, in the literal sense, than the culture at large: for example, housing, medicine and clothing are not provided by the market. My dad loved the Marine Corps, and loved America's capitalist, individualist culture; however, there is an inherent irony that the military's system is very different from the American system.
- edw 15y agoIn our lives, there are many instances where we organize ourselves in ways that aren't optimized for individual self-aggrandizement. Families are one. I'd say start-ups are another. The sublimation of our own selfish desires for the benefit of another person or for the collective welfare of a larger group happens all the time. A world without such behavior is the stuff of Ayn Rand nuts' masturbation fantasies. I'd never argue that the culture of the military is not, on balance, profoundly different than civilian life, but the term "socialistic" is a misnomer.
- JoeAltmaier 15y agoAnd so is your company. And your internal family dynamics. No points for noticing that different levels of organization are structured differently. The important thing about America is, there exists a level where you may move about freely and make your own choices. Which choices are usually about exactly what structure you want to join.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- jhpriestley 15y agoWould a country with two independent socialist states, and the freedom to move between them, be socialist?
- jerf 15y ago"No points for noticing that different levels of organization are structured differently." You may want to reconsider this. I've seen it seriously put forth as a criticism of capitalism that within corporations and organizations they aren't run capitalistically, therefore it's obviously a failure. I consider the freedom capitalism offers to experiment with different organizations within its overarching framework to be one of the key reasons it is so much more successful than the organizations that include as part of their memeplex that they are the one true organization scheme for all purposes. I suspect most people in general have not thought about it enough to realize this as an obvious truth not worthy of "points".
- JoeAltmaier 15y agoReflecting, this topic is mostly about exploring the nested structures in the USA. So good point. Ok, 10 points.