Quote: (10-05-2016 07:26 PM)TigerMandingo Wrote:
I'm not advocating for socialism. But I think most reasonable people would agree that you need to have some sort of safety net for your citizens.
Quote: (10-05-2016 07:53 PM)britabroad Wrote:
most sane people agree this is an ideal system but it depends what %s we're talking about.
The parts in bold are the first thing people should notice. Whenever you have to prefix something with phrases like that, something is clearly up.
I think this "third way" illusion primarily stems from two things:
- Desiring to view the status quo optimistically
- Failing to understand the nature of leftism
Socialism, a variety of leftism, is not a "way". It is not like "I'll choose to drive a motorbike this year instead of a car". And then you can take a middle-road of "50% car, 50% motorbike". It is a
process. It is a
fire, starting small, and eventually engulfing the whole building.
There is no particular reason why "transportation, public utilities, education, and health care" should be socialized, other than they already are (deferring to the status quo). And whenever you start debating those points, the interlocutor immediately starts reeling off his reasons why those industries are "special". Same way the USSR experts could reel off reasons why everything they socialized was "special" and could be done better by government. The only difference is the number.
So no, the best system is 100% capitalism. Everything else is the insidious, creeping use of politics to control and possess other people, and all ideas contrary are mere side-effects of government propanda. After all, propaganda is how it best sustains its pervasive anti-social behaviour.
Indeed the individual mentioned in OP, Paul Craig Roberts, was a
civil servant -- United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy in 1981, followed by a professor of economics. Number 1 employer of economists, and Number 1 booster of their fame and careers? The government. His words should be first seen as self-serving furtherment of his own career and ego massaging himself that he's spent his life well, rather than as any kind of neutral objective wisdom.