"Socialism always fails, even so-called democratic socialism"

[BlueMaxx]

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[arvo]

The latest innovation (that can push off economic maturity) of social media was well-monetized by a disappointingly narrow segment of society.

There is another big innovation raising. I can put a link to the paper that was published in the Nature Cell Biology (the top academic journal of microbiology in the world, series of Nature editions), but I am sure noone will even open it. So - I am putting just title and abstract here:

Turning back time with emerging rejuvenation strategies
Ageing is associated with the functional decline of all tissues and a striking increase in many diseases. Although ageing has long been considered a one-way street, strategies to delay and potentially even reverse the ageing process have recently been developed. Here, we review four emerging rejuvenation strategies—systemic factors, metabolic manipulations, senescent cell ablation and cellular reprogramming—and discuss their mechanisms of action, cellular targets, potential trade-offs and application to human ageing.

It is about anti-aging and rejuvenation industry. Today still the senescence/aging or aging related disease (and there are lot, lot of them!) forms the 90% cases of death. But it should not be so. Aging should be eliminated and rejuvenation gained and the nascent rejuvenation research in medicine is doing just that. So - this is enormous source of innovation and market is enormous - almost every american, every human being and pet being!

I am big fan of this industry, I can talk for hours and provide materials.

But, of course, again - these are not blue collar jobs, these are not jobs that require (famous) 10.000 hours training, these are jobs that require (infamous) 80.000 hours training.

 

[arvo]

Lenin and Stalin misrepresented Marxism and this quote is another proof, that Lenin is adversary to Marx, that Lenin is enemy to Marx.

According to Marx - there is no goals for capitalism or socialism, because - according to Marx - those systems can not be introduced by force, by ballot, by convention, by law, by Church or my atheists.

Capitalism naturally emerged when the technology was rip as socialism will emerge naturally and necessarily when artificial intelligence and robots will destroy jobs as we understand them now. And it will be with communism as well - still another phase of technological development and phase transition of socio-economic relations.

 

[Mister_Friscus]

Individuals interacting is not government enforcement. Certainly free individuals should cooperate, but forcing people to do things isn’t acting out of one’s own heart. Most socialists think they are moral and righteous because of how they want to spend other people’s money with the threat of enforcement and jail time if they don’t. That’s not good-natured, moral, or virtuous. That’s government tyranny. Christ operated outside of the government, he didn’t desire to take over Rome and turn them into a Christian theocracy.

 

[Rau]

What example would you give of an efficient health system?

The Australian system. A hybrid of state owned and private.

 

[JamesCaruso]

And has it not always been so when you consider the Astors, Carnegies, and Rockefellers (et al) of the past? The difference I see are the many regulatory roadblocks for people to enter the entrepreneurial ranks. The wealthy perhaps are “locking out” new business entrants. I hope the current administration has been doing something to remedy this. Education is another key to upward mobility. How can one expect to move up the pay scale and eventually save enough to invest in a new business enterprise if they do not have the education to move into those better paying jobs that will yield some discretionary income to get them started? Living hand to mouth condemns most of the uneducated to a life of poverty. What do you think?

 

[Rau]

The difference I see are the many regulatory roadblocks for people to enter the entrepreneurial ranks. The wealthy perhaps are “locking out” new business entrants.

Medical treatments are expensive and some reasonable treatments cost far more than some people can afford to pay and no amount of new entrants to the medical field will change that. So what’s to be done? Anything?

Education is another key to upward mobility. How can one expect to move up the pay scale and eventually save enough to invest in a new business enterprise if they do not have the education to move into those better paying jobs that will yield some discretionary income to get them started? Living hand to mouth condemns most of the uneducated to a life of poverty. What do you think?

Modern thinking often presupposes everyone should go to university and then secure a well paying job. It’s not going to happen: There are necessary jobs for which a university education is not needed; There are many jobs not well paid; There is a reasonable chance that our modern society simply will not need everyone to work.

I think the economic system may need to evolve quite a bit in the period ahead.

 

[phaster]

There is not even ONE example of a socialist country working.
Socialism was a disaster in the Soviet Union, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Cambodia, China, Nicaragua…

democratic socialism works BUT only in certain rare cultures,… the text book example I always think of is the nordic countries in particular Norway,… the counter examples being other oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela, etc.

FWIW the reason I point out these four counties/cultures is because the one thing they all have in common is oil which is a natural resource that can be sold for cash, which in turn can be used to fund social programs

in the case of Norway they have a sovereign wealth fund which was started back in the 1970s when oil was discovered in the North Sea region

https://www.nbim.no

Government Pension Fund of Norway (GPFN): What it is, Overview

on the opposite extreme is the socialist nightmare of Venezuela

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/venezuela-crisis-country-190117184349473.html

basically as I see things the reason why socialism works in Norway is because the culture there has a long tradition of preparing for a long harsh winter season (so people there are conditioned to save up),… in other cultures where there isn’t a long winter season to deal with, ever notice how much “bling” people consume in other oil producing countries like Nigeria???

Rich Nigerians embrace jewellery's "King of Bling"

aside from the winter season caveat, another big difference where socialism is sustainable is a lack of political corruption (which is needed to avoid financial mismanagement)

also ever consider that a public pension is a form of socialism???

I mention this since in my home town for example, the mayor recently proudly tweeted how his administration passed a balance budget w/ reserves

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sadly in reality the portfolio is actually a house of cards!!!

this is because San Diego politicians have allowed giving away an extra pension payment for three plus decades just like the city of Detroit (which FYI went bankrupt)

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[EmilyAlexandra]

Cradle to grave taxation…

I don’t see how taxation is evidence of a failed state. Doesn’t every country levy taxes, with the exception of a handful of small countries in the Middle East and the Caribbean? I’m not sure what you mean by “cradle to grave”. In the UK, at any rate, pensions are indeed taxable if one’s pension provides an income above the tax-free personal allowance. Children aren’t going to be paying much in the way of taxes, as most children don’t have an income. Of course, there will be some child prodigies who are already earning an income, and children will pay tax on savings if their parents are investing hundreds of thousands of pounds on their behalf. Everyone pays other taxes such as VAT.

leading to very little actual production of good-quality physical products (with some limited exceptions).

True, most European countries now have service economies rather than relying on manufacturing as their main industry. There are notable exceptions, such as cars and aircraft.

abortion on demand

Not true in all cases. Many European countries place restrictions on abortion. E.g., in the UK, abortion requires the consent of two doctors, specific criteria must be fulfilled, and there are time limits for all the different criteria.

Need to rely on the US for defense…

The US is the largest country in NATO, so obviously contributes more to defence than smaller countries. The UK and France maintain independent nuclear deterrents.

all the while screaming about how bad the US and its presence in Europe is/are.

Really? I remember protests at Greenham Common by a small number of people who objected to the USAF having cruise missiles on British soil. That’s about it. The vast majority of people either support the US or don’t really have an opinion.

Complete inability to even defend their borders from Islamic invaders

Clearly nonsense. There are no “Islamic invaders”.

leading to “no go zones” where the police and non-immigrants refuse to enter

Again, complete nonsense. I live in London, which has a Muslim population which this year reached 14.2% of the total London population. There are areas of London, almost all in east London, where a majority of the population is Muslim. There is nowhere in London I would not go to because of Muslims. If anything, I feel safer in the areas of east London that are almost entirely populated by Bangladeshis than I do in some other areas of London with much smaller Muslim populations.

 

[VonDerTann]

Clearly nonsense. There are no “Islamic invaders”.

There are no “Islamic invaders?” Considering the most common birth name in the UK is “Mohammed,” I’d say you’re completely incorrect.

 

[EmilyAlexandra]

There are no “Islamic invaders?” Considering the most common birth name in the UK is “Mohammed,” I’d say you’re completely incorrect.

I didn’t say there are no Muslims, I said there are no Islamic invaders.

 

[VonDerTann]

Now, as to the existence of no-go zones:

–They exist in Germany: Angela Merkel admitted they did in a February 2018 interview.

–They exist in France. The New Republic has said no-go zones had developed in France due to a failure to integrate immigrants from France’s former colonies.

–They exist in the UK:

https://www.lbc.co.uk/hot-topics/crime-police/ferrari-trump-is-right-there-are-no-go-areas-in-lo/

Suffice it to sy, it is most certainly NOT “complete nonsense” as you write. If anything, I’d say the same of your own claims.

 

[pnewton]

LOL, considering what happened to Lenin, I would not consider him exactly a visionary. Nor do I think he is cloned and alive somewhere working toward world domination. therefore, he is a man who lived a Century ago who never had any idea what the world would become. i would pretty much say pasting six words he said a some sort of point best be left to bumper stickers on the back of pick-up trucks and out of serious discussions.

 

[Montrose]

Private property is a God-given right. Stealing and coveting another’s property oppose the 10th Commandment.
There is not even ONE example of a socialist country working.
Socialism was a disaster in the Soviet Union, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Cambodia, China, Nicaragua…

That is communism, not socialism.

 

[EmilyAlexandra]

–They exist in the UK:

I wouldn’t base anything on that LBC article. It’s just reporting what a police officer, seemingly speaking under a false name, said to Nick Ferrari, a right-wing radio show host. LBC loves publishing stories that make it seem like they got a scoop. And when you actually look at what “Rob” says, he doesn’t address Muslim no-go zones. Police and armed forces personnel in the UK have, on and off, been advised not to wear uniform off-duty due to various terrorism threats, including Islamist terrorists, but, long before that, Irish republican terrorists. What “Rob” seems to be addressing are areas badly hit by gang violence, which is not really a Muslim problem (I would reckon that most gang members in London come, if anything, for a notionally Christian background, e.g. the West Indies and, of course, indigenous white British people). As somebody who lives in London and regularly travels to, and through, areas where most people are Muslims, I can assure you that the no-go zones do not exist in reality.

 

[VonDerTann]

I’m glad you feel comfortable walking around London at night.

That said: Sheesh, there’s even a wikipedia page for the London sharia patrols:

Muslim patrol incidents in London - Wikipedia

More importantly, the world doesn’t end at London’s borders. It is uncontested that these “no go zones” exist in many places in Europe.

 

[BlueMaxx]

LOL, considering what happened to Lenin, I would not consider him exactly a visionary. Nor do I think he is cloned and alive somewhere working toward world domination. therefore, he is a man who lived a Century ago who never had any idea what the world would become. i would pretty much say pasting six words he said a some sort of point best be left to bumper stickers on the back of pick-up trucks and out of serious discussions.

There is a lot to be gleaned from the brevity of the “bumper sticker” considering his actions led to the death of up to an estimated 3.7 million souls.

 

[EmilyAlexandra]

there’s even a wikipedia page for the London sharia patrols:

Yes, I remember the so-called Muslim patrols. It was very unpleasant for the small number of people involved (people drinking alcohol in the street, women wearing western clothing, couples holding hands, people suspected of looking like they might possibly be gay). However, the patrol seemingly consisted of three people who were converts to Islam. They were locked up by the authorities and were roundly condemned by virtually the whole Muslim community. The patrol was restricted to a very small area of east London and operated for a few months. Once the men responsible for it were taken off the streets, nobody else took their place.

 

[VonDerTann]

Please remember my entire point: that large portions of Europe can be considered failed socialistic states.

Want to disagree over which city does or doesn’t have “no go zones?” Fine. But they clearly exist in various parts of Europe. Europe has also been inundated with large numbers of Muslim immigrants (largely men); does have a history of heavy taxation, leading to a lack of producing anything tangible; views toward Christianity that range from seeing it as quaint to being anti-religious, Etc.

 

[JamesCaruso]

A universal private-sector system will work better with government help in three areas: pre-existing conditions, people who cannot afford insurance, indigent people. Healthcare must become competitive with no bars to entry. Also, lawsuit reform and rules against price gouging by drug companies will help keep the cost of insurance down.

Not everyone should go to college but in terms of upward mobility, it helps for those capable. One can only go so far in most cases without education. Of course, there will always be exceptions.