Why do so many people distrust socialism?

[malificent7]

Is it due to the legacy of Marx, the notion that it's a race to the bottom, the feeling that those who work harder should get paid more or a mistrust of human nature?
I do understand these concerns but what is more worrying if the vast inequality that seems to prevail nowadays. Thoughts please.

gingerbreadsprinkle

Would you please answer my question?

As for the remainder of my post, I simply haven't said anything of the sort.

your post, doh!

Because most people hear socialism and imagine communism

Communism has ended in corrupt failure everywhere it has been tried.

A central belief of communism is that socialism is the tool to deliver communism and nothing more. There are no true socialist states today apart from Cuba. They are all command economies like North Korea, or autocratic capitalists like China

There really is no point here, people seemingly have no idea what Democratic socialism is so are equating it with the USSR etc. Ridiculous.

And people with 'hitler was a socialist'. I just dont know where to start with that level of thinking.

What do people know about Hitler/Nazis that every professional historian doesnt?

Look up democratic socialism and social democracy and try again, without stupid comparisons to far left governments in the developng world and sub fox news shit.

This kind of socialism worked all over especially after the war. Even Eisenhower had DS policies on economics, and FDR had pulled the US out of the depression with socialist policies-investment in the country, infrastructure and people.

The Socialist governnment in Britain 1945 was the best goverment the country has had.

It worked fine in France, Italy, Spain Germany, South America.

Democratic policies being put into place in scandinavia, germany and iceland

If we dont stop this obsession with constant growth we're finished. The massive wealth inequaity in this country has caused obvious problems and cant go on eithe, people liteally wont be able to function due to expenses.

Or perhaps people simply disagree with you.

@DaisyChains6 People did have free university. My generation were typical "uni age" during the Blair years when every man and his dog went to university.

Eh? Blair became PM in 1997, he introduced the tuition fees in 1998.

From memory, attending a university or polytechnic was free (ie, students didn't pay fees and got a grant) until the early 90s. The Major government restricted grants and brought in loans. The Blair government made students pay fees, which until then had been paid on their behalf.

I remember during the 97 election campaign, students repeatedly saying that Labour would bring back grants. In fact Labour hadn't said anything of the sort apart from a few encouraging noises. They never got held to account for this.

...and of course the proportion of people doing a degree was pretty small until the 90s.

Well in this thread a lot of people are confusing socialism with communism - so there's one reason!

@ClashCityRocker

I can't see a single example of where it has been used and has been better for the people than capitalism.

The NHS

Free state education for everyone until they're 18

Disability benefits

These are all socialism. Are you confusing socialism with communism?

(that was in response to wheresmymojo)

@TomPinch

Are you going to explain that any further or just leave it as a random passive aggressive sigh?

@wheresmymojo

I'm going to leave it right there. I've given my views up the thread and I've got a mixture of ad hominems and "that's just wrongs" in reply. Yours is just the latest.

Just about all countries apart from the most dysfunctional provide public funding for various services, at least to some extent. It's not the defining point of socialism. Saying it is, and saying that various examples of explicitly socialist countries are irrelevant is simply inaccurate. In reality they are countries that defined themselves as socialist and - more importantly - governed themselves according to socialist principles.

Here’s the clue - capitalist countries put up walls to keep other people out. Socialist countries put up walls to keep their own people in.

Which democratic socialist countries do that Cendrillon?

i.e takimg socialist aspects that work well and using them in a democratic system. Sooo....like Democratic socialism?

Because people confuse it with communism or compare it to countries where the socialist system was exploited by greedy opportunists. Perhaps human nature, not socialism is the issue.

I'll just make a shocking summary.

Pure capitalism and pure socialism (communism) don't work well. There are serious faults with both.
The virtue is in the middle somewhere.

More extreme capitalism brought us unregulated banking and the financial crisis of 2008. More extreme socialism (communism) brought us Venezuela.

We need some free enterprise, which is not always rewarding those who work hardest or smartest. And we need protection for workers, and for those who can't.

A pure capitalist system would have let the big banks fail with even more disastrous consequences.
In a pure communist system people have little incentive to improve anything.

And people may prefer a system that is more capitalist or more socialist at different times and different circumstances. They also have different performances in different circumstances.

Shocking, isn't it?

Capitalism is absolutely fucking the planet and is a disaster for the vast majority of people worldwide.

Capitalism is absolutely fucking the planet and is a disaster for the vast majority of people worldwide

Not overpopulation then?

I think you should examine the standards of living in the days of communist states. I’ll give you a starter for 10: brutal repression, state sponsored murder of 10’s of millions, mass defections in the face of risk of death, mass starvation. To me that’s more of a disaster than people living is countries with transport, education, and opportunity.

Capitalism has raised the standards of living for the majority of people on the planet. The opportunities available to people in rural China for example who were previously living subsistence farming, existing hand to mouth and dying in their 20’s and 30’s up till a few decades ago

I despair how anyone could think something so ridiculous

Lweji and others which say extremes of capitalism or socialism don't work are correct. But where to vote now?

A pure capitalist system would have let the big banks fail with even more disastrous consequences.

We have a pure capitalist system now and the banking bail out was protection of that

You mean a pure free market system would have let the big banks fail but there’s no such think, all capitalist systems have different degrees of regulation and intervention, to shelter the population from the free market, for example the minimum wage in the U.K.

But where to vote now?

For parties that aren't either? Most are, although we are seeing a trend for polarisation in some countries.
You'll have to decide if you lean a bit more towards more social protection or more free initiative.

Read the manifestos

We have a pure capitalist system now

You don't, actually.