Posted on Feb 20, 2017
Why do some US citizens dislike socialism? - Quora
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I find everything about this question is interesting. The question. Its wording. And then there's the proposed answer. The first "Americans", the Pilgrims on whom we have built our ethos, were socialists until it almost killed them. The simple fact is that socialism is very old. It's been tried many times and failed in every instance. Thus, the more interesting question to me would be "Why do so many US citizens like socialism and want to institute it?" It seems that the answer to that question lies in ignorance of the history of socialism. It sounds nice on paper but is horrible in practice. It destroys the human spirit by promising to fulfill all challenges (then fails to deliver on its promises). However, its ultimate flaw is that it creates a need for a strong centralized government to determine what each of us needs and how it will be provided. Such governments attract the power-hungry which is why socialism ultimately devolves into tyranny. So I ask, "Why do some US citizens like socialism?
Why do some US citizens dislike socialism? - Quora
Posted from quora.comPosted in these groups: 
Socialism
Socialism
Posted 8 y ago
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When I see those in favor of Socialism, I have to wonder why they are not moving to Venezuela.
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uh... the pilgrim socialist experiment failed (for the same reason socialism always fails... no incentives)
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Every system has failed given enough time, including pure capitalism. In a few thousand years likely our current system and nation will be relegated to history books. Pure capitalism has failed, pure socialism has failed and everything in between has failed.
As for the government getting too strong, yes a problem. But on the other side of that pure capitalism leads to the same problem with individuals amassing enough power through wealth and property to force their will on the community. If the argument is simply that centralizing power corrupts then the realization has to follow that government is only one of many ways of centralizing power.
The trick to achieving a "good" society seems to be based on being flexible enough to let the community handle those tasks that are difficult to achieve individually and let individuals handle tasks that they are more suited to than the community. Of course what those are will forever be a subject of debate.
As for the government getting too strong, yes a problem. But on the other side of that pure capitalism leads to the same problem with individuals amassing enough power through wealth and property to force their will on the community. If the argument is simply that centralizing power corrupts then the realization has to follow that government is only one of many ways of centralizing power.
The trick to achieving a "good" society seems to be based on being flexible enough to let the community handle those tasks that are difficult to achieve individually and let individuals handle tasks that they are more suited to than the community. Of course what those are will forever be a subject of debate.
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