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Socialism

A

Axis

Banned
Joined
Jul 22, 2017
Messages
79
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Location
Australia
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Socialist
How come there are no socialists in this forum?

Everyone's political philosophies seem to lean to towards a conservative nature or a liberal nature. Why? Conservatism: is the constitution that you live with, really that uhm, perfect? Liberalism: is that too, really that great? All around, is it? For those with insufficient funds to back-up an education for their families or for themselves? Or is it just petite (poetically used); apropos for yourself? Conservatism: are the laws we have, really that great? What about those innocently accused; but condemned, thanks to the jury system? Those that are too poor, to bring their case to a higher court? What should we do, those with conservative like philosophies?

Ignore that above. But seriously. Why do I see no leanings toward socialism? Do you think it is for the corrupt and wicked? A day more like the lines of feudalism? But really, why do I see none?
 
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You just haven't been here long enough.
 
Depends on what you view as socialism, if you include social democracy then I have leanings towards socialism. But if you only mean the far left, than "

Tapatalkkal küldve az én F8331 eszközömről
 
Socialists and communists are fringe ideologies in America, where the vast majority of our members come from. So is libertarianism, but they just don't have the same stigma that those two groups have, so far more people are willing to represent themselves as such.
 

You didn't seem to study the landscape very well. There are plenty of socialists around here, and several progressives who are socialist in all but name.

Hmmmm. I wonder what else you made a snap decision on using poor information...
 

If you don't want to sound like a soldier in Putin's bot army, you need to work on substance and presentation.
 

Liberals are mostly socialists that don't know it.
 

There are a few floating around. But it's just not an exceptionally popular political lean amongst Americans, where most of our members are from.

Amongst Americans, "minority" political positions (not either liberal or conservative) have a tendency to lean in the direction of small government. Libertarians (whether right or left), for example, are more common than socialists. And I think that's just because America's culture is one that tends to emphasize small communities, and more freedom of choice.

Also, some people with socialistic tendencies often label themselves as "progressive" or other non-specified leans, because the American take on socialism tends to be different than, say, Europe's idea of socialism (again, due to that different emphasis our culture places on communities and choice). So it just doesn't quite fit under that moniker.

That said, DP does have some of everything. We even had a self-identified fascist mod for quite a while! And the mods are currently mulling over adding an anarchist lean by member request too.
 
Gonzo Rodeo said:
You didn't seem to study the landscape very well. There are plenty of socialists around here, and several progressives who are socialist in all but name.

Hmmmm. I wonder what else you made a snap decision on using poor information...
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Subscribing to socialism? Do I win a prize? :mrgreen:
 

Not only a fringe but a weirdly distorted one mostly due to the heavy influence of the mccarthy era. But socialists are plentiful compared to nihilists. Which, considering the history, is probably a good thing.
 
soylentgreen said:
Not only a fringe but a weirdly distorted one mostly due to the heavy influence of the mccarthy era. But socialists are plentiful compared to nihilists. Which, considering the history, is probably a good thing.
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I wouldn't say nihilism is in short supply. My entire generation's sense of humor is predicated on nihilism (gen Z), and it started under Millennials. Some of the most popular adult cartoons today are utterly nihilistic or absurdist in nature. Rick & Morty and Bojack Horseman both draw in millions of American viewers, are deeply rooted in nihilist philosophy, and one of those shows outright states that life is meaningless, on an almost regular basis.

Here, one of my favorite YouTube channels made a video on each of them. They're both a quarter of an hour long, so you might not want to spend your time on it. I think I read an old media article about R&M's subject matter, and I can link you to anything I find on it if you'd prefer to read about it.



One question, though: how are nihilism and socialism comparable? One's a political philosophy, and the other's... more or less apolitical.
 



You can't base the terminology of a political bent based on Australia's concept. Canada and Australia are similar, but if you haven't noticed, there are TWO political parties in the US, responsible for all ends of the spectrum, there is no middle which we term "liberal".

In the US that term, or "lefty" is used for anyone not right wing, including liberals, many of whom are socialist. Americans seem to dislike the word equating it to authoritarian "big brother" government. Having said that, the US has as many socialist programs as any other, does really stupid **** like extending free employment benefits to 2 years instead of retraining people for more sustainable employment, which would be the liberal approach. However that is really "half breed socialism" often used to buy votes at election time.

One point. You will hear Obamacare termed "socialist" it is not and nowhere near it. Obamacare is fashioned out of the ashes of Mussolini's "Fasci" movement which became "Fascism" where the populace is forced to buy what the government dictates.
 

Ummm....? Huh? Look at my profile. Look at the groups I'm a part of.
 

The constitution is largely based on the principles of Liberalism. The only real difference between actual Liberals and (American) Conservatives is that Conservatives are less liberal on social matters mainly due to religious views. Libertarians are for the most part the closest to classical Liberalism. To an extent all 3 groups are Liberal in nature to varying degrees and make up the vast majority of the nation. Socialism is in opposition to the core values of Liberalism (that man has a natural right to life, liberty, and property), it shouldn't be a surprise that few are so accepting of it when raised in society built on Liberal values. There is a growing movement of Progressives and modern liberals who are more open to the idea of socialism, which in my opinion is quite troubling.
 
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As for the question about is the constitution perfect, of course not which is why there is an amendment process. Is Liberalism really that great? Of course it is, this country was founded on those principles and even though it is still in it's infancy (relatively speaking) it has grown into the most powerful nation in the world surpassing those that have been around in some cases 1000s of years. Oddly enough, the more we get away from those principles the more we see the rest of the world catch up.
 
I'm the only Socialist in this village.
 
Socialism removes all incentive to produce and ends up in extreme shortages of necessities such as food. Socialist countries such as Venezuela and the Soviet Union have demonstrated this. It doesn't work. That's probably why they are so few and far in-between here.
 
Because socialism is idiotic and any socialists that come along either get bored or educated.
 

You are referring to Communism.
 
zyzygy said:
You are referring to Communism.
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No, he is refering to dictatorships. He is also referring to leninism or stalinism not socialism.As i keep pointing out, there has never been a communist country, just dictaorships that call themselves communist without actually practicing any communist ideals.
 
If communism or socialism is about everybody being equal, who's going to stop me from making a profit and becoming rich?
 
Maccabee said:
If communism or socialism is about everybody being equal, who's going to stop me from making a profit and becoming rich?
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Socialism is not about everybody being equal.
 
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