Is socialism the answer or not?

[DreamChaser23]

We know that capitalism is bad in the sense that being fair cannot happen. For example, most capitalists would argue that governments should not intervene the laissz fair approach. If that happened in reality: many people would not be able to afford healthcare, education etc...

Also in a capitalist society, profit is put over people. We see this in many companies with very poor working conditions where workers are paid a pittance. Yes no worker shouldnt earn the same as their CEO. But someone earning 50 times wage of their average worker that feels very wrong. Also given the fact that many aren't paid a living wage when they could easily be paid that at least (Amazon)

Coming to socialism, yes we need a system where we help those who need it the most. But what a lot of people seem to forget is that money is not unlimited. There comes a time where it gets too much look at Venezuela. Hyperinflation happened and now poverty is so rife that a lot have moved to Colombia. Likewise, there comes a time where you cannot borrow anymore. Greece is a perfect example they borrowed way above their means and that causes a lot of problems (job cuts, wage cuts, less spending on future etc..)

Cut a long story short, what is the solution? What do you think the UK should do?

Socialism doesn’t work, we’ve seen that over and over again.

Capitalism does. I don’t have an issue with a CEO of a company earning 50 times one of their employees; they’ve worked to get to that position.

Life isn’t fair. Not everyone gets the same opportunities. But those who do have those opportunities should not be penalised for working themselves into a position where they earn a lot of money.

@heart there is no issue with someone earning millions. But if they can afford to pay their staff a living wage they should. It is the workers that bring the output and make him/her the profits so they should also be compensated. No one is self made everyone depends on someone one way or another (customers, workers, clients etc..)

I think a well funded system, where corporations, businesses, and everyone contributes to society and from that everyone is entitled to public health care and education. Personally I don't think private education should be exist (in a uptopian society - it's not something that will ever be able to be deconstructed from current society). The reason I think that, it that it would start to remove a class based societal structure. Similar to a lot of scandi countries.

That “fairness” you mention is not a byproduct of capitalism. It is the problem of income inequality that has existed since human civilisation began. No economic system exists that can fully solve the problem of inequality of income. Not capitalism, not socialism.

However, capitalist countries have come the closest to solving it. Income inequality (fairness) is measured by the Gini coefficient where 0 represents perfect equality and 1 represents perfect inequality.
Compared to other nations, the U.K. is 32nd. If you want to improve, you need to look to the countries that rank higher than you in income equality but are still “rich” countries overall. So, become more like Sweden, or France. Iceland or Denmark.

data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm

Socialism doesn’t work. Next.

Socialism is a huge spectrum, with Norway etc on one end and North Korea on the other.

I agree @DreamChaser23 that a happy well paid workforce ultimately pays dividends in terms of staff loyalty, productivity and sickness absence.
I do have an issue with CEOs earning 50 times the lowest earner in their company - and that gap is getting greater by the year in the uk - particularly when the state has to supplement their employees' wages with in work benefits - it's obscene.

Why do you have issue with CEO earning 50 times more?

@emz there is no issue but when someone earns that amount and their staff can't afford basic necessities and the state has to foot bill (tax credits) then of course many people won't be happy

As a pp stated socialism is a very broad spectrum. France is a much more socialist country than the UK for example yet they have similar GDP and population.

Saying socialism doesn't work is a very simplistic view point. I might say that communism doesn't work but socialism and communism are not the same thing.

you've replied to the wrong Emz

@DreamChaser23 You've replied to the wrong Emz !

Socialism, no. A more socialist society like the Scandinavian systems, yes. It won’t happen though, nobody wants to pay more tax. I know many high earners who would have moved abroad had labour won the last election and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

No because too many people want to take rather than give.