What Is Socialism and Why Are We So Afraid Of It?

My husband's poor boss is still broken-hearted about the election results. He walks around with a hang-dog expression on his face, muttering inaccuracies about socialism and communism and the ruination of the "American Way of Life." Of course, this man is Rush Limbaugh's number one fan. What he doesn't seem to understand is that many countries, mostly western European nations and even Canada, with Democratic political systems have some level of socialism in their governmental programs. Even WE do. Why do you think they call it "Social" Security? Then there is free primary education, school lunch and breakfast programs, etc., etc. Socialism and Communism are not the same thing. In any event, the past four years and the current economic disaster shows what happens when pure Capitalism runs amok. All you have to do is look at the growing gap between the wealthy and the average citizen and watch those ex-CEO's riding their golden parachutes to self-serving, fiscal safety to see that there must be some kind of balance. "Trickle down" only works if the money is released by the big businesses in order to make it down the "trickle" path. It's not working. The following quote was taken from "The Heartland Project: Simple Truths For A Shameful Time." "Socialism is not a political system, it's a way of distributing goods and services. At their ideal implementation, socialism and laissez faire capitalism will be identical as everyone will produce exactly what's needed for exactly who needs it. "Socialism is liberal. More people (preferably everyone) have some say in how the economy works. Democracy is liberal. More people (preferably everyone) have some say in how the government works. "Democracy," said Marx, "is the road to socialism." He was wrong about how economics and politics interact, but he did see their similar underpinnings. Communism is conservative. Fewer and fewer people (preferably just the Party Secretary) have any say in how the economy works. Republicans are conservative. Fewer and fewer people (preferably just people controlling the Party figurehead) have any say in how the government works. The conservatives in the US are in the same position as the communists in the 30s, and for the same reason: Their revolutions failed spectacularly but they refuse to admit what went wrong. A common mistake is to confuse Socialism, the economic system, with Communism, the political system. Communists are "socialist" in the same way that Republicans are "compassionate conservatives". That is, they give lip service to ideals they have no intention of practicing." It seems that what so many fear is nothing more than the adoption by our nation of a social conscience that reaches out to those who truly need the help rather than padding the pockets of big-business political contributors and cronies. I am not ashamed or afraid to say that I believe we could use a little socialism in our political mix. For those of you who benefit from labor and professional unions...hey, that's socialism on a smaller scale. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I would be willing to bet that few to none of you have secret rooms where the flag bearing the hammer and sickle is hanging on the wall. We have drug companies and medical equipment manufacturers, HMO's, PPO's and primary health insurance companies all getting richer and richer from the suffering of the sick. Some of those sick people cannot afford insurance of any sort. Some get by with Medicare and state Medicaid programs. Many are uninsured children and families with limited income. Many more are senior citizens (I'm one) who are increasing in numbers and in need of health services. Yet we have that ridiculous "doughnut hole" stipulation in our Medicare, Part D coverage and most of the drugs we depend on are too expensive for us to afford. Many of us are getting our prescriptions through Canada, drugs that are manufactured in India and may not be as effective as the ones we get here in the US. My husband has Crohn's, we both have arthritis and I am pre-diabetic. Where does this leave us? Hubby reached his doughnut hole early in the year. Luckily, right now, all my drugs are either inexpensive or generic, but, at my age, that could change. So, from the viewpoint of the seniors, the poor and the disenfranchised, socialised medicine or "universal health care" doesn't sound like a bad thing. Think about it. And, as Mr. Marx, in the picture at the top of this post is saying, "Peace, Y'all."