poptart wrote:Before we move on, let's make sure we agree on something.
Something that is obvious to any objective observer of current America.
Obama and the current Washington power base is pushing forward a socialist agenda.
Agree?
Disagree.
But first, we need to get beyond name-calling, and come up with a working definition of socialism. This one seems to work for me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
Socialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with an egalitarian method of compensation.It could also be a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done. Contrary to popular belief, socialism is not a political system; it is an economic system distinct from capitalism.
Say what you will, but we are not in a system consistent with that first sentence, nor are we even moving closer toward that. As for the second sentence, there are elements of that system toward which we are moving. But I think there's also a qualifier there: this would have to be a transitional stage between capitalism and communism. It's an even bigger reach to say that Obama is moving us toward communism than it is to say that he's moving us toward socialism, so there lies, I think, the reason that the second sentence doesn't fit the current situation either.
Moreover, many of Obama's erstwhile supporters are abandoning him. Of course, by and large, the reason for that is not that he's gone too far, but that he hasn't gone far enough, fast enough. Certainly, Obama is moving at a snail's pace compared to, say, FDR.