Comment on America continues to fall behind the rest of the world

• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

  The two terms are not interchangeable despite frequent misuse on the internet.

  The systems exist on a spectrum and implementations vary heavily by region, culture, and material capacity.

  You are describing and advocating for social democracy not socialism.

  I’m describing nationalized health care, which is socialist in character. I’m not advocating for any system in these posts, merely warning that nationalist tenancy can lead to segregated provision of service in an economy model.

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  • mechoman444@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    The last person I engaged with in this sub tried to convince me that slavery is perfectly legal and universally practiced throughout the United States by every state and every institution. Feel free to look through my comment history if you’re curious. The man was clearly not arguing from a rational position.

    As a quick summary, he was claiming that the exception clause in the 13th amendment is effectively a blanket authorization for chattel slavery. It isn’t. The Constitution contains numerous other amendments that establish and protect the rights of incarcerated people, even while they are serving sentences.

    That said, this can go one of two ways. I can simply tell you that you’re mistaken and leave it at that, or I can go point by point explaining why, with sources and supporting evidence. I’d rather not do the latter because it’s a substantial amount of work, and I don’t know whether you’re interested in an actual discussion or just an argument.

    Socialism is not a spectrum. It is, fundamentally, the public ownership of the means of production. Nothing more and nothing less.

    Universal or nationalized healthcare, by itself, is not socialism. In most countries with universal healthcare, the means of production remain privately owned. Healthcare is financed or subsidized through taxation, while private hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical practices continue to operate alongside the public system.

    I also don’t understand why people advocate for socialism specifically. It has never demonstrated a consistently successful long-term track record. Countries that have attempted to organize their economies around it have generally struggled with inefficiency, poor management, and authoritarian tendencies.

    If what you actually mean is social democracy or democratic socialism, that’s a different discussion. Those systems are broadly compatible with market economies while supporting robust social programs, and those are approaches I generally support.

    So my question is simple: why do you support socialism specifically?

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