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Anarchy? Seriously? You think socialism can come of anarchy? Anarchy breeds lawlessness and murder. Only a few (those with the most muscle and guns) have rights, everyone else is a slave. Again, it only takes a few bad apples to run a muck in this system. Maybe in a cannabis-induced la la land anarchy would work, but never as a real world solution. Please think this through before you advocate it again.
Originally posted by ProgressiveSlayer
Anarchy? Seriously? You think socialism can come of anarchy? Anarchy breeds lawlessness and murder.
Originally posted by dadgad
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When I say that certain definitions have been distorted I am pretty convinced that I am correct here. For example electricuniverse states that Socialism is corporations working together with governments. That is entirely incorrect, because that is fascism. And fascism is the world we live in.
In his first term as President, Wilson persuaded a Democratic Congress to pass major progressive reforms. Historian John M. Cooper argues that, in his first term, Wilson successfully pushed a legislative agenda that few presidents have equaled, and remained unmatched up until the New Deal.[1] This agenda included the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act and an income tax.
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Originally posted by dadgad
When you say Socialism will sink to the lowest possible denominator I have to disagree for several reasons. The first one being that these so called socialist regimes were in fact deliberate distortions. Apart from the few years in Spain, the world has never been able to compare to anything, it has not had a chance to develop. It was crushed immediately by powerful outside forces that were terrified of this movement, including Stalin a so called socialist/communist. (hence why I say they were controlled by the same forces)
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Originally posted by dadgad
Disagree. Poverty and misery breeds lawlessness. Capitalism creates poverty everywhere it goes. Why is the crime rate so high in America? Why can it not solve these things. This has nothing to do with human nature, but with the climate of inequality capitalism creates. From that point people become criminals. I have nothing against criminals. What we call criminals, the people we put into jail, are nothing compared to the people we elect into office. They are truly lawlessness
The most violent country in Europe: Britain is also worse than South Africa and U.S.
The figures, compiled from reports released by the European Commission and United Nations, also show:
The UK has the second highest overall crime rate in the EU.
It has a higher homicide rate than most of our western European neighbours, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The UK has the fifth highest robbery rate in the EU.
It has the fourth highest burglary rate and the highest absolute number of burglaries in the EU, with double the number of offences than recorded in Germany and France.
But it is the naming of Britain as the most violent country in the EU that is most shocking. The analysis is based on the number of crimes per 100,000 residents.
In the UK, there are 2,034 offences per 100,000 people, way ahead of second-placed Austria with a rate of 1,677.
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The U.S. has a violence rate of 466 crimes per 100,000 residents, Canada 935, Australia 92 and South Africa 1,609.
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Originally posted by ElectricUniverse
BTW, yes you are partially right, we are very close to a fascist state, which is a leftwing ideology...
Granted that the XIXth century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the XXth century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the " right ", a Fascist century.
The Fascist State organizes the nation, but it leaves the individual adequate elbow room. It has curtailed useless or harmful liberties while preserving those which are essential. In such matters the individual cannot be the judge, but the State only.
Such a conception of life makes Fascism the resolute negation of the doctrine underlying so-called scientific and Marxian socialism, the doctrine of historic materialism which would explain the history of mankind in terms of the class struggle and by changes in the processes and instruments of production, to the exclusion of all else.
Originally posted by daskakik
Originally posted by ElectricUniverse
BTW, yes you are partially right, we are very close to a fascist state, which is a leftwing ideology...
I take it that you have never read the THE DOCTRINE OF FASCISM
www.la-articles.org.uk...
The original political meanings of ‘left’ and ‘right’ have changed since their origin in the French estates general in 1789. There the people sitting on the left could be viewed as more or less anti-statists with those on the right being state-interventionists of one kind or another. In this interpretation of the pristine sense, libertarianism was clearly at the extreme left-wing.
fas·cism
1. any ideology or movement inspired by Italian Fascism, such as German National Socialism; any right-wing nationalist ideology or movement with an authoritarian and hierarchical structure that is fundamentally opposed to democracy and liberalism
Originally posted by ElectricUniverse
I'll take it you haven't read the fact that even wikipedia admits that fascism is another branch of socialism...
BTW, it is quite funny, but I read your ORIGINAL post, before you "edited it", and it I read the fact that in "fascist states" the state is so paranoid that it remains vigilant of people, following and observing what people do, mostly for political reason, etc, etc, which is EXACTLY what happens in socialist/communist nations...
Originally posted by ANOK
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I grew up in the UK, it's where I learned the history of the working class struggle in Europe. There is more anti-capitalist sentiment there than in the US, because people are more aware of the reality of their own history that you don't see in America.
Originally posted by ANOK
The capitalist system is why the UK has a class system to begin with. There is no working/middle/capitalist classes in socialism. Equality is not created by divisions in class created by a hierarchical system.
Originally posted by ANOK
Originally posted by JimmyNeutron
Hmmm... I believe your argument has been refuted and the onus is on you to respond. And when someone says socialism is a lie, they're not necessarily calling you a liar... Deceived, yes... Naive in championing a failed system, yes.
Hmm I believe you have no argument to begin with.
You are not arguing from a true historical perspective, but from the propaganda of the last 60 years.
We are not the ones who are naive. You haven't presented anything that refutes the history we have shown, with many historical quotes.
All you can do is claim it's lies, with no evidence.
Can't you see that TPTB in those countries were lying to their people in order to control them? Why would they NOT do that?
Originally posted by dadgad
Originally posted by JimmyNeutron
Originally posted by colin42
reply to post by BBalazs
How is it that you and others here can see socialists as misguided idealists and then you say 'The free market', how deluded and misguided is that?
The East India company saw an opportunity. They moved in and CONTROLED the production. They MONOPALISED the market and set the prices. They paid as little wage to the workforce as possible and extracted the maximum profit for a few. Where is that not capitalism? Where was the free market?
We see this today in every market. There is no such thing as 'the free market' and to claim otherwise is a blinkered view to allow you to take the high ground which makes you no better than those you argue against.
One of the few things we seem to agree on...
As petrus4 has noted, it really doesn't matter which system is in place, they all devolve into self interested entities that think nothing of sacrificing innocent people in furtherance of a twisted agenda.
Pure socialism or capitalism is impossible in the real world. Human nature, or at least the really questionable humans with the psychopathic natures, will always corrupt them.
Where I take great umbrance, is when people like ANAK blindly promote a theoretical system as the panacea for all that ails humanity. They gloss over the issues in their logic and make blatantly false assumptions about human nature. And when confronted with the simple logical flaws in their argument, they retreat into saying things like - "read the whole thread", "All of these issues have already been explained away", "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain..."
To be fair, those refuting people like ANAK are not guiltless either.
You are really spewing nonsense. Anok has simply done his/her homework better then you did and that frustrates you. He (or she?) is the most patient and polite poster I've ever seen. In any case, Anok hasn't really been promoting anything up until now really. Mostly all he/she (lol) did/does/do was/is (omg) clear up historical fallacies and expose capitalism for the disgusting monstrosity it is.
And I'm proud to join him/her.
ANOK are you a MAN or a WOMAN?edit on 4-2-2012 by dadgad because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by daskakik
So wikipedia is a better source then the person responsible for bringing fascism into the world. I can't believe you actually tried that.
Originally posted by daskakik
I edited that because it was a a run on from a previous idea that didn't really jive with the last paragraph.edit on 4-2-2012 by daskakik because: (no reason given)
"If the bourgeoisie think they will find lightning conductors in us they are the more deceived; we must start work at once .... We want to accustom the working class to real and effectual leadership".
"Therefore I desire that this assembly shall accept the revindication of national trades unionism"
"The Socialist party reaffirms its eternal faith in the future of the Workers' International, destined to bloom again, greater and stronger, from the blood and conflagration of peoples. It is in the name of the International and of Socialism that we invite you, proletarians of Italy, to uphold your unshakeable opposition to war".
Originally posted by daskakik
reply to post by JimmyNeutron
I follow your logic but, had the founding fathers wanted to change the model they could have.
Of course that is just one example. You can't forget leaders like Mussolini and Pinochet that had no problem forcing capitalism at gun point.
I think I know what your going to say, "that wasn't real capitalism". OK, but then why is that not a valid argument for those saying that USSR and China were not real socialism? Obvious double standard.
You being content or not is the point when you champion one economic model over another.
Anyway, it doesn't really matter. I actually liked your post about greed being the downfall of socialism. Would have been more honest if you would have said that it is also the downfall of capitalism.
In the end you say that socialism ends up as communism or fascism.
Not true socialism ends in communism and capitalism turns into fascism. The terms are often used interchangeably but they are not the same. One rejects private business and the other embraces it.
Originally posted by dadgad
Disagree. Poverty and misery breeds lawlessness. Capitalism creates poverty everywhere it goes. Why is the crime rate so high in America? Why can it not solve these things. This has nothing to do with human nature, but with the climate of inequality capitalism creates. From that point people become criminals. I have nothing against criminals. What we call criminals, the people we put into jail, are nothing compared to the people we elect into office. They are truly lawlessness
Originally posted by ANOK
Originally posted by ProgressiveSlayer
Anarchy? Seriously? You think socialism can come of anarchy? Anarchy breeds lawlessness and murder.
Just to give you some perspective 'anarchy', as in the dictionary definition, is not the same as the political system of 'anarchism'. Anarchy simply means no government, anarchism is an answer to no government. You can't just be against something, and not have something to replace it with. That would be useless to anyone.
Anarchism is actually a very organized system, the term was only used to mean a stateless version of socialism, in opposition to the Marxists. Instead of a centralized state, the workers would organize themselves through worker collectives, Anarcho-collectivists (communism), or by worker controlled unions, Anarcho-Syndicalism (not the same as the unions we have now that are controlled by politicians). No top down authority.
"Anarchism is stateless socialism" Mikhail Bakunin, Russian Anarcho-Collectivist.
He also pointed out that to be truly freedom socialism has to be stateless...
"Liberty without socialism is privilege, injustice; socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
Sometime in the early 1800's the socialists split between those who supported a state system, Maxists/Leninists, and those that apposed the state who started calling themselves anarchists. Anarchist was used in a derogatory state (like you use 'communist') up until they appropriated the term, but it still held negative connotations in the press, so other terms were used such as 'Libertarian Socialism' (anarcho-socialism), 'Collectivism' (anarcho-communism), 'Syndicalism' (Anarchist federations of worker unions). Bakunin and Marx particularly had a falling out, and Bakunin was thrown out of the 'International' in 1872, he was out voted as anti-state side of the International was in the minority. People generally tend towards some kind of authority because we've known nothing else.
The International Workingmen's Association
edit on 2/4/2012 by ANOK because: typo
Originally posted by Tea4One
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It's hilarious that you're arguing history when you know nothing about history. What people say is different to what people do. When the fascists hi-jack the socialist terms etc it's to gain support from the workers. Please, read a book. Don't use wikipedia. Educate yourself, please.