Re: “In a World 'sans Socialism'” - Margaret Wente's column June 21st, 2011
The puzzling thing about the term “socialism” is its application to various actions. It is “socialism” to have medicare, but not the building of roads. It is “socialism” to have universal car insurance (as Saskatchewan does) but public support for construction of sports facilities – hockey rinks and football stadiums – is not. It is “socialism” to provide government support to low-wage earners but baling out banks or multi-national automobile manufacturers is business. “Privatization” is what happens if a government-run business becomes profitable because goodness knows, we, the people, wouldn't want to be “socialists”.
It seems to me that the term is used pejoratively and in a limited way to describe activities that prevailing corporate think tanks and private enterprise want to control.
Definition of “socialism” from my Apple computer dictionary: “a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole”.....(it) ”necessarily implies an opposition to the untrammelled workings of the economic market”. Why did our banks and mortgages not fail when the US went broke? Because Canada's regulatory system is better than that in the US...oh dear, socialism at work!! Does anyone remember that we, the people, once owned PetroCan - but it was making money! What is so wrong about our government making money off of something other than its people?
I, for one, am tired of seeing my tax dollars supporting the already wealthy, corporations or just plain monied. Going to companies that make fictitious airplanes and helicopters to be delivered in the far distant future to do what? Paying elected representatives to "sell" Canada abroad - translate advertise Canadian manufacturing goods and Canadian resources abroad so that capitalism can continue to work - which means that we continue to believe in endless growth in a finite world! Who is crazy? And how do we, the ordinary citizens, get control of the media to break the addiction to pap and talk shows, educational systems so that our children are not told the lies of the colonial capitalist past, monetary system so that we are not paying the cost of the international gambling ring that trades up in nanoseconds, health care so that we are not sold pharmaceuticals for fear, our environment so that we can really smell the roses!
Time to look after myself and go for a bike ride!
