http://www.theburningplatform.com/2016/03/29/no-difference-between-capitalism-communism/
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STRAIGHT LINE LOGIC 
Interesting cartoon – but which one does it imply works? Christianity with its periodic attempts at Genocide eg the Hutu versus the Tutsi, the Crusades, Hitler claiming in Mein Kampf that he was following Jesus’ example in clearing the Temple of Jews, the Inquisition, Ireland and Cromwell, King Henry the Eighth as “Defender of the faith” dealing with the Catholics – or did you mean the early communists:St Paul or St Francis with their renunciation of personal property, or Stalin the ex priest with his Gulags or or or? Not too much straight line here.
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The comparison was between capitalism and communism, not Christianity and communism. Here, I believe, a straight line case can be made: capitalism is far superior to communism.
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If making money is the only thing that counts. Presumably by that measure Donald Trump is good because he has lots of money!!!????
Surely some things work because they lead to a happier society. A straight line case?????
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Capitalistic societies are far happier than communistic ones. As proof, I’ll take the US during the Industrial Revolution versus any communistic country in the 20th century, including the Soviet Union and China.
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“Go with what works?”
For whom?
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Happiness for the comfortable millionaire is not necessarily the same as happiness for the ones the millionaire exploits. Those living in areas ruined by global corporate capitalism have few reasons to be happy. Gigantic bureaucracies like the dinosaurs of old give every impression of having tiny brains and even smaller hearts. A successful corporation can make a man like Trump wealthy indeed but the under paid workers can easily be cast aside and forgotten. There is something ironic in the real life parable with a man who uses and underpays labourers then when the building is finished wants them out of his sight behind a wall. Financially successful corporations can and do crush poor nations with loans euphemistically called aid, destroy vast swathes of tropical forest, steal other people’s natural resources, and in the process poison the air the soil and the water.
Those who are enjoying the good life by courtesy of the wonderfully lucrative armaments industry don’t have to see the suffering caused when their end products are used to intimidate, kill and destroy. It is possible for wealthy tourists to visit South East Asia and be totally blind to the suffering of the exploited sex workers. Those enjoying the accessibility of cheap goods in Department Store chains don’t have to witness the sweat shop production lines in distant countries and those enjoying the profits of black market from illegal drug production and importation don’t have to see the ruined lives at the end of the chain.
Capitalism hasn’t brought happiness to those who live at the beginning of the supply chains. Read the last two hundred years history of Iran and see how those capitalists in who wanted the oil and uranium looked after the interests of that particular foreign country. Do you honestly think the US was interested in Afghanistan or Iraq for the good of the people who lived there, or that world war one was fought without noticing the possibilities of the beak-up of the Ottoman Empire?
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@peddiebill – Uh, wow, drink kool aid much? Putting the ill gotten gains you speak of back into the pool as investment capital makes pretty much everything you enjoy, especially refrigeration and electricity, possible. Capitalism isn’t fair, but neither is life, except in that oppressive capitalist system you might not start big but you can end up anywhere you want through the application of fundamentals like, you know, working and earning your value. BTW, value doesn’t come from what you think it’s worth, value comes from what the employer and ultimately the consumer thinks it’s worth. Don’t like it, go into business for yourself and provide it directly. I really like a system Your well meaning can’t be exchanged for anything tangible unless you consider that all well meaning programs which take money from me and give it to someone who doesn’t earn it came from the minds of people who were trying to save others from capitalism. I didn’t hear a rail against $5 Starbucks coffee or a browbeating of the maker of a $200 jacket from REI, both of whom exploit cheap labor to make a profit. Oops, your micro white guilt is showing. Of course when you are looking so good and espousing such straight line logic it is easy to be a wise man on a mountain. Confusing economic systems with political and religious systems, priceless, absolutely priceless. I don’t know, maybe your a Muslim, in which case they really all do look alike! Hey, there’s no more plantation systems and there’s no more robber barons, unless you count the the ones created by wealth re-distribution. The bottom line is, the more you take from the productive and give to the non-productive the less productive it is for everybody.
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Peddiebill, You can have all of what you speak by going to places where it has been in practice for a time. That would not be all time since it has never worked. The issue is about Freedom to move in a direction that YOU/I dictate not someone that rules us. That starts with taking responsibility for our actions. You can complain/demonize all you want but until you take YOUR responsibilities seriously and stop blaming someone else, you will lose. In a FREE country, which is what we once had being challenged by Industrialists, you could do the “days work” that you were motivated to do and move ahead. If you chose to be sodomized by one of those that you attempt to blame for your lack of ambition, you would get that about which you are complaining. By electing those that promised the “ideal” job, “every day is payday and no work on payday”, you will always have something to complain about. There is always a place to go in these United States and make your dream come true if you have the ambition but by electing those that promise to GIVE you everything, you will become a “SLAVE”! That is my take on the Communist Dream.
Socialism/Communism are separated by the following. Socialism is where someone “lies” to you and steals your money. The Communists found out that the Socialist approach is too time consuming and put a gun to your head and said, “give me your money”. I guess it is up to you to chose. I want to be FREE to MAKE my own DREAM!
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Exring: I find these replies a little puzzling. The happiness scale for countries is surveyed frequently and pure Capitalism of the US variety doesn’t seem to produce happiness when attempted by other nations exploited by the economically powerful nations. eg South Korea. The countries where there is a fair dollop of Socialism eg New Zealand, Norway, Denmark and Sweden regularly come out higher on the happiness scales (and higher than the US). Countries which are out and out exploited by capitalistic nations have a rather unexpected level of unhappiness.
You seem to say I need to work harder and take my responsibilities seriously. Well I have tried. I have several university degrees. I have worked in a developing country. I have taught in High School, Teachers College and even for a while at University. I write books. I have successful children (all with high paid jobs) Their children are showing every sign of growing up responsibly. Since when does questioning Capitalism mean that I am no longer working hard?
If I understand your take on Communism you are implying that since Russia gave up Communism and became much more capitalistic they are much happier?
Living in La La Land
My memory of the Kool Aid incident was that the instigator was from the “happy” US, not from a Communist Country. The Happy US averages one mass killing (ie more than four) every day of the year. The happy US has more gun deaths every year than places like Saudi Arabia. Look up the figures on Wikipedia. One measure of happiness is gun crime. Another is the number of citizens in prison. Look up the number of gun deaths instigated by your children in the US and compare that with the figure instigated by Muslim terrorists in the US.
Is this not the case?
The North American Indians don’t seem to have benefitted from living in the US and your description of the Capitalistic system doesn’t handle “trickle down” very well. Trump is rich – but I thought this was because his granddad was rich. George W Bush is rich – but surely that was family rather than his own efforts. Obama worked far harder at University. Look at the record.
Muslims all look alike??? What one quarter of the world’s population all alike? How come the Muslims in my country have not tried one single terrorist attack. Could it be we have a more tolerant and happier society?
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Perhaps I am reading too rapidly or not understanding completely. What country are you from? Surely, not the United States since there was a Physician that was in the United States Army at Ft. Hood that killed a large group of people. There was a couple in San Bernadino, CA that performed a terrorist act as well. Both were in the name of Allah as I recall… That said, I don’t know where to start with the plethora of issues you have raised… I could start with Norway, I know a person from that country that lived here for more than 15 years and his assessment was that there was NO way to move out of the Social position you had attained by birth. The Socialist system was so sufficating and taxes so high that there was no where to go if you wanted to get ahead. Now you, for instance, as an educator might do quite well there since that group had a significant amount of “Control”… However, if you look at the argument between Joe Stalin and Lenin relative to the success of a Communist/Socialist system, Stalin determined that the Single Tiered system that Lenin had ascribed to would not work. The “Two Tiered” System he instituted, basically, the Elite and Prolatariat System would work better. That was not defined for whom, however… You speak of Happiness as though it were a “Right”. The documents of The United States of America allow for the PERSUIT of Happinness, not the guaratee. If you are unhappy, perhaps you should search out the reason and change that. Keep in mind that Homo sapiens is: 1) not nice and 2) opportunistic. That includes myself and you. It is what we are and if you look carefully at the Constitution of the United States, it was written to address those very consitant and negative characteristics of humans. It is not that we are BAD but that we have faults and if we do not address them we will suffer accordingly… The beauty of the above mentioned document is that, with few exceptions, it is TIMELESS!
To address the other countries you have mentioned would take too much time and specific issues need to be put forth. For one, I cannot and will not live under Sharia. There are places where that can be done and those that wish to do so need to move there. I have NO objection to anyone elses religion but want to have it made perfectly clear, I will listen to no one elses objection to mine. Islam is NOT just a religion. It is a Theocracy and combines both a Religious and Politcal way of life. Those that came to this country were of Christian faith and did not want to be “sodomised” by the Church of England and the Monarch any longer… You mentioned the Native Americans and their plite. I understand that in every confrontation there will be a winner and a loser. They lost a large portion of the Fight. However, they became educated and started to have an emotional and monitary investment in their lives. They determined that the fact that they still had status as a Nation, they could open Casinos and get some of the wealth back from the “white man”. They, too, are plagued with the issues surrounding being “human” and will deal with the two traits that we all have to conquer, (not nice and opportunistic). You and I both are responsible for OUR OWN HAPPINESS. I intend on doing the best with mine. It sounds to me like you have a way to go since you think that factor is someone elses responsibility.
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