Re: Great Debate: Capitalism vs Socialism vs Commu
Kurn;4395155
One thing that might help the discussion is to consider the fact that we are a [B said:
Republic.[/B] Why is this important? Because the very word implies an organization instituted for the common well-being of its members.
That is one basic idea of communism. You see, the word Republic is composed of two parts: Re(s) and Public(a).
"Common-things" or "commonwealth," 'Publica' referring to society and what society makes that it has in common.
The second basic idea of modern communism -- or ancient communism as well, really -- is that it is all about living without class-barriers. The United States of America is to some degree a naturally communist state.
That is why turning us into a communist state is counter-productive. In many ways, we're already there. Lately, "conservatives" have been trying to wreck this situation.
Another meaning of communism is that it is a society without violence or fraud. Some people think that is impossible but it isn't. You see, violence and fraud take up lots of time and energy and make no contribution to the economy.
Nice exposition of the word "republic".
It also means -- and this is what the Republican Party used to stand for -- guarding the things common to all, beneficial to all -- in which sense, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is a very republican phrase. So a Republic, at root, is about guarding the things everyone has in common, most specifically, rights.
Opposed to that is democracy, which only has two concepts in it: people, and power. Inevitably, in a democracy, groups of people face off, seeking power -- one good reason our Founding Fathers feared it.
With references to the economic systems under discussion here, democracy will always lead to the corruption of any of them, since economic power will come to be valued more than economic freedom.
That argument won't fly. Falwell, bad as he was, never ever said god damn America.
Ah, Spense, you beat me to it.
Yes, Falwell has said things equally bad, and so has Robertson. Worthy of note on that topic is the fact that if you listen closely to Wright's preaching, all those "God damn America" declarations are conditional -- they're made because of particular offenses, indeed offenses worthy of condemnation. And in that vein, both Wright and Falwell stand in a long tradition, for there were Old Testament prophets who in effect said "God DAMN Israel!"
Of course, they had God behind their words, being His unique official representatives. I'm dubious about that standard fitting Wright, or Falwell (or Robertson, Dobson, et al).
Wrenching this back to topic, I wonder if Wright would have said some of his "damns" if we were, say, communist. Some of what he condemns wouldn't be possible -- for example, corporate greed, since under communism corporations tend to lose money as often as not (if not more often). Some of his "damns" look to be prods toward greater socialism (ooh, more fuel to hate Wright for the "OMG Socialism! Evil! crew).
