Confused about socialism...

Originally posted by mnemeth1
reply to post by DINSTAAR

 

Yes, socialism is oppressive.

Socialism requires the use of force.

You can not have a socialist state without the use of guns.

If guns did not exist, socialism would be impossible.

Alright mate, let's play. I chose this quip of yours because it's the most fun but I could have picked any of your points in tow:

I grew up in Canada, a socialist country. Now I know what you'll try to say here, that the evil and oppressive Royal Canadian Mounted Police, our (much cooler) version of the United State's FBI, are the force that applies socialism to the people.

Well let's talk a bit about what it means to apply force here, if we may. In Canada the majority of the people are in fact in support of socialism. We, by and large, like our universal health care, public transportation and to a lesser or greater extent, the liquor board. As such it could be argued that in that circumstance, the people of Canada do not need force to make them socialist, they willingly chose that system because they deemed it to be the right thing to do.

This leads to an interesting question: If people vote for something, with full knowledge of what will happen, is it oppressive for that something to be put into action? My answer is a simple no, the people are, in general, intelligent enough to make rational decisions regarding their future and should be held to either reaping the rewards or consequences of their decisions.

Another point is what of the dissenters? If the majority is not unanimous, and it seldom is, there will be a portion of the population that does not agree with the political system. Now, if they behave in a civil and social manner, convincing their fellow citizen of their viewpoint and working through elected governmental systems, more power to them, and we have seen many examples of this in human history.

However, if they behave in antisocial and anti-civil manners in their protest, the majority will naturally feel obliged to defend the system (in this case a socialist economic system) that they have built.

So there you have it, I believe a Libertarian or any other governmental or economic ideal would rate the same defense in the hands of a majority.