Rated PG-34 posted:

idk I think zuccboi will be a little less smug for at least a few days

an actual dog posted:

lol if you think that facebook's stock going down means that anything is changing

quote:

For the current generation, it appears one thing is more seductive than sex — and that's socialism.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, winner of a New York Democratic primary, are the old and new faces of socialist America.

Their platforms, it appears, hinge on the concept of shared wealth — in other words, handing out free stuff to just about everyone. How far we've come from JFK's admonition not to ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Today, for many, it's all about what you should expect from your country with little or no reciprocity.

It is undeniable that capitalism has raised more boats than socialism has sunk. Yet, socialism's appeal continues, despite historical and contemporary evidence that it delivers a bad deal for those who embrace it.

In a column in May, the Tribune’s Steve Chapman referenced a University of Chicago GenForward Survey of Americans ages 18 to 34. The survey found that “62 percent believe we need a strong government to handle today's complex economic problems.” Only 35 percent said “the free market can handle these problems without government being involved.”

The survey, noted Chapman, found that “Overall, 49 percent hold a favorable view of capitalism — and 45 percent have a positive view of socialism,” with socialism scoring higher approval among African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans. Sixty-one percent of Democrats have a positive view of socialism, which is not surprising, while 25 percent of Republicans favor it, which is a surprise.

I have at least three takeaways from this. The first is that it's likely most of those who favor socialism have never lived in a country where it is practiced. A few months in Venezuela might be the perfect cure. Second, people who claim to prefer socialism to capitalism are probably reaping capitalism's benefits. This group of misinformed comrades includes parents who gave their pampered millennials a lifestyle they likely would never have enjoyed under a socialist regime.

The third takeaway is that those who favor socialism over capitalism and socialist countries over America are spoiled rotten. They are part of a generation that has never had to serve in the military and, I would venture to guess, do not know anyone who is serving or has served, other than maybe a grandparent, whose values many seem to have rejected.

People seduced by socialism have likely not had to sacrifice much for their country. They seem to take it for granted that the freedoms they enjoy, even the freedom to believe in a political and economic system that is anti-freedom, dropped from the sky and were not achieved by the hard work, blood, sweat and tears (which they think is the name of an old rock group) of others.

Socialism stifles incentive and makes people dependent on government, not themselves, which appears to be the liberal ideal. Some would rather get a check than earn one. Look at the TV ads advertising toll-free numbers, free shipping and other free incentives, which are not free at all. Their cost is simply added to the product you purchase.

Socialism is little more than mutually shared poverty, a version of “spreading the wealth around” with government taking from the productive and giving to the nonproductive. It is an economic philosophy closely associated with communism.

Do Democrats really want to embrace socialism heading into the next two elections? If so, they can expect the same defeats they have suffered in the past — think George McGovern and Walter Mondale. Each thought the American people were taxed too little and that big government was the answer.

It isn't, and it never will be.

an actual dog posted:

lol if you think that facebook's stock going down means that anything is changing

lollontee posted:

it simply means everything is proceeding entirely according to the plan

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

look at this prosperity bible undertaker looking motherfucker

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

an actual dog posted:

lol if you think there's a plan

GalacticAcid posted:

per wikipedia he was VP of Moral Majority for a while

Pablo Nergigante posted:

Socialist adults under 30 are destroying the loving industry

rudatron posted:

No, I think that would be a terrible idea, and its precisely the fact that it is a terrible idea, that is itself a demonstration of the weakness of the left. There are plenty of right wing militias right now, but they can get away with it because they have institutional support, ie, they're in a position of strength.

Confounding Factor posted:

The leftist equivalent of this I guess would be Che Guevara and his focoismo theory, which is romantic nonsense that just gets people killed.

WhiskeyJuvenile posted:

I hang out with my neighbors

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

yeah that definitely hasnt worked before,

Confounding Factor posted:

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

yeah that definitely hasnt worked before,

Infernot posted:

Congo and Bolivia would like a word

rudatron posted:

I'm sorry, what? What do you mean by "Spiritual"? I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

Karl Barks posted:

didn't seem to stick now did it

Infernot posted:

Congo and Bolivia would like a word

lollontee posted:

i'm starting to think you're planning on laughing on contiously

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

not saying it always worked but it did work in Cuba (from which the entire theory was derived from) and Nicaragua. Obviously not going to work in every situation.

tadashi posted:

I moved to a new neighborhood last year. I have talked to 4 of my neighbors and 2 of them only because I walked over to their house to introduce myself and my family. Suburbs are loving terrible.

Postoyevsky posted:

yeah focoism/peoples war has never worked before if you ignore all of the times it has worked

Postoyevsky posted:

it's more or less what also occured in china, vietnam, laos, cambodia, etc

it's also very disingenuous to compare a bunch of larping americans in a public park in Oregon to what Che and Fidel and co. did in Cuba

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

not saying it always worked but it did work in Cuba (from which the entire theory was derived from) and Nicaragua. Obviously not going to work in every situation, but blowing it off as "romantic nonsense" is ignoring history.

alsothere posted:

so i'm not an expert on this stuff but i thought che's focoism and mao's protracted people's war theory were two different strategies for fighting colonial powers, and the countries you listed were all examples of the latter?

Postoyevsky posted:

they are different strategies but from the same school of thought