Fascism, Socialism, Welfare, Capitalism what word doesn't belong?
Typically, we assume that when we use words that everyone agrees on the definition. In politics this assumption should not take place. It is amazing to see how the definitions change. I'm not sure they change, I think people get a little confused with all the pundits. Even the politicians themselves have a tendency to use the words, oh, let's just say, in a manner that comes across in a better light if that is what they need at the moment. Therefore, I am going to warn you. I am starting this post with a definition of terms. This way you know exactly how I am using the terms. Here it goes.
Capitalism: is an economic system in which wealth and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned and controlled rather than community, publicly, or state-owned and controlled.
Centralization: the concentration of administrative power in the nation's capital, allowing little or no local autonomy.
Conservatism: political mood or movement aimed at preserving older or traditional values, economic systems and laws.
Federation: political system in which component territories enjoy a high degree of autonomy or home rule.
Nationalization: governmental takeover of private industry.
Privatization: The selling of state-owned enterprises to private business.
Socialism: political movement at greater equality by means of welfare measures and/or nationalization of industry.
Totalitarian: a dictatorial regime that attempts to impose total ideological, economic, and political control over society.
Welfare: redistributive measures that provide health care, food, housing and insurance to poorer classes.
Oh, my goodness, that was a lot.
Well, as I continue to watch our politicians and our President ( I mean really you cannot help but see Obama the man is everywhere, it is a little creepy) go on and on about how the government needs to save us one can easily see that capitalism is dying in America. I would argue that America has not been a true capitalist society for a while but what was left of our capitalism is truly dying.
What seems to be happening right before our eyes is the nationalization of our industries. What will be next? Will we cease to be a federation? If you ask me the United States his heading towards the centralization of government.
The government is growing. This stimulus package. Unbelievable. I mean when you start talking about trillions of dollars, I cannot even wrap my mind around those figures. Worse, does it make any sense to anyone that they are lowering taxes and increasing spending and bailing out industries. Do the math? This cannot work.
In addition, if you notice now the President is turning Americans against business owners. He has insinuated it is their fault. I think it is high time everyone takes responsibility for their actions. Also, let the business fail if it is not making it. You learn from failure, not from the government taking over and giving you a strong talking to. What I find interesting is the fact that all the workers want their jobs saved but they want the people at the top canned. Um, not how it goes. If a company fails, it goes out of business and everyone loses their jobs, including the executives. That is how it should work. Therefore, if the government saves a company shouldn't everyone be saved. No, the President is making sure he is setting up a fall guy and making himself look like a hero to the little guy.
I am a confused American. I'm not sure if we are leaning towards socialism, fascism, totalitarian or Obama Welfare State. Go back to the top and look at the definitions. O.K. see why I'm wondering. Now, fascism, yeah, that one is over the top. I mean it is probably extreme to compare him to Mussolini but hmmm let's see. Mussolini favored big businesses, allowing the small ones to fail. I do believe the bailouts are for big businesses. Mussolini called it the Agency for Industrial Reconstruction, we just call it a bailout or stimulus package. The early supporters of Mussolini were students and white - collar workers who found jobs in the expanding party and government. Yikes, sounds a lot like Obama supporters. Mussolini created bureaucracies and public works to create jobs and lift spirits. Sound familiar? Just a little piece information Mussolini came to power legally in 1922, it took a few years for him to create a dictatorship. He promised the people prosperity at a time when they were down and out. It is easy for us to judge and say, "how does a society let that happen?"
Well, look at us. Americans seem to worship Obama. He is everywhere. He does commercials to get the American people to side with his political ideas now. He is on Twitter, Facebook, all over the web. He was interviewed five straight mornings on the Today show. Obama was on ABC, not sure if CBS had him on too. All the makings of, dare I say it, a dictator. I mean, you cannot say anything bad about him or people get nasty. Responses are unreal. You get called racist. You are told, "how dare you speak of this President, it is history in the making." What? O.K. Obama won the election but since when do we stop critiquing our President? This is America! It was what use to be great about our country. We always had a smooth transition but we just didn't say, "hey, let the new guy do what he wants."
See, why I am leaning towards fascism? My goodness!
I truly think Obama is following closely in the footsteps of FDR. What FDR did to combat the depression changed the role of government in American life, setting a pattern unchallenged until Ronald Reagan. The government grew under Roosevelt and it was because of Roosevelt continually winning elections that the amendment was created to limit the term on the presidency. It was believed that Americans, yes Americans could actually allow a strong leader to be in power too long.
Anyways, FDR's handling of the depression has been hotly debated. Conservatives think its basic mistake was to attempt, vainly, to change the normal operations of a free market-economy. Spending more money than the government had collected. Roosevelt began the system of federal budget deficits that have become so enormous today. Obama is now skyrocketing it! At the end of the 1930's , Roosevelt admitted, one-third of Americans remained "ill housed, ill fed, ill clad." Oh, didn't work out too well and the government was digging itself a hole. Glad we learned from FDR.
Lastly, confusion seems to surround the term 'socialism'. Many call the welfare states of Scandinavia 'socialist' because freely elected social Democratic governments have gradually introduced elaborate medical, unemployment, educational, housing and other schemes designed to lift up the lower rungs of society: 'cradle-to-grave welfare'. The aim of these parties is to wipe out poverty without resorting to coercion or state control. And here's where Scandinavian 'welfarism' differs from Communist style socialism. The Scandinavian lands have little nationalized industry and they pay very high taxes. What was nationalized was done for non-ideological reasons. The bulk of the economy is privatized. Bottom line, first came capitalism, then welfarism or socialism if that is what you want to call it but they still maintain a society that is highly privatized with high taxes. It is the high taxes that pay for their welfare programs because they want those welfare programs.
Americans, well, as usual we want it all. Low taxes. Welfare. That is going to lead to Socialism with nationalized industry. We all know how well that worked. U.S.S.R.
Us Conservatives have to continue to speak up. We must remind Americans that the United States is a federation that believes in an individuals rights. Individuals don't need the State to control their lives. Our industry should be run by individuals. Capitalism works. If Americans want welfare then they should pay for it. Our taxes should be for our welfare. Our taxes should not be for huge government spending and buying industries thus giving all the control over to the STATE . We need a resurgence of conservatism and we need it fast!
My sources for this post are from:
Twentieth Century World, Findley/Rothney 1998
Capitalism: is an economic system in which wealth and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned and controlled rather than community, publicly, or state-owned and controlled.
Centralization: the concentration of administrative power in the nation's capital, allowing little or no local autonomy.
Conservatism: political mood or movement aimed at preserving older or traditional values, economic systems and laws.
Federation: political system in which component territories enjoy a high degree of autonomy or home rule.
Nationalization: governmental takeover of private industry.
Privatization: The selling of state-owned enterprises to private business.
Socialism: political movement at greater equality by means of welfare measures and/or nationalization of industry.
Totalitarian: a dictatorial regime that attempts to impose total ideological, economic, and political control over society.
Welfare: redistributive measures that provide health care, food, housing and insurance to poorer classes.
Oh, my goodness, that was a lot.
Well, as I continue to watch our politicians and our President ( I mean really you cannot help but see Obama the man is everywhere, it is a little creepy) go on and on about how the government needs to save us one can easily see that capitalism is dying in America. I would argue that America has not been a true capitalist society for a while but what was left of our capitalism is truly dying.
What seems to be happening right before our eyes is the nationalization of our industries. What will be next? Will we cease to be a federation? If you ask me the United States his heading towards the centralization of government.
The government is growing. This stimulus package. Unbelievable. I mean when you start talking about trillions of dollars, I cannot even wrap my mind around those figures. Worse, does it make any sense to anyone that they are lowering taxes and increasing spending and bailing out industries. Do the math? This cannot work.
In addition, if you notice now the President is turning Americans against business owners. He has insinuated it is their fault. I think it is high time everyone takes responsibility for their actions. Also, let the business fail if it is not making it. You learn from failure, not from the government taking over and giving you a strong talking to. What I find interesting is the fact that all the workers want their jobs saved but they want the people at the top canned. Um, not how it goes. If a company fails, it goes out of business and everyone loses their jobs, including the executives. That is how it should work. Therefore, if the government saves a company shouldn't everyone be saved. No, the President is making sure he is setting up a fall guy and making himself look like a hero to the little guy.
I am a confused American. I'm not sure if we are leaning towards socialism, fascism, totalitarian or Obama Welfare State. Go back to the top and look at the definitions. O.K. see why I'm wondering. Now, fascism, yeah, that one is over the top. I mean it is probably extreme to compare him to Mussolini but hmmm let's see. Mussolini favored big businesses, allowing the small ones to fail. I do believe the bailouts are for big businesses. Mussolini called it the Agency for Industrial Reconstruction, we just call it a bailout or stimulus package. The early supporters of Mussolini were students and white - collar workers who found jobs in the expanding party and government. Yikes, sounds a lot like Obama supporters. Mussolini created bureaucracies and public works to create jobs and lift spirits. Sound familiar? Just a little piece information Mussolini came to power legally in 1922, it took a few years for him to create a dictatorship. He promised the people prosperity at a time when they were down and out. It is easy for us to judge and say, "how does a society let that happen?"
Well, look at us. Americans seem to worship Obama. He is everywhere. He does commercials to get the American people to side with his political ideas now. He is on Twitter, Facebook, all over the web. He was interviewed five straight mornings on the Today show. Obama was on ABC, not sure if CBS had him on too. All the makings of, dare I say it, a dictator. I mean, you cannot say anything bad about him or people get nasty. Responses are unreal. You get called racist. You are told, "how dare you speak of this President, it is history in the making." What? O.K. Obama won the election but since when do we stop critiquing our President? This is America! It was what use to be great about our country. We always had a smooth transition but we just didn't say, "hey, let the new guy do what he wants."
See, why I am leaning towards fascism? My goodness!
I truly think Obama is following closely in the footsteps of FDR. What FDR did to combat the depression changed the role of government in American life, setting a pattern unchallenged until Ronald Reagan. The government grew under Roosevelt and it was because of Roosevelt continually winning elections that the amendment was created to limit the term on the presidency. It was believed that Americans, yes Americans could actually allow a strong leader to be in power too long.
Anyways, FDR's handling of the depression has been hotly debated. Conservatives think its basic mistake was to attempt, vainly, to change the normal operations of a free market-economy. Spending more money than the government had collected. Roosevelt began the system of federal budget deficits that have become so enormous today. Obama is now skyrocketing it! At the end of the 1930's , Roosevelt admitted, one-third of Americans remained "ill housed, ill fed, ill clad." Oh, didn't work out too well and the government was digging itself a hole. Glad we learned from FDR.
Lastly, confusion seems to surround the term 'socialism'. Many call the welfare states of Scandinavia 'socialist' because freely elected social Democratic governments have gradually introduced elaborate medical, unemployment, educational, housing and other schemes designed to lift up the lower rungs of society: 'cradle-to-grave welfare'. The aim of these parties is to wipe out poverty without resorting to coercion or state control. And here's where Scandinavian 'welfarism' differs from Communist style socialism. The Scandinavian lands have little nationalized industry and they pay very high taxes. What was nationalized was done for non-ideological reasons. The bulk of the economy is privatized. Bottom line, first came capitalism, then welfarism or socialism if that is what you want to call it but they still maintain a society that is highly privatized with high taxes. It is the high taxes that pay for their welfare programs because they want those welfare programs.
Americans, well, as usual we want it all. Low taxes. Welfare. That is going to lead to Socialism with nationalized industry. We all know how well that worked. U.S.S.R.
Us Conservatives have to continue to speak up. We must remind Americans that the United States is a federation that believes in an individuals rights. Individuals don't need the State to control their lives. Our industry should be run by individuals. Capitalism works. If Americans want welfare then they should pay for it. Our taxes should be for our welfare. Our taxes should not be for huge government spending and buying industries thus giving all the control over to the STATE . We need a resurgence of conservatism and we need it fast!
My sources for this post are from:
Twentieth Century World, Findley/Rothney 1998
and
Countries and Concepts (An Introduction to Comparative Politics)/ Roskin,Michael G. 1998
Definitions from: Countries and Concepts (An Introduction to Comparative Politics)
Labels: Capitalism, Conservatism, Fascism, FDR, government bailout, President Obama, socialism, Stimulus Package, Welfare
posted by Lucy at
1:36 PM
4 Comments:
Wow, a lot of things that have been on my mind ... but explained in good detail. I wouldn't have thought to compare Obama to Mussolini (for ideological reasons) but there are peculiar similarities I wouldn't have guessed.
Roosevelt's positive legacy comes from his foreign policy (as Rush notes). His government-handout strategy prolonged the Great Depression.
Thanks for this post, Lucy
Like I said, I truly believe Obama leans towards Roosevelt, not Mussolini. It is more this obsession by the American people that is getting on my last nerve. Obessesion can easily lead to a "do no wrong attitude" and that can get a little scary.
I find the Obama mania a little frightening. Even here in Canada, he can't be criticized. People are looking to him to be a savior. It is creepy.
Canadians live in a democratic somewhat socialist nation. This does not mean that individuals cannot amass personal wealth. Over the years we have run the route of having some nationalized industries and then swing back to privatization. Generally speaking most industries are privately held. We have been leaning more and more in that direction over the last couple of decades. Usually nationalized industries just end up being a big drain on the tax payer. Eg. The Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation. How we all wish they would pull the plug on that! Bureaucracies by there very natures seem to flounder no matter what the good intentions may be.
Probably the one area that most Canadians would want to see stay under national jurisdiction would be our health care system. Our taxes are higher but everybody has access to medical care. We choose this. It is not without it's problems but we don't see the alternative as very good either.
I believe that very few things should fall under that umbrella. Education is provided in the States as well as here free of charge (mainly). This is socialist as well and is a good thing.
It was really funny when we were in the States last fall. When people heard that we were from Canada, most would remark: "You are just a bunch of socialists up there" It seemed like a dirty word but I think that most Americans equate socialism with communism.
There can be different degrees of socialism. Some can be a good thing. Too much is not! It can take time to find the balance. If Obama wants to take the nation in that direction, he has to follow the will of the people and if he has any wisdom at all, he will not nationalize industry. We have found that to be a loosing proposition.
At this time we have a Conservative minority government. They are being somewhat blackmailed by the left. That is why we are going to start pumping in the bucks to bail out some of the big industries and amass a pile of debt. It is very doubtful that this tactic is going to help.
Christine: thanks for giving us a perspective from Canada, as Americans like to compare to that country.
I think you hit the nail on the head, you pay in taxes for your healthcare and choose to do that. Americans, well, they do not want that at all. Let me re-phrase, they want the rich to pay more in taxes (which they do, because, hello, they are in the higher tax bracket, trust me I pay more than someone who makes, less than me, common sense but they want them to pay even more in percentage just because they are rich, whatever) sorry I went on a rant.
Anyways, Americans do not want to pay for their welfare programs,period.
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