Communism

I don't see how they do. The American system is much more skewed towards the free market system. Admittedly they are similar, but not as close as you seem to believe.

In America hospitals are run like businesses, they aim to make a profit through medical insurance. The only free healthcare provided is the absolute bare minimum to keep you alive. Anything above and beyond that has to be paid for.

In the UK the NHS will pay for or at least subsidise part of the cost of the treatment. Hospitals are run to provide a service and then they try to at least break-even. We also have private healthcare and education for those that have enough money.

 

Are social reflections of how we perceive ourselves is really the only problem. What is equal?

 

Good point, equality is based on what we perceive as the standard among people. If we say everyone should receive equal health-care treatment (for example), how far does that equality go? Should special circumstances be taken into consideration such as key workers or intential bad health (e.g. smoking, alcoholism etc)?

How about housing for all? Should a single unemployed person get a house over a family? The list goes on >_> In truth this is another situation where each case needs to be looked at individually, a sweeping statement of "Equality for all in all things" would never work.

 

Very good point there bunty..I didn't even think about stuff like that, I completely forgot about the way the healthcare system and social security is set up.

Indeed they are close but true not as simular.

 

Welfare in the U.S. is ran by the government as is medicare and medicaid. However, insurance, hospitals etc are not government ran; they are corporate ran in the U.S. as are pharmacies for medicines. This is where we differ from other places such as in Europe and Canada. Also, educational grants and such often come from businesses and loans all come from businesses that charge ridiculous percentages so that many Americans have troubles paying them off.

It's been pointed out by the Churchill quote that yes, any system has already been tried and Democracy is pretty well in infancy and the closest thing to it in the past was the set up Republics such as was done in Roman times. Democracy itself is a political system. Communism is only a political system because the people in charge must be of a military mindset and domineering about enforcing it. This in itself tells me that it's not a righteous system. In smaller areas, as I've said before, it can work because everyone -knows- what they do and their work pays off and can be noted. In larger places though, every time it is enforced, people will rebel because the workloads cannot be made to match, and there are still, unfortunately for Marx, imbalances and classes. It is clear though that whatever systems we all gravitate towards, accomodations and tweaking must be done, and constant monitoring. This is to make life better for the population majority, (which often is the lower class) and to deal with those who abuse the system. It's a constant struggle.

A balance of Democracy and Socialism seems better, to me, which is what countries now seem to be edging towards. This gives people the right to voice and freedoms, but at the same time boosts up the lower class so that people get the essential things taken care of such as being able to go to the dentist, the doctor and to have the opportunities the wealthy do for education. I doubt there may ever be a system that will meet out the needs of all people, but if the needs of -most- of the people are accomplished, then things work out better and the morale of many is more positive. Marx's ideas were meaning well, but I just don't see them working with the direction the world is going. Communism solves some issues but creates a lot of others. Capitalism does the same. They can't work solidly and the European and American places are seeing neither can be absolute. This is why laws change though it seems Europe is moving faster in ways than the U.S. is. However, I note that there are problems there too with the medical systems etc.

I really cannot find absolute benefits of Communism that outweigh the negatives it produces in large communities. Marx had a nice idea on paper, but people just aren't like that, including the majority of populace. It doesn't mean humans are -bad-. It simply means we need something to fit our natures more. In simple, it produces more rebelling and look at all it's done in China. The protesters there have been shot and killed, thrown in jails etc, because of how strict it has had to be to enforce it. People sell things on Ebay and make stuff in hopes to earn more income. All the people in China who even will go so far as to farm money in MMORPGs...I mean seriously, it's bad. People leave China to try to have better lives, and the reason things get better there isn't because of the Communism...it's because major businesses, especially American corps, have gone there and can hire cheap labor. So because it is a shared system, it boosts things but without these corps from America and Europe, I severely doubt China would be getting better.

The other example is Russia. Those people lived in fear and just grew jaded. Their life wasn't easy either. When the economy was well, they were okay. When their economy fell, people were starving. They weren't however, well off, except for the leaders of things, which of course again, were corrupt and made sure to set themselves up. The only places I've ever seen Communism work for truly is in small areas like some Buddhist Temple communities, because everyone was of a like mind.

 

My English teacher told me something very interesting the other day about Communism. In fact, here's the entire conversation/debate.

Him: Communism is horrible.

Me: Well, communism's ideal's work, people don't.

Random girl: No, George (me), that's completely wrong since people are greedy and seflish.

Me: ...? didn't I just imply that?

Teacher: Well, you have a good point, however that's still wrong. In a nation like the U.S., with a working government, you can have an increasing wage from a job. If you work a limosene like I did, the more you do it, the more you get payed (by the hour). In a communist country, your salary never changes.

^ That was something along the lines of what he said.

I was going to say something like "well, that still relies on the PEOPLES influence and want to work, it has nothing to do with the ideal's and philosophy of communism." But that would have given us a lecture for sure. >_>

Thoughts?

 

The reason that communism won't work in America is because we have a capitalistic society. Which is the opposite of communism and since our brains have now been wired to say that we strive to make more capital, people don't want to work for the same, instead they like this competative economy. That is why it doesn't work here. It works for other, cause the gov'ts use it to get the peoples love by saying we gave you all food and jobs, now obey.

 

In a game me and my friends play, we divvy up the money, so that everyone gets the same. Nobody works but me though, so I get screwed on the deal.

 

Exactly, communism works on the ideal of the 'commune' (where the name came from I suppose). You are no longer an individual, you are working for the betterment of the whole i.e. the country and everyone in it. Someone else will benefit from your sacrifice and in turn you benefit from others sacrifice, all controlled by the state of course.