socialism is not a 'bad' word 3/25/2016 0 Comments   by E.L. Christianson Jr. Socialism is a system of economic and social controls whereby ownership and production is determine by the common good.  Communism is essentially based upon the same concept... the common good. In the United States, we have been taught to view socialism and communism as negatives.  As proof, we offer a few examples of countries where some form of these ideologies have been attempted and have not succeeded, ususally because of the characteristics of human beings as opposed to the characterictics of the ideology itself.  Russia is our favorite example and the word 'dictator' becomes the focus of any discussion of communism.  There are lots of other 'isms' that have been tried over the millennium of humans experimenting with political and economic systems. Fascism has been a favorite.  This is an authoritarian and nationalistic system of government and social organization.   Herein, who is in charge is really in charge and citizens are taught to 'rally around the flag". Capitalism is an economic and political system where industry/production is controlled by private owners for profit, rather than controlled by the state for the common good.  The 'free market' is a focus of capitalism.   Perhaps, because of usage of the word 'free', capitalism is often confused with democracy. ​Democracy is, we like to say,  "government of the people, by the people, and for the people".  In theory it would be majority rule.​ Here in the United States of America, we make lots of false claims about who we are.  Our education system promotes propaganda and mis-direction which keeps the citizens off balance regarding our true identity.  Most Americans would easily state that we live in a democracy and would point to our having elected leaders as proof.  Few look past the surface. Most Americans proudly believe we have a system of capitalism which works for and in a 'free market'.  Again, few look past the surface and rarely examine our economic history.   For most Americans, socialism has become a 'bad' word.  But, for those believing such, they have been educated to ignore obvious signals about where we really stand in this country. Yes, one can go to the ballot box and vote for leadership.  But, the choices have been selected by those who are in charge.  It is not really a democracy when one can choose among the 'party hacks' who have been preselected and placed on the ballot.  Or, here's a joke: ' you can write in the name of your personal favorite'... ha! ha! ha! And, while we have an economic system wherein the goals are the enrichment of the private owners rather than benefiting the population, it is not a 'free market' because the rules ensure that the private owners cannot fail.  The productivity of the entire population is directed toward protecting those few private owners... "too big to fail". An economic system must be able to provide for each member of the population.  Surpluses must be directed toward those unable to work on any given day.  The "American system" does not even pretend to provide for retirement, illness, accident and natural disasters.  In reality, each American citizen is more or less on their own.  Our system will save the banking class, but the rest must save themselves. The history of capitalism is one failure after the other.   Fascism is a word we don't like because we associate it through history with people we didn't like.  But in this country, this is what we practice more than democracy.  Every action of our congress is about control.  The authorities are in control and everyone knows it.  There is no area of live in this country that is not heavily regulated and controlled by those in charge.  Our police force has become an arm of our military.  One arm operates overseas and one arm operates at home.  More and more the equipment is the same.  The tactics are the same.  The uniforms are the same.  The philosophy of operation is the same.  No country has ever placed as many people in prisons as we have.  Don't step out of line or... Socialism on the other hand is all about the common good.  Production is determined not by who will make the greatest profit, but by what will provide the greatest good for the population in general terms. Those few countries of the world that attempt some form of socialism usually rank highest in terms of satisfaction and accomplishment among their populations. It is easy to understand... capitalism is good for an individual... socialism is good for a population... It is refreshing to see that the word is coming back into our language.  Now, we need to learn to practice socialism.  We will all benefit, and that's the truth !!!