CB, I disagree that socialism and communism are the same thing. All forms of communism are socialist, but many forms of socialism are not communism. Lumping them together ignores reality and makes honest debate impossible. I'm not unaware of Stalin's Russia or the current condition in Venezuela. In our own country we've socialized defense, public safety, education, and care for the elderly. The point here would seem to be one of degree. Lots of socialism can be bad. In my view, privatizing Social Security is one of the worst ideas ever. A government planned economy won't work here, but there's an obvious role for government in keeping business and industry in bounds. Of course, we'll disagree that the extent of that role.
Yes we sure will disagree as to the extent. As I said in an earlier post, governments do have a regulatory role. But they over-reach as a matter of course. It's the very nature of large bureaucracies. So, IMHO, we must constantly be pulling back on the reins of government while you would encourage digging in your heels and yelling giddyup!.
And, as I said before, trying to distinguish between socialism and communism is a muggs game....semantics.....the objective is always the same....accruing all power to a centre and holding onto that power at all cost.
Gotta hand it to the free market and the democracies that have a semblance of it....they have largely mastered the art of the peaceful transfer of power. Something your socialist / communist buddies haven't quite figured out yet. Probably because they don't want to. LOL
