Category: Socialism
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Calmly Considered: Socialism vs. Capitalism– Getting Beyond the Memes
"In this month's episode of "Calmly Considered" Michael Kruse and I discuss the complex realities of socialism and capitalism that are so often distorted by simplistic social media memes, caricatures, and politicians seeking re-election." Thanks to Allan Bevere for hosting another fun discussion. Below the video are three articles related to our discussion you may…
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Socialism Is A Freighted Word According To David Bentley Hart. So Why Is He Defending It?
Theologian David Bentley Hart wrote an op-ed Can We Please Relax About 'Socialism'. The byline says, "Only in America is the word freighted with so much perceived menace." As he frames it, socialism is simply about creating a more equitable economy, not about recreating the Soviet Union or Venezuela. This is what people like Sanders…
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European (Scandinavian) Capitalism is not Democratic Socialism (But is that what matters?)
Mall of Scandinavia. Wikimedia: Arild Vågen I continue to reflect on the hype in the U.S. about "democratic socialism." I think most people who use the term are saying they want a market economy with a greater emphasis on social justice (open to varying definitions) and promoting basic human well-being. When pressed to give an…
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Democratic Socialism IS Socialism
This article, Here's the difference between a 'socialist' and a 'Democratic socialist' has been circulating as an explainer as to why "democratic socialism" is different from socialism. Democratic socialists merely believe the government should provide a range of services – like health care and education. People circulate this article as evidence that people who suggest…
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Socialism. You Keep Using That Word …
Many Americans, especially progressives, are now "socialists." The rise of Bernie Sanders has had much to do with it. Yet, when I hear them talk, I keep hearing Inigo Montoya, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." According to Marxian theory, socialism is a transitional economic…
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Double-Edged Denmark: What we Should Learn
Denmark became a central topic during the Democrats' debate last week. Bernie Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist. Hillary Clinton loves Denmark but dismisses the idea that America can be Denmark. This inspired several articles by various commentators about the truth behind Denmark's economic model (or the Nordic model more generally.) Progressives like the high…
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Does Socialism Lead to Moral Decay?
Social Science Research Network: The (True) Legacy of Two Really Existing Economic Systems Abstract: By running an experiment among Germans collecting their passports or ID cards in the citizen centers of Berlin, we find that individuals with an East German family background cheat significantly more on an abstract task than those with a West German…
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Should Uncle Sam Chase a Scandinavian Model?
New Geography: Should Uncle Sam Chase a Scandinavian Model? When American progressives dream their future vision of America, no place entices them more than the sparsely populated countries of Scandinavia. After all, here are countries that remain strongly democratic and successfully capitalist, yet appear to have done so despite enormously pervasive welfare systems. … ……
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Saturday Links
1. Research Digest reports that Students motivated by wealth are just as likely as others to help in an emergency "… Seventy-eight per cent of the business students offered some kind of help to the stranger. Sixty-six per cent went so far as refusing to leave the stranger or giving him/her their mobile phone. The…
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The Nordic countries: The next supermodel
The Economist: The Nordic countries: The next supermodel Politicians from both right and left could learn from the Nordic countries. …The idea of lean Nordic government will come as a shock both to French leftists who dream of socialist Scandinavia and to American conservatives who fear that Barack Obama is bent on “Swedenisation”. They are…