Is socialism a stepping stone to communism

[ThatOwlWoman]

From what I have seen democrats seem to support a larger government with more control over the people , while republicans want a smaller government with less control.

The only reason that you see that is because your masters want it that way. Tell me -- which party favors women's reproductive rights, and which party wants to have its government nose up women's business?

Which party favors legalizing weed for both medicinal and recreational purposes, and which wants to see you imprisoned for enjoying a joint?

Which party wants our gay citizens to be able to legally marry/adopt children/enjoy not being discriminated against, and which one wants to shove them all back into the closet and nail the door shut?

Which party wants people to be free to choose whether or not to follow a particular religious path, and which one wants to mandate the Christian path via prayers in school and teaching creationism in science classes?

Which party wants our taxpayer money to go to benefiting the people in the form of health care, infrastructure, high-speed national Internet access, and education -- and which one wants to spend it all on a bloated military budget?

Which party wants to give immigrants a path to citizenship so that they contribute to our society in the form of taxes and military service, and which one wants to put up a wall -- while still hiring them under the table so that both the employees and the employers skip out on taxes?

[Doc Dutch]

No as a republican I dont want government handed over to corporations, and I dont know any who do want that .
From what I have seen democrats seem to support a larger government with more control over the people , while republicans want a smaller government with less control.
No we are ant socialist very much so and democrats are far more socialist inclined as you can clearly see by thr likes of the squad and bernie .
but let us use some links .

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...d-worse-on-am/



https://nypost.com/2020/06/20/democr...n-scandinavia/


https://www.debate.org/opinions/are-...ts-socialists#!

Unless you're a woman, gay or not an Evangelical, then they want to drop the full weight of the Federal government on you.

[Flash]

We lived in a rural farming area for over a decade. Land was sold and valued by how much of it could be kept in the CRP which gave the landowner a yearly income from unused land. A lot of ppl mistook the purpose of the program as "paying farmers not to grow" in order to keep prices up. Instead, it's to protect environmentally-fragile areas, an idea I am in favor of.

Huge farm corporations make a lot of money from government payments. I'm not sure why RWers find this acceptable, but clutch their pearls over a miniscule (compared to the budget as a whole) amount of taxpayer money that goes to feed families in the form of SNAP. Why is the former okay but the latter is "socialism"?

Those programs have grown under both Democrats and Republicans.

One (somewhat cynical) answer to your question is that many Republican votes come from farm states and Democratic votes come from those sympathetic to food stamps. And, corporate America gets huge benefits from food stamps--farmers, truckers, food processors, super markets...

Neither is socialism. Food stamps is a governmental program and farms are privately run.

It is called "socialism" because it has a negative connotation and you call your enemies bad stuff like the left calling Trump fascist and Nazi. The meaning of the terms are irrelevant. What is relevant is to smear your opponents with negative labels.

[Bulletbob]

The only reason that you see that is because your masters want it that way. Tell me -- which party favors women's reproductive rights, and which party wants to have its government nose up women's business?

Which party favors legalizing weed for both medicinal and recreational purposes, and which wants to see you imprisoned for enjoying a joint?

Which party wants our gay citizens to be able to legally marry/adopt children/enjoy not being discriminated against, and which one wants to shove them all back into the closet and nail the door shut?

Which party wants people to be free to choose whether or not to follow a particular religious path, and which one wants to mandate the Christian path via prayers in school and teaching creationism in science classes?

Which party wants our taxpayer money to go to benefiting the people in the form of health care, infrastructure, high-speed national Internet access, and education -- and which one wants to spend it all on a bloated military budget?

Which party wants to give immigrants a path to citizenship so that they contribute to our society in the form of taxes and military service, and which one wants to put up a wall -- while still hiring them under the table so that both the employees and the employers skip out on taxes?

who is my master I wasn't aware I had one , well our governor inn Florida is a republican and he changed the law so that it was not limited to cbc oil but actual marijuana for medical use and I support that,
I dont have a issue with recreational pot either but Ill never use it, I did notice that in at least one demo state its decriminalized to use cocaine heroin and meth ,Im sure thats a wise decision we need more junkies , perhaps one day we will have a democrat president who is openly a junkie and shooting up while making laws.

Women's reproductive rights are not in question , its your party that favors killing baby's , thats not a right its a choice to commit murder when the life of the mother is not endangered or there has been no rape or incest or the child is not in danger of being born wuth disabling mental or physical conditions.
lacking any of the se its simply murder and selective killing because one is to lazy to use proper birth control measures both female and male.
complete ignorance and lack of any ethics or morals,.

Mandate the christian path where did you come up with that one . thats absurd and a democrat wet dream , I am not a religious person to any large extent and I believe we all have a right to follow our religious beliefs and practice what we want,you should look at your own party here denying churches rights suck as in California and ny, to the point the supreme court had tio weigh in on the unconstitutional policy's by the little dictator Cuomo , and the attacks on religion by the democrat party under O bung hole . no its the democrats who are attacking religion.


perhaps you need to educate your self about your own party

https://www.conservativedailynews.co...lting-atheism/


https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2020...racist-bigotry

O so a military budget is a waste and has no benift tom the people ? And what orifix do you pull that one out of ? and what president gave you tax cits and a stimulus check

Yes what party wants to make a path to illegals and buy their votes? why the democrats . Perhaps you have not noticed they are here Illegally. Is that a word you are unable to comprehend .
I have no issue with immigration as long as it is done legally and not thye way your party wants to do it and open the flood gates .
Its a insult to those who came here legally band worked hard for their right to become a citizen and followed the rules and law .

[ThatOwlWoman]

Those programs have grown under both Democrats and Republicans.

One (somewhat cynical) answer to your question is that many Republican votes come from farm states and Democratic votes come from those sympathetic to food stamps. And, corporate America gets huge benefits from food stamps--farmers, truckers, food processors, super markets...

Neither is socialism. Food stamps is a governmental program and farms are privately run.

It is called "socialism" because it has a negative connotation and you call your enemies bad stuff like the left calling Trump fascist and Nazi. The meaning of the terms are irrelevant. What is relevant is to smear your opponents with negative labels.

That much is true. You probably should stop attacking "the left," though, and start focusing more on what the Cult calls all of us who are not the Cult.

[ThatOwlWoman]

[QUOTE=Bulletbob;4071536]Women's reproductive rights are not in question , its your party that favors killing baby's ,

More than one infant is spelled "babies."

We are done here. Thanks for playing. Lest you spew out more uniformed nonsense, I am the mother of five living children, g-mother of 10.5. I am a retired licensed health care professional. I am anti-abortion. I want women to have choices, including access to birth control. Whether the abortion is a "convenience" thing like you forced-birthers believe, or for other reasons, is none of your fucking business.

Good night, and enjoy the rest of your life as a puppet.

[Flash]

That much is true. You probably should stop attacking "the left," though, and start focusing more on what the Cult calls all of us who are not the Cult.

I didn't attack the left--it is a practice of both sides. I was describing how both the left and right attempt to smear the other side with negative rhetoric. One method is to use negative labels without regard to their meaning.

He perambulated his infant son on the street
He practiced nepotism with his uncle and first cousin
He attempted to interest a 13-year-old girl in philately
He participated in a seance at a private residence where, among other odd goings-on, there was incense
He has declared himself in favor of more homogeneity on college campuses
He has advocated social intercourse in mixed company -- and has taken part in such gatherings himself

[Cypress]

Those programs have grown under both Democrats and Republicans.

One (somewhat cynical) answer to your question is that many Republican votes come from farm states and Democratic votes come from those sympathetic to food stamps. And, corporate America gets huge benefits from food stamps--farmers, truckers, food processors, super markets...

Neither is socialism. Food stamps is a governmental program and farms are privately run.

It is called "socialism" because it has a negative connotation and you call your enemies bad stuff like the left calling Trump fascist and Nazi. The meaning of the terms are irrelevant. What is relevant is to smear your opponents with negative labels.

There is a huge difference.

Fascism and Nazism are universally held in utter contempt, worldwide.

Socialism is not a derogatory word in most of the world. European socialist parties have a long history of credibility and viability.

Even in the USA, socialism is increasingly considered a boogeyman by largely only middle aged and elderly white people.

Socialism is not broadly considered a loaded, derogatory word for people under the age of 40

[Flash]

There is a huge difference.

Fascism and Nazism are universally held in utter contempt, worldwide.

Socialism is not a derogatory word in most of the world. European socialist parties have a long history of credibility and viability.

Even in the USA, socialism is increasingly considered a boogeyman by largely only middle aged and elderly white people.

Socialism is not broadly considered a loaded, derogatory word for people under the age of 40

We were talking about the U. S., so most of the world and European parties are not directly relevant.

Certainly socialism is a more derogatory term for older Americans (white, Latino, and Asian), but that is a big portion of Republican voters who are the target of "socialism and communism" charges.

Still, it is not really a term most American politicians want to be stuck with, especially in red states. Most Americans still see socialism as a negative term compared to capitalism: 60% v. 39%.

That is reversed among Democrats (65% positive) and is more positive among younger Americans: Gen X 39%, Millennials 49%, Boomers 32%.

Socialism is used as a negative term to scare Republicans and older Americans because it works. But, since the nation is still 60% v. 39% more positive for capitalism than socialism a presidential candidate wants to avoid that label.

Younger people are more favorable toward socialism partly because it is (mis)used today to apply to governmental social programs. If you asked young people (and Bernie Sanders) what major American industries they want nationalized most could not name any which defeats the concept of socialism.

[cawacko]

We were talking about the U. S., so most of the world and European parties are not directly relevant.

Certainly socialism is a more derogatory term for older Americans (white, Latino, and Asian), but that is a big portion of Republican voters who are the target of "socialism and communism" charges.

Still, it is not really a term most American politicians want to be stuck with, especially in red states. Most Americans still see socialism as a negative term compared to capitalism: 60% v. 39%.

That is reversed among Democrats (65% positive) and is more positive among younger Americans: Gen X 39%, Millennials 49%, Boomers 32%.

Socialism is used as a negative term to scare Republicans and older Americans because it works. But, since the nation is still 60% v. 39% more positive for capitalism than socialism a presidential candidate wants to avoid that label.

Younger people are more favorable toward socialism partly because it is (mis)used today to apply to governmental social programs. If you asked young people (and Bernie Sanders) what major American industries they want nationalized most could not name any which defeats the concept of socialism.

I have not followed this conversation until this post so I apologize if this has already been discussed. It's interesting the racial element at play in the discussion of socialism. Certain white Americans have a romantic view of the welfare state Scandinavian countries and want America to be more like them. You have certain Hispanics in America who have come from places like Cuba and Venezuela and experienced true socialism up close and personal and have no romantic notions about it. (Bernie did well among certain Hispanic voters however.) And while there are black socialists I personally have never heard a black friend/acquaintance say we should be more like the Scandinavian countries (I would guess because there are very few black people there but could be for other reasons as well).

[Cypress]

We were talking about the U. S., so most of the world and European parties are not directly relevant.

Certainly socialism is a more derogatory term for older Americans (white, Latino, and Asian), but that is a big portion of Republican voters who are the target of "socialism and communism" charges.

Still, it is not really a term most American politicians want to be stuck with, especially in red states. Most Americans still see socialism as a negative term compared to capitalism: 60% v. 39%.

That is reversed among Democrats (65% positive) and is more positive among younger Americans: Gen X 39%, Millennials 49%, Boomers 32%.

Socialism is used as a negative term to scare Republicans and older Americans because it works. But, since the nation is still 60% v. 39% more positive for capitalism than socialism a presidential candidate wants to avoid that label.

Younger people are more favorable toward socialism partly because it is (mis)used today to apply to governmental social programs. If you asked young people (and Bernie Sanders) what major American industries they want nationalized most could not name any which defeats the concept of socialism.

You are right, in domestic American politics, Socialist is not a label any viable presidential candidate would embrace.

What I am saying is there is no real analogy between using socialist as a derogatory term versus using fascist as a term of denigration. They are not close to being in the same ballpark.

Bernie Sanders was elected to the U.S. Senate as a democratic socialist.

In the USA, it is probably possible to get elected to some city councils as a democratic socialist.

TrumpCo. tried to smear Biden as a socialist, a Maoist revolutionary to almost no effect. Biden convincingly won the EC and the popular vote, while collecting 81 million votes.

European socialist parties are an accepted and viable part of the political landscape, and have been for decades.

On the flipside, the label fascist is absolutely toxic. No politician anywhere in North America or Europe is going to come within 50 kilometers of associating even obliquely with that word.

[Flash]

I have not followed this conversation until this post so I apologize if this has already been discussed. It's interesting the racial element at play in the discussion of socialism. Certain white Americans have a romantic view of the welfare state Scandinavian countries and want America to be more like them. You have certain Hispanics in America who have come from places like Cuba and Venezuela and experienced true socialism up close and personal and have no romantic notions about it. (Bernie did well among certain Hispanic voters however.) And while there are black socialists I personally have never heard a black friend/acquaintance say we should be more like the Scandinavian countries (I would guess because there are very few black people there but could be for other reasons as well).

According to this CATO poll blacks are the only group who have a more favorable view of socialism than capitalism: 62% favorable for socialism and 40% for capitalism.

Surprised me, also.

https://www.cato.org/blog/59-america...iews-socialism

[Flash]

Which party wants to give immigrants a path to citizenship so that they contribute to our society in the form of taxes and military service, and which one wants to put up a wall -- while still hiring them under the table so that both the employees and the employers skip out on taxes?

Legal immigrants (non-citizens) currently serve in the military. There has been a controversy because some have been deported for committing crimes after military service.

[Flash]

You are right, in domestic American politics, Socialist is not a label any viable presidential candidate would embrace.

What I am saying is there is no real analogy between using socialist as a derogatory term versus using fascist as a term of denigration. They are not close to being in the same ballpark.

Bernie Sanders was elected to the U.S. Senate as a democratic socialist.

In the USA, it is probably possible to get elected to some city councils as a democratic socialist.

TrumpCo. tried to smear Biden as a socialist, a Maoist revolutionary to almost no effect. Biden convincingly won the EC and the popular vote, while collecting 81 million votes.

European socialist parties are an accepted and viable part of the political landscape, and have been for decades.

On the flipside, the label fascist is absolutely toxic. No politician anywhere in North America or Europe is going to come within 50 kilometers of associating even obliquely with that word.

I understand your distinction. But many Democrats and anti-Trump people (including many JPP posters) have labeled Trump fascist and Nazi. It is meant to be derogatory. Like socialist and communist, it has no validity based on the real meaning of those terms. Any fascist leanings of Trump were blocked by our checks and balances thus heading off any improper actions.

[Cypress]

I understand your distinction. But many Democrats and anti-Trump people (including many JPP posters) have labeled Trump fascist and Nazi. It is meant to be derogatory. Like socialist and communist, it has no validity based on the real meaning of those terms. Any fascist leanings of Trump were blocked by our checks and balances thus heading off any improper actions.

The thing is, I do not want a President who has fascist fantasies, irrespective of whether the checks and balances will stop him.

It is a serious character flaw to have that in president.

The only thing that checked Trump to any measurable extent were the courts. The Republican Senate and GOP house totally abdicated to Trump.