why do young Americans embrace "Socialism" now for the first time and what does that mean for you?

Author: PaulVerliane

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Polls vary on how Americans feel about socialism now. In May, Gallup found that 43% thought some form of socialism would be good for the country, putting socialism at a statistical tie with Trump, who’s approval ratings were 42%. The term was particularly popular among the non-white and the young. A Harris poll released a couple of weeks earlier found that only 24% said they would vote for a socialist. An NBC poll indicated “socialist” was the least attractive trait voters were looking for in a president, significantly lagging “someone over the age of 75” and “a Muslim”. A Harris poll from March suggests half of those under the age of 40 would “prefer to live in a socialist country”. Three-quarters of Democrats believe the country would be “better off” if it were more socialist.
But quite what people mean by “socialist” is an open question.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/06/socialism-used-to-be-a-dirty-word-is-america-now-ready-to-embrace-the-ideology
People think trump is the future of this nation , maybe he is just a last gasp of an aging white population, I think the future of the USA isn't blue it is red but no Republican Red but Bolshey RED 

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It means either USSR will happen again or maybe they'll get someone like Warren in, who will make it into a social democracy like the rest of the developed world.
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we wont get the ussr we have two futures we end up like Britain in the winter of 1979 , or like the nordic model which combines market friendly policy with a generous welfare state https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-06-10/america-doesnt-get-what-socialist-scandinavia-and-sweden-really-do  https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/the-winter-of-discontent-what-can-we-learn-from-history/
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@PaulVerliane
Neither of which are Socialist... Britain was Capitalist as all hell back then so I have no idea what you are getting at.
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In short, our domestic political debate is grossly impoverished by our dichotomy between the competing utopianisms of a country without government and one dominated by it. We in fact are headed toward a world with a lot less government – and a lot more "socialism."
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@PaulVerliane
More Socialism inherently entails more government and beaurecracy, it's about keeping the parts compartmentalised and each holding the other accountable that is how corruption is rooted out in social democracies.
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@RationalMadman
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@RationalMadman
how old are you? their top tax rate was 98% and most of its major industries were nationalized and run very badly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEgvxQ_OhcU
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@PaulVerliane
you live in an imaginary world.
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@RationalMadman
well sort of i study history but then "The past is not dead. It's not even past."? i live in the past, its the world i loved and wasnt even aware of how awesome it was till it was too late , damn millenials you pu the nail in the coffin we boomers built ll on the ashes of the worderful world the gratest genration built for us
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It means that our youth have an increasingly little amount of economic knowledge.
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Wicked people need a totalitarian government to put the fear of God in them.

Good people don't need a lot of government.


The problem is not a governmental one so much as a moral one. The people have given over to every kind lust, passion, and debasement. If left unchecked and there isn't society wide revulsion that reverses course, this trend leads to the dissolution of every type of order that maintains a healthy society. 

The problem is governmental though because who has to run things in this environment? When softer methods do not work, extreme measures are taken. Often with the consent of enough of the governed, who unknowingly pass condemnation onto themselves.


We are now several generations deep  into a KGB plot that started a long time ago. That is why many young Americans embrace socialism. It is how they are educated, both in formal education settings and in the culture they consume. 


Whhat does it mean to me? I unfortunately can't help but think of the thousands of bishops, priests, and monastics that were killed and tortured under soviet domination. I can't help but think of the the 20-50 million martyrs who were mercilessly cut down like a disease. I can't help but think of even people I know who were locked up to be tortured and forgotten.


I can't help but believe socialism is very intolerant towards the church.
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@Mopac
Wicked people need a totalitarian government to put the fear of God in them.
Good people don't need a lot of government.
This is just patently untrue. Enforcing the law is only a small part of what the government does. 

The problem is not a governmental one so much as a moral one. The people have given over to every kind lust, passion, and debasement. If left unchecked and there isn't society wide revulsion that reverses course, this trend leads to the dissolution of every type of order that maintains a healthy society. 
This kind of argument always makes me laugh because it shows people really don't understand human nature or our history. Humans have always had lust, they have always had passion. The idea that having sex is somehow new or unusual is ridiculous. It has never lead to the collapse of society before, and it won't now. Humans have not become less moral. We have just modernized what is moral and immoral. 

We are now several generations deep  into a KGB plot that started a long time ago. That is why many young Americans embrace socialism.
What are you even talking about? America completely rejected socialism because of irrational fear spread by the cold war. Now that we are a generation or 2 past the cold war young people don't have the irrational fears that older generations do. There is no KGB plot, people have simply moved past your prejudices. 

Whhat does it mean to me? I unfortunately can't help but think of the thousands of bishops, priests, and monastics that were killed and tortured under soviet domination. I can't help but think of the the 20-50 million martyrs who were mercilessly cut down like a disease. I can't help but think of even people I know who were locked up to be tortured and forgotten.
You do know that democratic socialism and communism are not remotely alike, right? No one is advocating for a totalitarian government. This is a ridiculous fear driven by your cold war prejudices. 

I can't help but believe socialism is very intolerant towards the church.
Socialism is what is best for everyone, regardless of religion or ethnicity. To people who are used to religion dominating politics and society I can see why they might see this as intolerance because you like the idea of your religion being forced onto people. To people who don't want their lives dominated by a religious group, this is freedom.
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@PaulVerliane
And the government allows kids over there to go to private schools, charters, or the regular government schools. Something we should do.
Mopac
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This is just patently untrue. Enforcing the law is only a small part of what the government does
I agree that government does more than enforce law. However, it is no strange thing that when the governed become ungovernable, and nothing can get done, even what seems urgent, political violence can even gain popular support.



This kind of argument always makes me laugh because it shows people really don't understand human nature or our history. Humans have always had lust, they have always had passion. The idea that having sex is somehow new or unusual is ridiculous. It has never lead to the collapse of society before, and it won't now. Humans have not become less moral. We have just modernized what is moral and immoral.

Lust and passion covers a great deal more ground than the sexual variety. The point is that people place the objects of their lust and passion before reality, and when you have a population that has given itself over to willful defiance of reality, it is natural that both society and the government it chooses to represent it will be corrupt.

What are you even talking about? America completely rejected socialism because of irrational fear spread by the cold war. Now that we are a generation or 2 past the cold war young people don't have the irrational fears that older generations do. There is no KGB plot, people have simply moved past your prejudices. 


Are you actually defending the Soviet Union?

It really isn't an irrational fear. I am not talking about fairy tales, most of the type of work the KGB did involved planting ideas that would grow and cause multi-generational change in the country. Yes, the work that the KGB was a remarkable success, even KGB defectors in the 1980s seemed to think so..

This is a very informative interview thst is worth watching. A good chunk of it has to do with who the one being interviewed is, but after that is established the really interesting stuff begins, and you'd have to be completely blind if you can't see what he is talking about after hearing.



You do know that democratic socialism and communism are not remotely alike, right? No one is advocating for a totalitarian government. This is a ridiculous fear driven by your cold war prejudices. 

Socialism is the transitory state on the way to communism in marxist ideology.

Of course you don't want a totalitarian government. Who does? But I am not simply talking blind prejudice. The Soviet Union created more martyrs of the faith in its short existence than all of history combined. It was a genocide several times more deadly than even the holocaust. Would you tell a Jew that they are operating under ridiculous fear and prejudice for being distrustful of Nazis?

I don't think there is anything ridiculous about this at all, especially when even to this day the Chinese government oppresses my people.


Socialism is what is best for everyone, regardless of religion or ethnicity. To people who are used to religion dominating politics and society I can see why they might see this as intolerance because you like the idea of your religion being forced onto people. To people who don't want their lives dominated by a religious group, this is freedom.


The Church is actually very against forcing religion on people as we see free will as part of what it means to be made in the image of God. This belief, which by the way secures human dignity in a way that communism can never, makes coercion very taboo in the church. We are fairly diverse politically too. The Church has taught for thousands of years now that abortion is evil, and we still stand by that. Child sacrifice has no place in a civilized society. 


Socialism IS a religion, and it is a religion that can not coexist with the church, because the church is hierarchical, and socialism/communism very much has to do with tearing down of all forms of hierarchy.

Communism/socialism is an atheistic religion. A modern recapitulation of the type of state worship you would find in ancient Egypt, Babylon, The Roman Empire, etc. It is nothing new. 

So though you aren't aware of it, a communist government is actually more close to the type of theocracy that you likely would be against than what I would ever suggest as a government.


One thing the so called "communist" countries all have in common is that they tend to call themselves socialist. They also tend to call themselves republics or democracies.

Though you do not believe me, and yes, I do understand, it is ok... socialism is attractive precisely because of how it is marketed. It sounds nice! It manages a double wammy of simultaneously appealing to both people's sense of compassion and their sense of greed. It really is a big scam though. It doesn't work. It also doesn't allow for people like me to exist. 



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fuck socialism
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@Mopac
Lust and passion covers a great deal more ground than the sexual variety. The point is that people place the objects of their lust and passion before reality, and when you have a population that has given itself over to willful defiance of reality, it is natural that both society and the government it chooses to represent it will be corrupt.
This sentiment could describe literally any point in human history. You think Henry the 8th didn't put lust before reality? Or the Popes who had multiple children. The list can go on and on forever. Governments have always been corrupt. People have always been lustful. Nothing has changed. 

Are you actually defending the Soviet Union?
no. Where did you get that idea?

most of the type of work the KGB did involved planting ideas that would grow and cause multi-generational change in the country.
what 2nd rate spy novel did you get that idea from?

Socialism is the transitory state on the way to communism in marxist ideology.
Communists certainly thought that. That doesn't make it true. Communism has been pretty thoroughly discredited. 

The Church is actually very against forcing religion on people as we see free will as part of what it means to be made in the image of God.
do you actually believe that? Do you know many wars Christians have fought to force their religion onto others? They have killed 10's if not 100's of millions of people to force their version of Christianity on others. The history of Christianity is soaked in blood.

Socialism IS a religion, and it is a religion that can not coexist with the church, because the church is hierarchical, and socialism/communism very much has to do with tearing down of all forms of hierarchy.
Socialism is not a religion. No one is advocating for communism. People are advocating for social democracy. Think Sweden, not Soviet Union. 


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@HistoryBuff
This sentiment could describe literally any point in human history. You think Henry the 8th didn't put lust before reality? Or the Popes who had multiple children. The list can go on and on forever. Governments have always been corrupt. People have always been lustful. Nothing has changed. 
Yes, and idolatry, which is what I am talking about, is just as wrong now as it was then.


what 2nd rate spy novel did you get that idea from?

I just put with that post an interview with a real former KGB agent who defected. You might find confirmation there.


do you actually believe that? Do you know many wars Christians have fought to force their religion onto others? They have killed 10's if not 100's of millions of people to force their version of Christianity on others. The history of Christianity is soaked in blood.


Yes, I am quite certain I know my own faith better than you.

You can be comforted to know that The Church is not intended to be a secular state.


Socialism is not a religion.
Merriam-Webster contains a definition of "religion" that reads...

"a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith."

Given that definition, socialism could certainly be classified as a religion.

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@Mopac
Yes, and idolatry, which is what I am talking about, is just as wrong now as it was then.
But nothing has changed. It is the same as it always was. so your previous point about society falling apart is wrong. 

I just put with that post an interview with a real former KGB agent who defected. You might find confirmation there.
I'm  not watching an hour and a half video to play into your KGB fantasies. 

Yes, I am quite certain I know my own faith better than you.
You might know the doctrine better, but apparently you know very little of the history. 

You can be comforted to know that The Church is not intended to be a secular state.
The church is not intended to be a state at all. 

"a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith."
Given that definition, socialism could certainly be classified as a religion.
That would make many things a religion. Nationalism, democracy, political parties, conservatism, liberalism etc. If you want to tell me you adhere to multiple religions then I would just see that as odd. But i'm pretty sure your faith has some nasty things to say about false idols. So you probably would limit it to only things you want to believe should be seen as a religion. 


Mopac
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But nothing has changed. It is the same as it always was. so your previous point about society falling apart is wrong.

Societies come and go, rise and fall. It is no strange thing. It is strange to say that nothing has changed when even now we live in times of great change.




You might know the doctrine better, but apparently you know very little of the history

I am an Orthodox Christian, which means there is a pretty good chance I know church history better than anyone you have ever met.

That would make many things a religion. Nationalism, democracy, political parties, conservatism, liberalism etc. If you want to tell me you adhere to multiple religions then I would just see that as odd. But i'm pretty sure your faith has some nasty things to say about false idols. So you probably would limit it to only things you want to believe should be seen as a religion.
Sure, these things can be religions if they are heald to with ardor and faith. It would really have to be a way of life. At least, that is how we understand faith, that it is not mere intellectual assent but a living out. An experience.

For example, a good scientist is adhering to the scientific method with ardor and faith. It is not simply believing that adherence to the scientific method will lead to accurate conclusions but the putting it into practice. Someone who simply believes what scientists write about their findings is not a scientist.


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@PaulVerliane
Red Socialism is a cult-like "religion" masked as a political ideology. No way in hell is it a good idea.

But essentially, the capitalist-socialist dichotomy is false. Market Capitalism is hardly working for Americans, especially young Americans. They're going out of college in piles of debt, finding it hard to pay rent, let alone raise a family with his own income (a woman may need to enter the workforce in addition, leaving the kids without proper parenting). Culture and tradition is becoming commercialized.

Ideally, we'd be looking towards ideas such as distributism, corporatism, and guild-socialism. Overall, the country needs more central planning while corporate classes need to cut down hard on. Anti-trust laws need reinforcement. 


I doubt anything's going to change though. Market capitalism isn't going to fix anything. Bureaucratic government programs disguised as "democratic Socialism" will only add on to the alphabet soup.  
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@triangle.128k
Do you mean social democracy? That’s what progressives actually want. The terminologies can get confusing, even for the experienced. 
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@Reece
No lol

I said both are false dichotomies

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@triangle.128k
No.

By “democratic Socialism”, I think you mean social democracy. That’s what progressives actually want...
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@Reece101
So just expanding the welfare state in a consumerist and capitalistic society? Nah. It is not radical enough and too many taxes are involved in supporting it.

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@triangle.128k
Okay, let’s discuss single payer healthcare as one example. 

Your taxes will increase but not as much as the money you would have been paying to the private sector. 
Do you get it?
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@Reece101
I don't have an issue with National health care

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@triangle.128k
What do you have an issue with?
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@Reece101
A crapppy ideology, mixed with social progressivism, that thinks expanding welfare will fix all of the problems of materialistic and consumerist capitalism. It pretends to be anti-capitalist while being capitalist.