[Free]

• Antitrust legislation?
• To a large extent

• How about food safety standards? Is inspection of meat socialism?
• General safety standards are good, but it is taken too far, when the government bans items, that consumers should have choice over, such as food supplements, or raw dairy products. I believe that Government can provide information on the safety of products, but it should be up to the consumer to decide whether or not to take the risk.
  

• What about regulations specifying what side of the road we drive down and highway safety standards?
• Generally good, I don't have a problem with this.

• How about conflict-of-interest regulations for the banking industry?
• I think that the information should be provided, and then the consumer/investor should make an educated choice.

• Do you feel government intervention to prevent insider trading to be socialism?
• I would say this is getting there, and they obviously do a poor job anyway, as evidenced by the recent Madoff scandal.

• Do you think antitrust regulations are socialist overreaching?
• Answered above

• How about environmental regulations? Do you think it is socialistic to require power plants not to belch unseemly amounts of sulfer, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other pollutants into the air?
• Yes, much of the environmental regulations are socialistic. The free market can reward clean technology, if enough of the people want it. This is especially problematic when it is based on bad science, such as "global warming". Carbon Dioxide is a weak green house gas, and humans have very little impact on global warming.

• How about child safety and welfare regulations? Are they an unwarranted interference in the business decisions of day-care centers, schools, toy manufacturers?
• Yes, this is mostly socialist. Parents should have the rights to raise their children as they see fit. The laws that protect all individuals from harm by another should be plenty of protection. Beyond that is over-reaching. Parents should be allowed to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children, and children that are stupid enough to drown in a bucket, should be part of the natural selection process, rather than banning buckets.

[gruntbrain]

Forget heroic measures addressing global warming; let our desendants move to another planet

[Andy62]

The problem with environmental regulations is that China, India, and Russia which are among the biggest offenders seem to have no interest in them. Infact, while we are worried about environmental problems China and Russia are tying up every source of oil that they can get their hands on.

[gruntbrain]

T Boone's nat gas solution is a cure-all - me thinks

[Andy62]

I agree and it can be put into operation faster than some of the more exotic type solutions that may never be practical and are years away.

[Free]

Since Big Bear deleted his post, my responses were removed as well.

[JoeJustice]

Am I the "Joe" being discussed?! If so, how did I get drug into this? If not, disregard.

-Joe

[MikeNY]

Joe I have no idea who that Joe is, but never thought it might be you. I am sure Free will make it clear. I did wonder if it was Joe Stalin or Joe Biden but neither of them fit either. I am glad it is not just me that didn't know who Joe was

[Free]

LOL, I actually just assumed he was talking to Joe, but I looked back through the thread, and saw that Joe didn't even post, so I don't know who he was referring to either??

[Alan_OldStudent]

Hi Free,

I'm just now getting around to commenting on your remarks about "socialistic" trends in the United States.

If you recall, you posted the following:

Originally Posted by Free

It is always amazing to me when the Socialists blame Capitalism for the current crisis, when the socialism implemented over the last decades, and before, is obviously the cause. We have been moving away from Capitalism for a long, long, time now, and to pretend otherwise is pretty ridiculous......

When I asked you a series of questions designed to get you to define what those socialist measures were, you responded with this contribution to the thread.

With all due respect, you seem to be confused about the differences between socialism and liberalism.

Capitalism is the system where the major means of production and distribution are privately owned by a distinct and small minority, the capitalists. The majority of people living in a capitalist country are either wage workers or small business proprietors. These wage-earners and small business proprietors in this country (USA) are often called "the middle class," and they produce the basic wealth of the country. The capitalists organize production and distribution in order to make a profit, and the main arena of that economic pursuit is the marketplace.

Socialism is a system where the major means of production and distribution are publicly owned and democratically managed by the above-mentioned middle class. Production and distribution are organized in the hopes of meeting human and social needs of the majority instead of the profit margins of the minority.

Socialism and liberalism are quite opposed in that respect.

The debate between conservatives and liberals is not whether capitalism should be replaced, but whether reforms are needed, to what extent they are needed, and what these reforms should be if they are needed.

That's why it is so very incorrect to equate liberalism with socialism, and when conservatives do so, they ultimately defeat their own purpose, insofar as they wish to make a coherent argument against either liberalism or socialism.

So once again, in a nutshell, this is the difference:

1. Socialism ultimately seeks to replace capitalism, not reform it.
2. Liberalism ultimately seeks to reform capitalism, not replace it.

.



I did address these matters with you in this post. I also referred you to Einstein's famous essay Why Socialism and this Wikipedia article on socialism.

There is also a fairly decent article on modern liberalism in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia also has this interesting article on the evolution and history of liberalism over the past several centuries.

You may wish to review these articles to understand better what liberalism and socialism really are and are not.

For a history of the evolution of socialism and socialist since before Marx up to the time of the Russian revolution, you can check out this classic study by Edmund Wilson, To The Finland Station.



Regards,

Alan OldStudent