[cr33pyguy]

I honestly hope all of you know what Socialism is. Most people know the idea of communism. Yes, there are differences between Communism and Socialism, but the idea is generally the same. for more reference, see This Article.
So, anyhow, I personally think the main problem is in human nature: we always want to be better than someone, and cannot stand the idea of being on the same level as every other person on the planet/in the country. If Communism/socialism could be made to work, it would be a huge step towards well being for the whole planet. But honestly, i doubt it will ever work.
Anyway, what are your opinions?
-Cr33py

[Imada Duty]

I hate it when people say that communism works on paper but not in practice. If it doesn't work it doesn't work. Its been tried but democracy is still around. The problem is people will find a way to corrupt any system they can. people are inherently bad, that will never change. Just like all the hackers. they find loopholes and exploit them. Computers are your medium, politics is there medium. This is the reason why we have a gun law. The founding fathers wanted to make sure the people could over throw the government if became to powerful, which is whats happening now.

If your suggesting that socialism would be better for our country I would disagree. Before the federal reserve took over our money(1913) our country was at its peak. Wages were high, things were being made in our country, Henry ford even built communities for his workers to live in. In a socialist country a Henry Ford could never exist. Once the federal reserve backed our money with gold instead of silver our money went to nothing, which is the key to any country.

The constitution needs to be enforced not taking as a loose document. Socialism is just another label for something that has no real guidelines. Constitutionalism is the only way.

[w00t]

The problem with socialism is that without motivation, nobody excels. Why put in 10 hours of work, when 8 gets me the exact same benefits?

France is fairly socialist, they aren't in the shitter.

I'm not too sure as to how establishing a fiat currency has anything to do with socialism. The socialist concept can best be described as redistribution of wealth. For the States, that generally manifests in the Social Security.

[Purphexyon]

In a society where 1% of the population owns the majority of the income in this country, socialism can only benefit the other 99% that are barely getting by. I think people say socialism doesn't work in practice because we don't live under a tyrant forcing us to live that way, we are used to capitalism. Yes because of capitalism, Henry Ford was able to be successful and help make the country what it was and still is today but the problem with capitalism is that sooner or later the Henry Fords of today will sell out their own country by outsourcing labor for more & more profit. Is it smart? Yes, but is it right? I don't think so. I feel that socialism would do a lot of good for this country and the 99% of us that are slowly falling apart, as long as it was tweaked a lil bit to adapt to todays reality of life. That's just my opinion though. Thanx for listening

[The Lonely Hacker]

"...problem is in human nature: we always want to be better than someone",exactly its because of that is why capitalism works best, why America is on top financially. It helps enforce our nature at being better, and gaining power due to some type of success, everyone strives for power, to be powerful, its what we are as humans. Socialism is counter-productive to our nature for success, evolution doesn't strive for "being the same", it strives on the being "better" at whatever it is you do, which is why capitalism works best.

[Oni]

I am a hardcore capitalist. For everyone to be equal economically, it would require that they be the exact same. That's not how nature works.

[ralfy]

Some forms of it are inevitable given a combination of peak oil, global warming, and flaws in capitalism.

[w00t]

Socialism will be caused by a slow rise in global temperatures. Makes so much sense.

Socialism will also be caused by the demand for oil beginning to far outpace the supply? That makes even less sense, as supply-demand economics IS capitalism.

[ralfy]

Socialism will be caused by a slow rise in global temperatures. Makes so much sense.

Capitalism, whether state or free market, requires increasing production and consumption of goods, and that in turn requires more resources available.

An increase in global temperatures threatens various ecosystems and causes more climate instability, and both in turn threaten resource availability.

Socialism will also be caused by the demand for oil beginning to far outpace the supply? That makes even less sense, as supply-demand economics IS capitalism.

"Supply-demand economics" works only if there is a replacement for oil. There is none in terms of energy returns and the need for petrochemicals.

[Cressi]

I think the idea of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution" is not that bad, though I don't like the rest of the mind-set.
I don't think it's bad to make money, or even have lots of it. Money drives people to innovation and new-thinking, something today's society is lacking in great amounts.
Though you might argue that everyone should get a share of the collective funds, I think an individual has to be able to stand up for and support himself in order to fgrow as a human and develop both mentally, socially and economically.