From: utzoo!dciem!mmt
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.philosophy
Title: Re: What IS wrong with socialism
Article-I.D.: dciem.184
Posted: Sun Feb 20 13:53:15 1983
Received: Sun Feb 20 13:56:25 1983
References: mitccc.349

It's pretty hard on Socialism to equate it to what the Comecon countries
do. They don't run Communism either. Socialism has its place, as does
Capitalism, and neither is suited for dealing with EVERYTHING in a country.
Remember, the Government is US in a democracy. Socialism is US doing
together what we can't do individually. Do you want individuals to fund
our highway system? I want a good road all the way to my door, not just
past my house. I can't do that for myself; it needs cooperation. There are
lots of cases like that. As for the planning aspect of Socialism, the
economy is too complex to plan entirely in the absence of both theory
and data. We would all probably do better if good forecasting and planning
were possible, but it isn't. So, the best bet in many cases is to let
people individually do what they think will be best. Overall, it probably
gives a better result for most people, since the health of those who
got it right will tend to drag upwards the lot of those who didn't.
But there has also to be a safety net to support the ones who otherwise
would be a drag on everyone. As I wrote to Tom Craver (who then put it
on the net), it is in everyone's own self-interest to support the
undeserving poor, because that provides an environment with the best
possibilities for mutual success. So -- Socialism when it's best that
we combine and plan for the future, Capitalism to take advantage of
opportunities. Lets have the best of both worlds, and not damn either
out of hand.
		Martin Taylor