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To: TopQuark
I was raised during the depression by a Father that was a hard shelled conservative that hated and distrusted FDR. I have never been accused of being a socialist.

I will say this, conservatism is not all good and socialism is not all bad.

If you notice all the leading socialist proponents of this country are CAPITALISTS.

Robert Owen the father of socialism made his fortune from child labor and then AFTER making his fortune, formed socialism. Marx was just a Johnny come lately with socialism.

62 posted on 10/29/2005 10:03:59 AM PDT by cynicom
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To: cynicom
I will say this, conservatism is not all good and socialism is not all bad.

I completely agree with the first part. Socialism has shown itself to be completely bad in the long run.

Nobody advocates unbridled capitalism nowadays. Economists know also about the limitations of markets: markets do not work well or not at all in provision of public goods, for instance; their efficiency is high in providing private goods. That is why we indeed need the government to ensure provision of defense, clear air, police, etc.

If you notice all the leading socialist proponents of this country are CAPITALISTS.

That is a very astute, but still over-reaching, observation. The number of people like Soros is still not large: they are only more heard due to the sympathy shown them by the media. Most of the capitalists in this country are workers. Great majority of people have 401K and keep their saving, including retirement savings, in stocks (that was not the case 100 years ago, of during hte Depression). That makes them capitalists.

Even if you think of "capitalists" as business owners, Soroses of this world are still at tiny minority. It is true that some wealthy people developed an unearned guilt for having riches, but they are small in number. It is ture that Owen was one of them.

Once again, to clarify: nobody advocates unbridled capitalism, as it does have its evils. I objected to the ease, however, with which you were advocating an alternative. This is not only intellectually unjustifiable but is particularly disturbing in the current environment, when one half of the country embraces socialism openly and whole-heartedly.

75 posted on 10/29/2005 10:56:39 AM PDT by TopQuark
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