(April 19, 2017 at 4:19 pm)Jehanne Wrote:(April 19, 2017 at 4:15 pm)pocaracas Wrote: I think you're thinking of communism, not socialism... but hey, I get it... the cold war era propaganda in the US worked really well!
Not quite -- in communism, there is little private property, but that is not what I am advocating here. I think that good socialism will retain private poverty with some private corporations. Still, the government would be the dominant factor in the economy, with private industry in service to the country as opposed to being in competition within and between sectors.
In my experience, socialism is a system that provides the basic needs for its people, basically healthcare, education, law enforcement and providing some subsistence income to those in need, while allowing capitalism to do its thing within a set of regulations which aim to enforce a sustainable future.
For example, I don't think the government should be a car dealer. That's a business that should be in the private sector. The government should set up laws and regulations that allow any car dealer to operate, but with standard market rules (no false advertising, provide some warranty, etc), some sector specific regulations (require the car dealer to have a dealer's license so that he's aware of all the legislation involving cars) and some extra incentives or penalties for people to purchase wisely (higher road tax on more polluting cars).
