How to Explain Why Socialism Doesn’t Work in One Sentence…

Socialism works fine as long as there is Capitalism to pay for it, but sooner or later, Socialism runs our of other people’s money.

Socialism is like cancer,it starts out slow and weak. then it grows until it totally wipes out the host it invaded!

Socialism would only work if there were a uncorrupt and perfect person in charge, and the last time I checked humanity was rather short on those.

And by perfect I mean in judgement, fairness, mercy, justice, understanding.

Well, What about those who bust their @$$ working day in, and day out, and have done so for many of years, and don’t get anything? Last time I checked, Fairness was the same as equality, and I think a Socialist country like, oh, I don’t know, Europe, would greatly improve our lives. No, not at first. It takes time. kinda like most things in life. but I guess people want an imperfect solution today, rather than making a better tomorrow. Oh, and Mister Lou, Yeah, if you have a few healthy, nothing wrong with them children, I don’t have a problem with taking money from you to help pay for another child who has cancer with a mother who works two jobs and can’t even afford to pay rent AND put food on the table. But you’d rather have them go through a private school, away from the “other” society, right? Well, don’t worry, your children won’t be exposed to the evils of socialism, and you can put them through collage, and good ol’ Johnny gets to die from cancer. Less competition for your kids! Woohoo!

James,

The flaw in that reasoning of the poor mother is…she already gets social services AND what if, my kids eventually get cancer? Am I not allowed to use the funds that I EARNED to save them? I am working for my family. I am working to make my life and theirs better. I am NOT working for another family. I went to college to earn the money I make. While going to college, I worked three different jobs and did not get grants. I was still able to pay rent, get food (I ate a lot of sandwiches, Ramen Noodles, Mac n Cheese and water but it kept me alive), gas for my car, car payments, books and supplies for school, and pay for my school. So don’t give me this crap about a poor mom and her kids suffering. I do feel for those who are in bad situations but I came from a family who had nothing and built a great life for myself and my kids. I want to give to my kids, and if that includes sending them to private schools, then so beit. If for some reason, I loose my job and can no longer provide the same life I can now, guess what? I will down size my lifestyle and go get a few min. wage jobs again, as I did before, and make it the best I can. I am a teacher. I see everyday the welfare kids who have no desire to learn. They tell me they are quitting school at 16 and going on welfare. These kids are 8 years old! How do they know that is even an option? My parents never told me it was an option and I should have never known it was. I was told they don’t have to take care of the glasses they are wearing because Medicade will get them a new pair. I am so tired of the “you are mean and don’t care about the poor” argument. I used to think like you did until I went out into the world and saw the masses of welfare people who try in NO WAY to improve their lives or the lives of their kids. They don’t even pick up a phone during the school day when the school needs to talk to them about their kids. So again, refer the the one sentence as to why Socialism won’t work!

When the wealth is redistributed only the redistributers will have wealth!

socialism is based on the premise that all people are good at heart.
One look at the prison population in any country will prove that wrong.

If Capitalism doesn’t work for you it is because your teachers didn’t teach you how to use it to your advantage!

Blame the teachers. not the system.

And Last but not least because I do believe that in a perfect world and only in a perfect world socialism can work.
If all of you socialism believers or even a large number of you pool your assets and talents, for say 10 or 15 years and prove to the world and yourselves that it works without complaint, Perhaps the rest of us would just jump on the wagon with you.
Don’t all jump at once!

Socialism’s MAIN problem is that, while it SEEMS good on paper, as soon as you start paying people to do nothing, more and more people become “needy,” and always need “more.” Think about it. If you can work yer azz off as a waiter, making $400 a week, WHY DO IT? You can just stay at home and get it. And then, taxes on the rich increase, taking away the incentive to invest. RETURN on investment is the number one consideration when making such a decision. As the return goes down because taxes go up, why invest in ANYTHING? You could LOSE IT ALL! Then is somebody going to give you your money back? Gradually, more and more people at the margins would rather find an excuse to have NEEDS han demonstrate their abilities, becase when you demonstrate your abilities, you are paying for everyone else, you resent it, and eventually you drop out of the work force, claiming to have a bad back or, suffer from depression, or whatever. Find me a socilaist country with a lower poverty rate than we have in the U.S. and I will be the FIRST ONE to advocate that we implement it!

You guys are talking about communism… Socialism can work if everyone decided to help the well being of the the people. some people don’t work hard because the environment that they grew in didn’t allow them to take in this concept. unfortunately there is no such place as this so it cant work

You see the environment we grow up in teaches us that socialism dont work… There was a town in England during the industrial revolution that ran on the concept of socialism while everyone esle was breaking their backs working hard and barely getting paid… The people of that town were payed fair and lived well. That was the only true place in the world where socialism worked well without corruption or poverty…. Dont tell me im wrong cause i used my teleportation device to get to that time period and from where i am teleported there. =p

I love how people say things like “Socialism and Communism is not the same!”. Yes they are pretty much the same. Socialism/Communism doesn’t work because we are human. With Socialism and Communism, economic competition is totally wiped out which is extremely bad for a country because that will eventually lead the whole nation into poverty. Socialism and Communism doesn’t work because not everybody is hard working and is sooo passionate about busting their butt off working so someone they completely don’t know can live off that money while they might not have to do anything, became parasites. It is also an open flaw to dictatorship because it gives government too much control to monitor the people in almost all aspect of their lives. I do not want to go to school for 20 years to make as much money as someone who works at McDonald or might not be working at all. Competition is what empower the people, make them grow and push human forward.

Socialism and Communism both fail badly. but Good luck trying to convince someone of that. They always bring it back to people in the US who cant get treatment…. THE US HAS A HIGHER CANCER SURVIVAL RATE THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY (http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba596). A lot of Canadians and Europeans have to come to America to get treatment because their socialist government wont let them. Where are we supposed to go for cancer treatment when we cant get it here in America? Qatar? Uzbekistan? Malawi?

It’s my opinion that communism, like capitalism, is an incomplete model which cannot provide for all the faults of human behavior and is therefore bound to fail. I would have to agree with the Dalai lama when he said that the strength of capitalism is the incentive to work and the strength of communism is the incentive to share. However, I believe that the best system is one that blends the two ideologies. A totalitarian communist republic, as history has shown us both in the USSR and in the People’s Republic of China is ineffective and inevitably leads to violence and abuse. On the other hand, capitalism leads to the massive disparities between rich and poor people in todays society world-wide. If we take the example of countries like Canada or Norway, which combine a free market which stimulates growth with universal healthcare and unemployment benefits to provide for the poor, I believe we find the best way to provide for the common good without destroying the individual freedom to make a better life for oneself.

Not sure what fiction you socialist/capitalist bashing people have been reading/smoking.

- You judge European socialism like it is the socialism of the Stalin days much like European people judge USA style capitalism like the kind system that was in place in the the Scrooge days (never mind it is).

- Do not worry there is plenty of billionaires in Europe (not to mention that the largest number of billionaires in a single city is located in Russia of all places).

- The tax situation in the European socialist countries of today is not much different today than that of the USA in the 1970s and I am sure that you don’t consider the people of those days commies.

- The main difference today between the two systems is that a large part of the budget in the USA goes towards defense and in Europe a large part of the budget goes to social programs.

- Both systems are under enormous pressure as the USA soon will not be able to maintain their gold plated defense programs and fund their skimpy social programs without reverting to their 1990 tax rates.

- Europe will have to divert more money towards defense to make up for USA cutbacks and increase taxes to cover the increasing cost of social safety nets in place.

- Life is better for business in the USA as is it more like the old wild west and no regulation to speak of.

- Life is better for regular people in Europe as the social safety net is much better than the one in the USA (it is survival of the fittest and they will throw you aside when used up).

“- The main difference today between the two systems is that a large part of the budget in the USA goes towards defense and in Europe a large part of the budget goes to social programs.”

I’m with you so far.

“- Both systems are under enormous pressure as the USA soon will not be able to maintain their gold plated defense programs and fund their skimpy social programs without reverting to their 1990 tax rates.”

I would have to disagree. We have a lot of leeway to cut defense spending and divert that money toward social programs. However, the reverse is not true for Europe. In order for them to raise their defense budget to a meaningful level (perhaps even to the point where they have to prepare for the possibility that they will be almost entirely responsible for their own defense), they would, as you mentioned, have to raise taxes to make up the difference. My self-employed cousin in Germany pays roughly 50% in income tax already. When will he decide it’s just not worth it to own his own business? Socialism is not very innovation or motivation inspiring when you’re paying the majority of your wages to the government. Essentially, productivity is taxed.

“- Life is better for regular people in Europe as the social safety net is much better than the one in the USA (it is survival of the fittest and they will throw you aside when used up).”

This may be true now, but what happens, if, for example, the birth rate is not high enough to support the retired folks who are living longer and longer lives. I read an article recently that said 3 German workers are supporting 1 pensioner. They expect that number to be 1 worker supporting 1 pensioner within 30 years. The system will most likely fall apart well before that. Either way, a lot of people will be left with a fraction of the benefits there were expecting, essentially “throwing them aside when they’re used up”, as you put it.

I see socialism as perhaps the greatest Ponzi scheme ever devised. If you don’t have that pyramid of relatively few pensioners at the top being supported by a broad base of workers at the bottom of the pyramid, then the well runs dry.

This may be slightly off-topic, but it does have some relation. I often reflect on corporations who are looking for the cheapest labor, and good paying manufacturing and/or Union jobs being perhaps irrevocably lost. Surprisingly, these types of things have the support of one of our political parties (at least!) and I often stop to wonder if they realize that they’re cutting their own throats. Lower wages means a lower tax base. I laugh when the “benefits” of globalization are touted and laugh again at the promise that by somehow shipping good paying jobs out of the country, we’re in some way benefiting our economy and even “creating” jobs. It may look good on paper to the $200000 a year economists sitting in an air conditioned office who probably never broke a sweat in all of their working years, but to the middle class worker who is left with no marketable skills, it looks like exactly what it is. Germany has a strong manufacturing sector and is an export GIANT. And all of this while still managing to pay their workers an average (in dollars) of $48 per hour. What are we doing wrong here??

You may say that I seem to take a middle ground between capitalism and socialism, and I would probably agree with that. But I sincerely believe that if the corporations continue putting profits ahead of the people, then they’re not going to have many people left to buy their overpriced products. I’m sure the workers in China making iPods for $3 aren’t Apple’s #1 consumer. Would I buy an iPod if I was making $20 or $30 an hour. Absolutely. However, if I’m making minimum wage, then it becomes a luxury I can do without. I’m reminded of Henry Ford who decided to DOUBLE the pay of his workers to $5 a day. He understood the concept of one hand washing the other, something lost on many of today’s corporations. He paid his workers enough to buy his cars, and everybody was happy.

Sorry for such a long post.

You people crazy right wing extremist who would rather let the poor wither away and die then help them and the worst thing about modern day republicans is that they say that god is on there side (Rick Perry, George Bush Etc)If the republicans almost scary that if republicans take power that we will be living in a land of only large business and no middle or working class there will be sweat shops ,horrible working conditions and child labor that’s what will happen. Now I’m going to leave you of with a Question what does the american dream mean now. Now currently it means to create an unfair and unjust monopoly but back in the early 1900s the american dream was to become a working class family but not any more that. America is on a downward fall and eventually we will dissolve and die out and be bought as factory land by china and North Korea. But to stop that the next generation (including me) must come to are senses and end this unfair system that we call capitalism and form the fair and kind goverment we call socialism.

1. I am a British student who observes a lot of time in the welfare culture, I am continually frustrated by the “I can’t be bothered to work” attitude, constantly told “your dead lucky mate” (referring to my mum being a dentist) by people whom both parents are on welfare. The sheer cheek. I despise socialism on all the levels. I do believe in charity, I am a Christian who believes in compassion and charity. But that does not make me socialist. Socialism is not economically sustainable and increases the rich poor gap.
Michael Moore and the archbishop of Canterbury claim that Jesus would be socialist but would he. Yes, He would be in favour of compassion and charity like I am, that’s why I donate money. From veterans charities to bronados (a children’s charity).And I always try (but admittidly fail sometimes) to show sympathy.
However according to the scriptures, when Jesus went out into the desert the devil tempted him, to allow himself to fall under the premise that if he was the son of god, the angels would of held him up.
Now laugh all you want about the idea, but the scriptures say Jesus declined (laws of constant gravity residing) because he said that the people had to use their own Judgement about Jesus being the messiah, he said that if you used this method, it would be paramount to forcing people to believe in god. And to force someone to do something takes away the good intentions.
For example, if you force someone to give say 60% of all their money to charity this is not adhering to Christian values of charity, and if say he is forced to give to the government so they can spend it on ineffective and inefficient welfare schemes, this is just stupid, and this is more stealing than anything else! If say however a banker gets a mighty bonus for his performance and donates a lump of it to charity; this is what Jesus was talking about, obviously the higher the percentage of the bonus he donates to charity the more compassionate he is, so if it’s a £500,000,000 bonus and he donates £1000 to charity it’s safe to call him a selfish bastard.
But this is what it’s about. Capitalism with religious principles if not basic morality can, sympathy and compassion, and will be the headway of man. I recall reading a story about a chef in the highly capitalistic India who feeds and baths the poor, and I mean really poor. Any left-wing nutter will immediately declare this a bastion of socialism. Quite the opposite Michael Moore, this is a hardworking man who cares about his fellow man.
To the moderator of this site, it is a breath of fresh air to see someone who doesn’t Jump on the “we are Anonymous, we wear stupid masks and preach about fairness and equality on our high speed internet” bandwagon. And every post from said prat, which is usually grammatically incoherent and factually dubious, is delta with decorum, logic, and a touch of common sense

Could the moderator please remove the previous comment, it has been corrected for grammar.