Though not particularly politically active, I’ve long believed in the core principles of socialism as a political path. On a personal level the concept giving within your needs to those whose needs are greatest (the old, young, infirm & yes, even, the jobless) seems to make sense – whether on ethical, moral or political grounds.
As a young man I read one of the key socialist pieces of literature, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressel, a political novel which paints a story of capitalism & factory owners greedily exploiting the working man (a little didactic & bludgeoning for me, but gets the idea across; well summarised in the cartoon below). I also remember staying round Jimmy’s in the NW of England & waking up the morning of May 2nd, 1997, when Tony Blair & Labour (left UK political party) came into power: there was genuine sense of relief & excitement that the right, Conservatives, had been deposed & with it the avarice & selfishness of 80s Britain under Maggie Thatcher was behind us.
But the left-wing Labour transmogrified into the left-centrist New Labour. Across Europe, too, the left political parties & regimes had fallen (the most notable examples being the break up of communist USSR & the fall of the Berlin wall, separating communist East Berlin from West Berlin) or continue to decline & edge towards the right or bland, vote-winning centrist politics (Nicolas Sarkozy for the centre right UMP in France or Angela Merkel for the right CDU party in Germany – including the trouncing of the left political party, the SDP, in the most recent German elections, last Sunday, 27th September, 2009).
Even communist China & Vietnam though espousing communist ideals & politics, actually appear to work on a strange communist/capitalist hybrid dictatorship, where communist rules exist but allow for capitalist style business practices. Cuba seems to be the last bastion of truly left-wing, communist politics & governance.
Having said all that, America, the biggest world power (still, just) & probably the most successful symbol of capitalism has a free-thinking president in Barack Obama, & is finally addressing the needs of its people for universal healthcare (as discussed by another contributor Lib – wanted to link but can’t find it? anyone care to add Lib’s Obama healthcare piece?), one of the most obvious & necessary policies of socialist doctrine, & only 60 years after it was implemented in the UK as a right of anyone needing healthcare.
So is socialism going the way of the dinosaurs? Do people care (obviously not, since socialism is based on care & consideration)? Or are all politics just melting into one single, centrist, vote-grabbing, grey form?
I LOVE that Obama picture! I’m sure it would have done him some harm had the mock up not been so cool.
I was bought this book recently actually and I’m really looking forward to reading it, I’m just hoping I don’t find it too heavy going.
I don’t understand enough about politics to respond in a political way, if that makes sense.
But I do know that less and less people are caring and sharing nowadays. The focus seems to be one of individual survival.
And I’ve completely forgotten what my Obama post was about.
I thought you posted something on Obama’s healthcare plans?
Nope, this was the only post I did I think.
http://gosmellthecoffee.com/archives/8186
As an ideal socialism is probably about the best of the systems on offer. Sharing and giving, looking out for one another and generallly striving for socisl eutopia. However it does not embrace or have a solution for basic human character flaws.
If everyone buys in to the ideal and all pull together then great, however in any given community there will be over achievers, under achievers, workers snd shirkers etc.
I think most people hate being taken for a ride snd ss such in a socialist environment eventually those who work hardest or are most talented will eventually look around, spot the shirkers and begin to question why those who are not pulling their weight are getting the benefit of all their effort.
Once this happens you either get a staggered reward system – the road to capitalism, or the upper percentiles reduce their effort and the system collapses into poverty.
Yep, definitely a potential flaw in socialism – not being able to overcome the flaws of human nature.
The competition that derives from capitalism is a driving force, such that a meritocracy of reward naturally evolves. However, the same competition tends to also negatively affect the weaker elements of society, so old, young, infirm (& lazy) all get pushed further away from the potential rewards. Capitalism is almost a monetary form of natural selection, a survival of the fittest – a necessary evil in nature, but the blood of tooth & claw seems ill-fitting & morally unjust in modern human society.
So really you are into a deeper argument then. Are we still at the beck and call of mother nature and basically in a fight for survival or do we see ourselves on a higher plane than all other creratures where survival of the fittest no longer applies.
What would this do in terms of our evolution? We got where we are in the grand scheme of things by evolution and survival of the fittest. Do we now assume that we will evolve a different way now we have an intricate fabric of society? No longer will the slow noes be picked off from the back of the herd – I’m not sure but who are the lions waiting behind us to pick off the fat old dear with an arse like a badly packed parachute?
Yep. That’s what I think – in modern society it’s morally wrong to expect us to be all fighting tooth & nail for life like animals or savages; we’re no longer slaves to the vagaries of nature & environment (though global warming may change that). Already human evolution has been irrevocably been altered by science & medicine – 100 years ago (so maybe only 3 generations) life expectancy would be decades lower than it is today. Just yesterday The Guardian published a piece on babies born in recent years will routinely live past 100 yo (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/02/babies-likely-to-live-to-100; which has its own problems of coping with population increase & caring for increasing numbers of older people. I think we should go all Logan’s Run on our &sses – burn bright & euthanase liberally). It’s a cliche, but someone of Stephen Hawking’s stature & intelligence is only furthering our understanding of the universe because of modern medicine – even if he’d be born 50 yrs earlier his life-span (& ability to work & contribute to society) would have been severely restricted.
In terms of human evolution, that’s harder to define. But no longer are physical defects & environmental factors big driving forces in our survival. This means that physical attributes are less of an evolutionary selection force; it also means that attributes like brain size, intelligence, etc. become more prominent evolutionary factors.
I predict that in 500 yrs we’ll all be wobbling under the weight of our huge domed heads, much like Mekon from the Dan Dare comics. & We’ll all whizz around the airways like The Jetsons.
Tending to agree with you.
I see the next big fight for survival being won through intellect / brainpower.
No longer will a sabre tooth tiger type of creature jump on the stragglers at the back of the herd as mankind can simply ‘pop a cap in his ass’. So given technology has now meant we are bassically secure from ‘monsters’ we now have to battle the biggest risk we face which is diametrically opposite – micro organisms. These little blighters are getting more and more complex and defeating them will be a war won by microbiologists and such like. As such I think we should be looking at the dobbers in society and making sure they limit their output of offspring to 2 or less. Unfortunately they tend to have 6 or 8 kids thus diluting the genetic pool in terms of intelligence. We won’t beat the next level of influenza and MRSA by lobbing empty sunny delight bottles at them yet this is the most rapidly expanding area of the population.
Worried.
That’s why I’m a social democrat!
We just need a rewrite of democracy in the ‘free world’.
Corporations have become the major influence in free enterprise societies. Commerce, intertwined with governments to varying degrees is running the show. The clothes, cars, homes and other products we possess, and how we interact socially have been greatly influenced by business. A resulting general long term trend seems favor commerce over people.
It is difficult to see a change of direction. Public attention to this deteriorating state of society has been virtually non-existent because almost all of the media that keep us informed are profit driven.
This is deeply rooted yet hopefully the structure of governments, the laws and enforcement can somehow be changed to benefit all citizens within democracy. But positive change will require some kind of massive demand or movement by the people.
Some valid points, Grampa Ken.
As you mention, it seems that without a political movement by significant numbers nothing will change, & the pessimist in me feels that there’s sufficient people with most of the money & power who will happily & actively maintain the status quo.
However, maybe the internet (as you suggest below) has the reach & power to really induce change. Increasingly internet democracy seems a powerful, immediate & capable tool – maybe it will be loud enough voice to instigate political change.
I agree with Grampa Ken and I fear that socialism, whilst not dead, is ailing across the globe.
The small corporate hegemony that basically pulls the strings of the global economic, political and social puppets aren’t concerned at all with people, the environment or equality. Their moral values come from self, profit and personal equity.
But whilst we have the internet and people like you guys to keep getting the message out there is hope for a cure!
Angela in Canada´s last blog ..Posts of the week.
Angela I can see the internet as being the tool somehow, and if at all possible without hitting the wall.
Grampa Ken rants at Social Fix´s last blog ..Article Blogs and Reposting
@ Gramp Ken – the internet could be the toll to make it happen PROVIDED that freedom of speach is allowed….here in Dubai, UAE for example, sites have to be ‘ within the political and morale codes of the UAE) otherwise we are bloked – FLCKER photo sharing site, for example, is blocked here in Dubai as are some youtube clips!
Do you really mean morale?
I doubt they have a code for team spirit.
My bad – Moral.
Then again….Morale is something you can bring to coffee, right? Ra-Ra-Ra
I know this posting is extremely old so I will keep this short and simple. I’m a U.S. citizen. I am against all socialist programs and policies. The U.S. has social security (a national retirement program). The U.S. has medicare and medicaid (government health care for the old and needy). These are all going bankrupt. It is breaking our treasury and the backs of the taxpayer.
Above you said “On a personal level the concept giving within your needs to those whose needs are greatest (the old, young, infirm & yes, even, the jobless) seems to make sense – whether on ethical, moral or political grounds.” I agree on a moral and ethical sense, but NOT a political sense. You see, when you move it into a political sense you mean that you feel it’s OK to FORCE others at the POINT OF A GUN (the government’s gun) to do what YOU think is ethical or moral. No man has a claim on me. No man can force me to pay for anything he needs. If I do it out of moral or ethical obligation, fine. But I have no right to force you to pay for anything I need, and you have no right to force me to pay for anything you need, even if you use the government as a proxy.
Sorry, not so short as I had hoped.
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