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> In Europe you have different views of how markets should be regulated. In the US, deregulation and free markets are the de-facto assumption, but many European
by Dewie 12y ago
> In Europe you have different views of how markets should be regulated. In the US, deregulation and free markets are the de-facto assumption, but many European economies proudly trend more socialist than we do.
Europeans in general seem to also have a different conception of what the word socialist means, compared to Americans.
- exelius 12y agoThat's changing; there's no longer the USSR to provide the evil centrally planned economy as a model. But yes, I meant socialist as in the government owns and controls aspects of the economy, with profit maximization often not the goal of those industries.
- Dewie 12y ago> But yes, I meant socialist as in the government owns and controls aspects of the economy, with profit maximization often not the goal of those industries. That already has a name: mixed economy. "Socialist" in the American vernacular is too coarse grained when talking about politics beyond its own borders, since the connotation seems to always just be "left of American politics"... :)
- exelius 12y agoI meant socialist as an adjective, not a noun. The US government has socialist policies as well: social security, for example. Also, government ownership of public transit, or the USPS. I agree the word is a bit inflammatory in the American lexicon, though that is changing as all the old people die off.