Socialism defined
That the term “socialist” is being thrown at Barack Obama so much during these final days of the election is yet more proof that conservatives either will say anything necessary to win, or they’re blithering ideologically blind idiots.
From Merriam-Webster:
SOCIALISMMain Entry: so·cial·ism \
\ˈsō-shə-ˌli-zəm\
Function: noun
Date: 18371: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
Now, the argument could be made that the federal government’s massive and repeated bailouts of financial institutions and banks are a step toward socialism, but even then it’s a stretch. No one’s brought up the concept of eliminating private property.
As for Obama, what he’s been preaching is to step away from the perverted Laissez-faire economics of the past eight years and progressive taxation.
In the end, the mainstream media should be ashamed of itself for not stomping all over all this socialist talk. “Socialist” is a noun, and it can be defined. Everything you hear from the likes of Bay Buchanan, Rush Limbaugh and others of their ilk is just plain nonsense. Calling Obama a socialist is not an opinion. It’s a fear-mongering lie.
–WKW
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:11 am
There are times I wonder what the more strident conservatives would do if confronted by actual socialists in government, since some of the National Review crowd and right-wing bloggers are warning that Obama would be the most left-wing president ever! Maybe some diehard commies can be dug out of the woodwork to go hang out with Jonah. If a progressive tax code is socialist, than Bush the Elder and Reagan were socialist, and for that matter, so are both Bush the Younger and John McCain. If the top tax bracket rate being raised 3 points makes Obama socialist, than Eisenhower with his 88%+ rates was probably the most socialist president we’ve ever had. As you note, the bailout’s been denounced as socialist in some circles, but while Obama voted for it, McCain voted for it, too. McCain’s also said that giving tax breaks to people who don’t pay income tax is “welfare,” which means he’s either ignoring or doesn’t understand payroll taxes. In McCain’s world, getting a refund check from the IRS is apparently welfare. Perhaps the ghost of Reagan will appear and shout to the crowds at McCain’s rallies, “He’s doesn’t want you to have your money!” In McCain’s world, $500 tax break for a single middle-class adult is somehow socialism and welfare, while massive giveaways to the rich, including by one estimate $370,000 to his own wife, that’s sound fiscal policy, I guess. Will Rogers joked about trickle-down economics back during the Coolidge administration, and it’s funny how in all those years it still hasn’t made it down… BTW, you may enjoy this Sadly, No post on this general subject.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I’m glad Bill pointed out about dat dar lazy fair economics.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
And I chuckle every time one of the neocon clowns at a forum I participate in makes a claim about Communism or Socialism.
They should spend some time on PoFo if they want to encounter for real Socialists and Communists. And as much as I can’t stand neocons, I discovered that I have way more in common with them than Communists and Socialists. Yet I tend to have more respect for the Socialists and Communists at PoFo (or rather the ‘mature’ ones) as they seem to understand their ideology better than the resident neocons (save a couple).
American so called ‘Liberals’ are rightest in an international sense with scant real ideological differences with so called American ‘Conservatives’. Arguing over how the tax burden is distributed is a far cry from arguing about the nationalization of entire industries.
So, yes, the people screaming about socialism need to seriously STFU.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Battachio: There are few Sadly, No posts I dislike. Really good comment, BTW. More and more you’ll se a few journalists stand up to this nonsense, and then they’ll think they’re Edward R. Murrow. The logic McCain uses is just so amazingly convoluted, that whenever any surrogate gets called on it, they just babble and repeat the same things over and over again. Of course, they’ve done that for at least a generation or so, so it probably won’t matter.
Dgun: You know I’m stil a big Pofo fanboy. I really do suggest that anyone interested in seeing a full spectrum of political ideology go spend some time there and mix it up. It really helped me define my own political thought a lot better. Plus, there are folks there that think Noam Chomsky is a little too Conservative and that Pinochet wasn’t conservative enough. And everything in between.
The young commies can get a little tiresome, tho. lol.
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 am
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October 24th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
PoFo?
I can haz commies?
October 24th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
That’s politicsforum.org, Bob. And yes, it’s crawling with commies and other miscreants. Ask for Maxim and tell him I sent you.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Thanks, dgun.