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Oct. 24, 2004 Strange how the word 'Socialism' is a red rag to so many Americans bulls. After all, it is no more than a political philosophy in which a society takes care of its own members. Not a bad thing - and certainly nothing to foam at the mouth about. Ah - I can just hear the voices - what about the USSR? What about Stalin? Yes indeed. Stalin was not a fine example of socialism. He was not a fine example of anything except a psychopathic demagogue with a penchant for mass murder. The USSR is another case. Do you realise that up until the later years of Brezhnev, Soviet society worked quite well at a personal level? Considering where they stood in 1920, most people enjoyed vastly better lives. They had jobs, free education, free medical care, subsidised accommodation, heating, power, holidays. Civilised working conditions. Plenty of time to build and enjoy their country cottages. And they retired on pensions that were comfortable. If you were rude about the way they lived, they would be just as upset as you would be if a Swede described your house as 'big but tacky'. Do you realise that the educational level of the average Russian was higher than the average Brit or American? Do you know that they had almost twice as many medical doctors per unit of population than America? And twice as many engineers? (And don't kid yourself about quality - they could hold a light to any Western college graduate.) Let's face it, the average Russian lived fairly comfortably according to his own measures, and he was proud of his country's achievements. You could say pretty much the same for the average American, in fact. Of course, there were disadvantages to the system. It was impossible to get legally rich, for instance, so no millionaires. It was quite possible to be powerful and influential if you were prepared to play the Party game, and that's what all the politicians did. The average Joe just went with the flow and managed very well thank you. In the end, the Party just could not control the economy and that is all being sorted out right now. But the attitudes of socialism are still there. People don't like to have neglected sections of the community and, given the chance, they still vote for politicians with a social conscience. The situation in the ex-satellites is similar, with the major difference that the Party did not manage quite such a stranglehold on business and the Church, so they have less recovering to do. And then we have the other European countries - the'Western' ones. All socialist, every one. No matter which government is in power in Germany, UK, Switzerland etc., they are all rabid socialists by US political standards. Ask me if I'd rather be poor or chronically ill in either the US or say Germany or Slovakia or anywhere in the European Union, and it's a very easy decision to take. And then we have the raving socialists in Japan. And Australia. And what about the creeping disease of socialism just north of the US border? Don't those guys up there realise just how dangerous it is? The next thing you know they'll start having affordable drugs. And higher educational standards. And better housing and work standards. And less crime. I think responsible US citizens should round up a few militia units and go and explain to those poor folk how much better off they'd be if only they stopped caring about each other. ------------ About the author: Eric lives in tropical Queensland and writes books - some naughty, some nice - that can be found through Renaissance eBooks (renebooks.com) He reads widely and when he is not thinking about lunch, worries about the state of the world. Email: ericge@westnet.com.au Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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