The Top 1%

[Minimalist]

Time for this.

[Davidthegoliath]

I miss George Carlin.

[orogenicman]

Ditto.

[TaraJo]

I think it's about damn time the country admits it: there are advantages and disadvantages to both capialism and communism. It isn't an either/or thing; it's incorporating both into our culture.

Look at the computers and cell phones we use. Those are innovations of capitalism. Capitalists, in competition with each other, are constantly trying to make the next computer faster, the next phone more covenient, the next car more comfortable just so they can keep up with their competition who are doing the same thing. Yes, good, competitive capitalism pushes innovation.

But there are plenty of fields where completely unregulated capitalism has led to disaster and we don't really get anything for an added investment. Look at the banking system we have where all that innovation is being used to find more creative ways to screw us over. Look at our healthcare system that used innovation of capitalism to find creative reasons to deny coverage to people when they need it. Look at defense contractors who are finding creative ways to put their product to use (no matter how many people have to get killed for it).

So, my proposal is that most industries are well regulated by the government whose basic job is to protect the public. They should also have a government/public option for many of these services, to set the bar for the private sector to meet if they want to stay competitive.

[Chas]

it means the abolition of private property; while maintaining personal property.

Seriously? Where do you draw that line?

[Autumnlicious]

it means the abolition of private property; while maintaining personal property.

Seriously? Where do you draw that line?

Using imagination, of course.

[Ryantology]

I think it's about damn time the country admits it: there are advantages and disadvantages to both capialism and communism. It isn't an either/or thing; it's incorporating both into our culture.

Yeah. It's called democratic socialism. I have a large place in my heart for it.

Democratic Socialists of America: Democratic socialists do not want to create an all-powerful government bureaucracy. But we do not want big corporate bureaucracies to control our society either. Rather, we believe that social and economic decisions should be made by those whom they most affect.

Today, corporate executives who answer only to themselves and a few wealthy stockholders make basic economic decisions affecting millions of people. Resources are used to make money for capitalists rather than to meet human needs. We believe that the workers and consumers who are affected by economic institutions should own and control them.

Social ownership could take many forms, such as worker-owned cooperatives or publicly owned enterprises managed by workers and consumer representatives. Democratic socialists favor as much decentralization as possible. While the large concentrations of capital in industries such as energy and steel may necessitate some form of state ownership, many consumer-goods industries might be best run as cooperatives.

Democratic socialists have long rejected the belief that the whole economy should be centrally planned. While we believe that democratic planning can shape major social investments like mass transit, housing, and energy, market mechanisms are needed to determine the demand for many consumer goods.

Emphases, mine.

[EgoRaptor]

it means the abolition of private property; while maintaining personal property.

Seriously? Where do you draw that line?

Private property is land or the means of production (which we be created communally) , all of which will be collectivized after the revolution. Personal property is that with is personally created or manufactured. All your personal possessions, including your home & car (exempting your land, as that was not personally created, nor is it a personal possession).

Private property is also that which is used for sustenance. This must be abolished so that all can have access to the essential means of sustenance. Factories of all sorts are private property.