Why Are Americans and Conservatives So Afraid of Socialism?

[CrusaderFrank]

What an interesting blog article on American ideas about civil responsibility and the knee jerk reaction of Americans generally, and Conservatives specifically, to fear community welfare and immediately associate it with socialism or communism. It led to her asking “What are you so afraid of?”, and she received 5 specific groups of fears:

1. I’m scared of having to pay for other people’s laziness
2. I’m scared because I don’t trust my government or other people generally
3. I’m scared because socialism leads to authoritarianism
4. I’m scared because socialists and communists kill a lot of people
5. I’m not scared, socialism always fails

She has some good responses to these fears that I can’t do just to for a short attention span. Read the link if you want. I think these fears keep America from being a great and caring nation.

Why Are Americans and Conservatives So Afraid of Socialism?
I went a little bit viral on TikTok recently for voicing the unthinkable: I said that I like paying taxes. As you might imagine, the Americans and Conservatives in my comment section were shocked and appalled. The words communist and socialist were thrown around like insults, images of gulags and famine were invoked to prove some kind of vague and poorly-articulated point about freedom.

In contrast, the (predominantly western/northern) Europeans seemed to find my explanation pretty fair and even stopped to correct me on some of the finer points of Scottish, Scandinavian and German socialist democracy.

What shocked me, however, was not that so many Americans and Conservatives seemed to misunderstand fundamental aspects of civil life — like taxation — but that so many seemed so vehemently opposed to any suggestion that we should all contribute to the collective welfare of our countrymen.

Curiosity piqued, yesterday I made the mistake of asking Americans and Conservatives: “What is it about communism/socialism that scares you?” Here’s what they said.

“What are you so afraid of?”,

The loss of freedom and prosperity, but mostly it's the mass graves and death toll

 

[CrusaderFrank]

If you love a government that can round you up and abuse you whenever they feel like it, you'll love Socialism! Look at Australia!

 

[LeftofLeft]

What an interesting blog article on American ideas about civil responsibility and the knee jerk reaction of Americans generally, and Conservatives specifically, to fear community welfare and immediately associate it with socialism or communism. It led to her asking “What are you so afraid of?”, and she received 5 specific groups of fears:

1. I’m scared of having to pay for other people’s laziness
2. I’m scared because I don’t trust my government or other people generally
3. I’m scared because socialism leads to authoritarianism
4. I’m scared because socialists and communists kill a lot of people
5. I’m not scared, socialism always fails

She has some good responses to these fears that I can’t do just to for a short attention span. Read the link if you want. I think these fears keep America from being a great and caring nation.

Why Are Americans and Conservatives So Afraid of Socialism?
I went a little bit viral on TikTok recently for voicing the unthinkable: I said that I like paying taxes. As you might imagine, the Americans and Conservatives in my comment section were shocked and appalled. The words communist and socialist were thrown around like insults, images of gulags and famine were invoked to prove some kind of vague and poorly-articulated point about freedom.

In contrast, the (predominantly western/northern) Europeans seemed to find my explanation pretty fair and even stopped to correct me on some of the finer points of Scottish, Scandinavian and German socialist democracy.

What shocked me, however, was not that so many Americans and Conservatives seemed to misunderstand fundamental aspects of civil life — like taxation — but that so many seemed so vehemently opposed to any suggestion that we should all contribute to the collective welfare of our countrymen.

Curiosity piqued, yesterday I made the mistake of asking Americans and Conservatives: “What is it about communism/socialism that scares you?” Here’s what they said.

Where as it succeeded? Communism moreso because they had to lock people in and keep them from leaving. Socialism because people left.

 

[JGalt]

Wrong.
Socialism and communism predate human history.
Marx and Engles never claimed to have invented communism, and they said it always existed and was from the nature of mankind.
I have never heard any one ever suggest the French Revolution had anything to do with socialism, as it clearly did not,
Socialism in Europe was more embodied in the small independent German states, and Scandanavia as well.
France was the aristocratic model of the Romans, and Napoleon did not change that in the least.
The closest to anything else was the VERY short lived Jacobians.

@Rigby5

Good. Then you can add the body count from those early socialist regimes to the more than 150 million people murdered by the communist regimes in Russia, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Cambodia, North Korea, and Venezuela.

No matter how hard you try to paint it pretty, socialism and communism have done nothing but create poverty, hunger, ignorance, misery, and death.

 

[Rigby5]

There are no exceptions :
Democracy + Private Ownership = Capitalism
Democracy + Public Ownership = Socialism
Dictatorship + Private Ownership = Fascism
Dictatorship + Public Ownership = Communism

Not at all true.

Capitalism is purely an economic profit motive, which can best be obtained through dictatorship.
Socialism is an economic sharing system that requires democracy because it means allowing capitalism, but regulating it and providing public alternatives to avoid monopolies.
Fascism is dictatorship and private ownership, which is the political layer that supports economic capitalism the most.
Communism can be almost anything except a dictatorship. It is impossible to have communal anything without communal decision making.

 

[themirrorthief]

What an interesting blog article on American ideas about civil responsibility and the knee jerk reaction of Americans generally, and Conservatives specifically, to fear community welfare and immediately associate it with socialism or communism. It led to her asking “What are you so afraid of?”, and she received 5 specific groups of fears:

1. I’m scared of having to pay for other people’s laziness
2. I’m scared because I don’t trust my government or other people generally
3. I’m scared because socialism leads to authoritarianism
4. I’m scared because socialists and communists kill a lot of people
5. I’m not scared, socialism always fails

She has some good responses to these fears that I can’t do just to for a short attention span. Read the link if you want. I think these fears keep America from being a great and caring nation.

Why Are Americans and Conservatives So Afraid of Socialism?
I went a little bit viral on TikTok recently for voicing the unthinkable: I said that I like paying taxes. As you might imagine, the Americans and Conservatives in my comment section were shocked and appalled. The words communist and socialist were thrown around like insults, images of gulags and famine were invoked to prove some kind of vague and poorly-articulated point about freedom.

In contrast, the (predominantly western/northern) Europeans seemed to find my explanation pretty fair and even stopped to correct me on some of the finer points of Scottish, Scandinavian and German socialist democracy.

What shocked me, however, was not that so many Americans and Conservatives seemed to misunderstand fundamental aspects of civil life — like taxation — but that so many seemed so vehemently opposed to any suggestion that we should all contribute to the collective welfare of our countrymen.

Curiosity piqued, yesterday I made the mistake of asking Americans and Conservatives: “What is it about communism/socialism that scares you?” Here’s what they said.

the us is already by far the biggest socialized nation in world history us spend ten times more on social programs than any other nation

 

[Rigby5]

Wrong. increasing the supply of something reduces the price. Those jobs would go to native born Americans if it wasn't for immigrants.


What is the value to me of producing goods for immigrants?


All the increased production goes to immigrants. It doesn't benefit me one iota.


ROFL!

​

The Cost of Illegal Immigration to US Taxpayers | FAIR​

​

In 2017, the total cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels – was approximately $116 billion.​

They increase our taxes. See above.



You mean like during the Trump administration?

Wrong.
When you increase the number of workers, that increases demand for more goods by those new workers, so then there is more need for good, more need for workers to make those goods, so salaries increase.
The native born rise up to become managers of the new lower level immigrant jobs.

If increased production goes to immigrants, everyone benefits from that added production.
The producers are more profitable from economy of scale, they pay more taxes, etc.

Illegal immigration does not have to cost a cent, and clearly greatly improves the economy.
If people want to waste money on ICE, that is their own foolishness.
The US did much better before it has immigration control like before 1920 or so.

Immigrants pay more taxes, so that we can pay less.

 

[Rigby5]

Said it before, will say it again, this is the reason Americans and Conservatives are so afraid of Socialism.



View attachment 578391

Actually, the reason why the wealthy elite are afraid of socialism is because then they are not allowed to have the abusive monopolies they dream of having again.

 

[BackAgain]

Why Are Americans and Conservatives So Afraid of Socialism?​

The faux “question” falsely assumes a set of claims are true. They aren’t. Neither Americans in general nor Conservatives in Particular have any “fear” of socialism.

We understand it and therefore reject it. It’s a shitty idea and should be opposed.

 

[Rigby5]

Where as it succeeded? Communism moreso because they had to lock people in and keep them from leaving. Socialism because people left.

Nonsense.
Russia had to lock people in because it was not at all communism, but instead was a wealthy elite, stealing from everyone else.
That is pure capitalism, the profit motive.
All dictatorships are always the profit motive, capitalism.

 

[Rigby5]

@Rigby5

Good. Then you can add the body count from those early socialist regimes to the more than 150 million people murdered by the communist regimes in Russia, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Cambodia, North Korea, and Venezuela.

No matter how hard you try to paint it pretty, socialism and communism have done nothing but create poverty, hunger, ignorance, misery, and death.

All of those were profit motivated capitalist dictatorships, and had not a single attribute of socialism or communism.

 

[Rigby5]

Why Are Americans and Conservatives So Afraid of Socialism?​

The faux “question” falsely assumes a set of claims are true. They aren’t. Neither Americans in general nor Conservatives in Particular have any “fear” of socialism.

We understand it and therefore reject it. It’s a shitty idea and should be opposed.

Anyone who rejects socialism obviously does not at all understand it.
A prime example is health care.
The US has one of the worst health care systems in the world, murdering about 100,000 people a year out of medical malpractice, yet costing more than twice what health care costs in any other country.

Why is that?
Because we allowed health insurance companies to take over health care with a monopoly, where is you do not join their prepaid plan, you are locked out of all access.
And by prepaying to a third party, you lose all control over quality or cost.

 

[BackAgain]

Anyone who rejects socialism obviously does not at all understand it.
A prime example is health care.
The US has one of the worst health care systems in the world, murdering about 100,000 people a year out of medical malpractice, yet costing more than twice what health care costs in any other country.

Why is that?
Because we allowed health insurance companies to take over health care with a monopoly, where is you do not join their prepaid plan, you are locked out of all access.
And by prepaying to a third party, you lose all control over quality or cost.

Anyone who buys “socialism” obviously lives in a fantasy world.

 

[whitehall]

Noting remotely socialist or communist about the USSR.
With socialism or communism, the decision making and profit sharing has to be done democratically and equally.
The USSR was a dictatorship of the wealthy elite, just like any capitalist monarchy.

There are people who have done socialism, but they are very successful at it, like Scandanavian countries, primitive tribes, etc.

I rest my case

 

[JGalt]

Anyone who buys “socialism” obviously lives in a fantasy world.

Anyone who buys into "socialism" obviously lives in this country,and wouldn't think of moving to some socialist shithole country.

It's the same thing I hear, "But the only reason it ain't nebber woiked, is 'cause we ain't tried it here yet."

 

[The_Lyrical_Miracle]

What an interesting blog article on American ideas about civil responsibility and the knee jerk reaction of Americans generally, and Conservatives specifically, to fear community welfare and immediately associate it with socialism or communism. It led to her asking “What are you so afraid of?”, and she received 5 specific groups of fears:

1. I’m scared of having to pay for other people’s laziness
2. I’m scared because I don’t trust my government or other people generally
3. I’m scared because socialism leads to authoritarianism
4. I’m scared because socialists and communists kill a lot of people
5. I’m not scared, socialism always fails

She has some good responses to these fears that I can’t do just to for a short attention span. Read the link if you want. I think these fears keep America from being a great and caring nation.

Why Are Americans and Conservatives So Afraid of Socialism?
I went a little bit viral on TikTok recently for voicing the unthinkable: I said that I like paying taxes. As you might imagine, the Americans and Conservatives in my comment section were shocked and appalled. The words communist and socialist were thrown around like insults, images of gulags and famine were invoked to prove some kind of vague and poorly-articulated point about freedom.

In contrast, the (predominantly western/northern) Europeans seemed to find my explanation pretty fair and even stopped to correct me on some of the finer points of Scottish, Scandinavian and German socialist democracy.

What shocked me, however, was not that so many Americans and Conservatives seemed to misunderstand fundamental aspects of civil life — like taxation — but that so many seemed so vehemently opposed to any suggestion that we should all contribute to the collective welfare of our countrymen.

Curiosity piqued, yesterday I made the mistake of asking Americans and Conservatives: “What is it about communism/socialism that scares you?” Here’s what they said.

Because it has never worked.

It's like saying "I'll just try heroin"..

 

[Rigby5]

Anyone who buys “socialism” obviously lives in a fantasy world.

Socialism obviously works better because we create the service ourselves, and then have complete control over quality and costs.
Then there is no one skimming off most of the money as profit.
It all goes to provide the best possible service.

 

[Rigby5]

Anyone who buys into "socialism" obviously lives in this country,and wouldn't think of moving to some socialist shithole country.

It's the same thing I hear, "But the only reason it ain't nebber woiked, is 'cause we ain't tried it here yet."

So you think Scandinavian countries are worse than the US?
They don't think so.
They have much higher satisfaction ratings than we do.

 

[Rigby5]

Because it has never worked.

It's like saying "I'll just try heroin"..

Name a single family, tribe, or any small organization that is not communist?

 

[Winco]

I dont want the fruits of my labor stolen to be given to others that didnt earn it. Or to go to programs I dont want to be in.
I dont want a bunch of corrupt assholes controlling more of my life.
Basically, I just want you authoritarian shit stains to leave me the fuck alone. You know, the way it was SUPPOSED to be.

Your main bitch is about taxes.

TNHarley Basically, I just want you authoritarian shit stains to leave me the fuck alone. You know, the way it was SUPPOSED to be.

Is that why our Founding Fathers set up a Constitution to protect you.
Why do you hate the Constitution?
You can't have it both ways.