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