Marxism

Faith,Maybe you should consider the personal benefits that you may derive from the type of forced secular collectivist government that your adversaries on this thread seem to promote.When you meet someone who needs assistance, just write down the phone number of whatever government agency is appropriate and give it to them. Maybe even let the needy person use your cell phone. Then you can be on your way! Hopefully, a government employee will distribute your resources in a more efficient, responsible, and compassionate manner then you ever could and you wouldn’t need to be personally burdened with any individual responsibility toward others! You can feel good about yourself knowing that you’re a caring person through the good works of a government bureaucrat employee. No muss, no fuss!Be of good cheer Faith. Historical evidence clearly and unequivocally endorses your position.Capitalism is an economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit motive and private ownership of the means of production. Capitalism encourages private investment and business, compared to a government-controlled economy (like Marxism). Capitalism isn’t perfect but it beats a centralized command economy every time - without exception.Unless an open mind is constrained by severe myopia, it’s abundantly evident throughout history that free markets with resources channeling through and among passionate entrepreneurs delivers the most goods and services for the poorest among them.By comparison, forced collectivism (whatever flavor) historically stifles incentive and misses opportunities through innovation, hard work, and efficient use of resources to provide more for the poor. It generally results in more misery and oppression over time rather than additional goods and services.Consequently, no one is trying to escape the US for Michael Moore’s purported medical oasis of Cuba, Hugo's Venezuela, or any other example of excessive government control and limited personal freedom. According to some opinions in this thread - the reason that’s true is only because no one has quite mastered how to properly administer forced collectivism with an outcome that the people thrive (or even sustain themselves) over time.One might wander whether some great mind has prescribed functional precepts for a successful secular collectivist government and command economy somewhere in time and history. Maybe it’s some little known book like The Epistle to the Roman Government or Maximizing the Good for the Most Governed or even the more widely known My Struggle (originally in German and a springboard for National Socialists). Unfortunately, there is no successful implementation (when compared to capitalism) that I know of.But some will continue to proclaim a moral superiority of forced collectivism in spite of the abundant and repeated evidence of its failure. The downside may come whenever some really smart persuasive person in authority (with a wide-open mind) thinks they’ve finally figured out how to properly administer a forced collectivist policy in our country for the maximum benefit to the most people. These enlightened policies may require some tough decisions as undesirable elements historically must be dealt with (for the good of the people, of course - see history). In that case, you may find yourself in a re-education facility (or worse) to ameliorate those inconvenient yet persistent religious beliefs and alleviate that terrible case of cognitive dissonance!Watch out for those baaad Boogy Men too, Faith! Some are practically invisible and some have been reported on this board to be hiding among the Bushes! (Big Grin with one eyebrow slightly raised)There appear to be some good folks on this board who hold a wide variety of beliefs and dispositions — and I like that. There is some value here. I seek out views and evidence that oppose my beliefs so that I can either strengthen or change my own convictions (I’ve been wrong plenty). In control system design theory, that’s known as a negative feedback loop and it maximizes accuracy and stability over time. However, I don’t have the time to engage in threads like this - but I just wanted to commend your effort. Someday I may jump in a debate topic with both feet but not able to do it justice now.Enlightenment through historical perspective with tough lessons about human nature could eventually affect those who profess open minds (while glibly discussing your imputed cognitive dissonance). I suspect other lurkers can appreciate this thread of intelligence and irony.Perhaps you would receive more consideration by spending your time influencing and helping those in your local community - the same applies for me.An interesting read is How Capitalism Saved America by Thomas DiLorenzo. I loaned my copy to a recent college grad and his views shifted toward capitalism with enthusiasm. I wandered what the heck that college curriculum taught!Common sense often isn’t. Sometimes really smart people don’t understand everything they know - so I wouldn’t be overly concerned about your supposed odious dissonance malady in this thread!Back to occasional lurking. Others are welcome to have the last word.All the Best,
Eye-Squared-R