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Could we possibly keep the discussion on the picture and away from politics, please?
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what the world needs is to remember how awful life is living under socialism and/or communism and how absoltely great and wonderful life can be living under capitalism.
Even better if your a plutocrat
So living a sad, poor, horrible, jealous life where everyone suffers and lives like crap all while competing to do worse the next person, while the plutocrats still rule is better?
Capitalism is the only system in history that allows the poorest person to even become a plutocrat. It saved the lives of the countless poor while other systems killed off its own. It ended slavery and serfdom. It created the highest standards of living ever known on earth; look at East vs West Berlin. Capitalism is the only system to bring hope, progress, and general good to man; if you're against capitalism, then you're against the well-being of man.
Even better if your a plutocrat
So living a sad, poor, horrible, jealous life where everyone suffers and lives like crap all while competing to do worse the next person, while the plutocrats still rule is better?
Capitalism is the only system in history that allows the poorest person to even become a plutocrat. It saved the lives of the countless poor while other systems killed off its own. It ended slavery and serfdom. It created the highest standards of living ever known on earth; look at East vs West Berlin. Capitalism is the only system to bring hope, progress, and general good to man; if you're against capitalism, then you're against the well-being of man.
Communism doesn't work you only have to look at the former USSR, North Korea, China, Cuba to see that.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love.
Leonore, your photo confuses me. The bike, the lady's handbag, the bricks along the storefront, the sotre facade and the overall shape of the doors appear European, yet the language is English. The graffiti could be from just about anywhere. So where did you get that combination of elements? And the fact that the message was written within a heart, implies that the writer of the message was actually in favour of capitalism. Could this be in Queens or Brooklyn?
Yes, English has indeed infltrated many places. Even here in London I can hear English on the street sometimes.
Communism in its purest form was probably practised on the Israeli kibbutzes of the 1950-1960-ies. Elsewhere, it was in practice an authoritarian system with the ideology used as a convenient stick.
One of the basic tenets of communism is "From each according to ability, to each according to need". This can work in a small group situation where everyone's contribution and need is visible and acknowledged AND everyone has a shared value system. In a larger situation, it is rarely possible for everyone to be in the know about everyone else's situation, and so perceived inequities arise very quickly. Furthermore, the "need" part is very elastic, and as we all know the line between want and need is constantly wavering back and forth. The "ability" part is also faily subjective. If there is a disagreement as to how much want is need, or just how much ability is appropriate, then there is the need for some kind of judgement. If that judgement is being delivered by an authority figure, then we're seding power to a greater authority, and if we're going to have the judgement in a communal sense, then this is direct democracy (which is one step away from mob rule)
Egalitarian societies without the concept of private property have other ways of enforcing what is considered to be accepted norms. It is interesting to note that private property really comes into play when the resource is a limited one, and the possession of which confers prestige or power. Societies that are surrounded by ample resources do not need to create "private" ownership, as that does not confer on them any advantage. However, if the resources are limited (whether it be water, or minerals, or herds of cattle, or potential partners), then the lines get drawn up pretty quickly in terms of "mine".
McDonalds put more more food into poor peoples' hungry bellies than Karl Marx or Trostky ever did.