this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
90 points (90.2% liked)

Asklemmy

43856 readers
1859 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy ๐Ÿ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
90
Is it normal to be constantly afraid of government? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
79 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

For Context: I live in the United States of America.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Socialism is a range. It's a tough concept to understand, but once you do, you become more...flexible

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Last time someone dropped "you don't understand socialism" on me I asked them for their definition and I got a youtube video of a professor giving me the definition I gave above.

Is that not the definition you use of socialism? How do you define it?

I'll remind you that bones enable faster locomotion, and they accomplish it by their inflexibility. Clear, non-fluid concepts can do that too. We need a solid, simple definition of socialism to make any progress here don't you think?

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I agree, but that isn't reality. Even Richard Wolff agrees that there is a spectrum.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

But what's at one end of the spectrum here?

Light is a spectrum, and the ends of that spectrum are defined: 0 frequency at one end and infinite frequency at the other. A spectrum covering an infinite number of points ranging between two precise, simple definitions.

I define socialism as: joint ownership of the means of production by the people

I like the definition of capitalism as this, from wikipedia:

Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price systems, private property, property rights recognition, voluntary exchange, and wage labor.

My short snarky definition is: Capitalism is the economic system where cooperation requires consent.