this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
197 points (85.8% liked)

Asklemmy

43984 readers
711 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

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
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 200 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (14 children)

First, please define what you mean by socialism. That word encompasses a lot of very different forms of government, even when it's used "correctly", and it's typically not.

The Nazis called themselves socialists, and I'm not moving there.

When many people say socialism, what they mean is capitalist democracy with a strong social safety net, strong government regulation, and highly progressive taxation.

Edit: for the love of god, please do a little bit of reading about socialism before reinforcing my point that this word is used terribly. We won't take the wiki as ultimate truth, but please read. Be better. Read and think first. Comment later.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 1 year ago (8 children)

When many people say socialism, what they mean is capitalist democracy with a strong social safety net, strong government regulation, and highly progressive taxation.

Let's go with that definition since that's what most people think of as socialist.

[–] [email protected] 74 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The question doesn't need to be hypothetical. I am moving to a country exactly like that. From the US.

Lack of modern health care coverage alone is enough to justify it. A bonus is that the quality of life across the board is significantly higher.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Where at and how’d you pull that off? Inquiring minds want to know

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

I read that Denmark releases a list every six months of the skills and degrees that are allowed to immigrate, or get priority or something like that. From looking at the last one I assume they value education, the liberal arts and humanities a lot more than the US.

It ends up being a catch 22. When you want to leave the US because of a lack of upward mobility, social services, jobs in your field, and you can't save because of healthcare, rent, and debt, then how can you have enough money to move to another state, much less another country?

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

That is objectively not socialism (any definition of socialism that begins by defining it as a form of capitalism is fundamentally confused)

That said, I’d agree that it is a widespread misunderstanding today. And what people mean when they say socialism is usually actually social democracy (which despite sounding like the word socialism is a mixed system based on capitalism)

Using that misunderstanding as the definition I would definitely live in many of those countries. Many have some of the highest qualities of life in the world, low rates of poverty, universal access to good healthcare and education, and good social mobility.

E.g Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Germany

load more comments (7 replies)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Provided there is an appropriate amount of technocracy (decisions made by experts rather than politicians), it'd be hard for me to think of a better form of government.

Anyway, this was largely the US until Regan. Social safety net could've been stronger, but that had to evolve. Same as in Europe.

Except , racism. Addressing that is not a part of any definition of socialism that I'm aware of. Equality is certainly going along with the spirit of this definition of "socialism"

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (13 replies)
[–] [email protected] 110 points 1 year ago (2 children)

"If you hate the Death Star so much, why don't you go live on Alderaan?"

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

Death Star blows up Alderaan.

"Why would socialism do this?!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
[–] [email protected] 79 points 1 year ago (13 children)

The notion that free* healthcare, free* education, subsidised transport, government provided unemployment supports etc is even labelled β€œsocialist” strikes me as particularly American.

load more comments (13 replies)
[–] [email protected] 63 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (66 children)

There are no countries with socialist policies.

Can you name a country that has workplace democracy? No? Then there isn't a socialist country out there.

Would I move to the social democracies of the world? I love norway and whatnot politically (as much as a communist can love the state of any country)... but I love having warm air and nature I can enjoy without a coat much more.

load more comments (66 replies)
[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

Social Security is a socialist policy.

As is Medicaid and Medicare.

As is SNAP and EBT.

I live in a country with socialist policies already called The United States of America.

But we could use lots more. So I'll stay here, and I'll try to make it that way.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 year ago

I moved to Germany from the US this year. There is subsidized public transit, universal healthcare, minimum vacation time, a heavy union culture, strong renter-favored laws (although capitalist for profit housing is still an ever growing plague).

As others pointed out, the terminology isn't a great tool for debate without an agree upon definition. But yes, I would move to a country that cared about people over profits.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

If you mean the modern idea of socialism, like the nordic nations, then absolutely get me the fuck out of rugged-individuals-at-eachother's-throats-land please, these people are fucking nuts in the not fun way.

https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/the-nordic-exceptionalism-what-explains-why-the-nordic-countries-are-constantly-among-the-happiest-in-the-world/

If you're talking about one of the formerly socialist nations that the United States intentionally took covert action against and destabilized to keep the regional markets open for our capitalists to sociopathically exploit like Venezuela, then no thanks, I've already seen enough of that trademark American for private profit cruelty played out domestically in our innumerable tent cities in every American population center.

https://time.com/5512005/venezuela-us-intervention-history-latin-america/

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago

The question here is "What Counts as Socialism?" Because for most Americans, a functioning society already counts as Socialism. No need to be afraid that your kid gets shot in school? Non-ruinous healthcare for everyone? No need to work at 80 just to survive and pay your rent? Workers rights?

For many Americans this is Socialism or Communism (the same people could not be pressed to tell the difference between those terms).

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (4 children)

These kinds of questions, aimed at any ideology, will result in a "no" for the average person unless they can take their friends and families with them.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (3 children)

No, I want to fix my own country.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (3 children)

100% if that country is in northern Europe. Hard nope if it's in South America.

I'd buy a ticket tomorrow if there was a job for me in a Scandinavian country and I didn't need to speak the language immediately.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

I agree with a blend of socialism and capitalism, and in the right places. The US has healthcare in the same category as PlayStations. I don't think this makes sense.

We should believe in healthy, educated Americans as a common ground. And if you want to save up for a PlayStation, go for it.

Ironically, since the government hasn't fully stepped in to provide healthcare, coverage has moved to the private sector. So you still have socialist healthcare, just with shitty insurance companies trying to find ways to make billions of dollars from sick individuals.

I think we can do better. Do you?

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Social(ist) policies are extremely removed from socialism. The countries people list here, aka Canada, Danmark and Ireland among others are extremely capitalist still. This thread is therefore useless.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (7 children)

As a German, I think I would. Given that it is good and just.

load more comments (7 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Why would I move somewhere that America is planning a military coup?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Probably. If I could get a job with the same standard of living, the moving costs were paid (do not overlook this, it's insane), the paperwork was trivial or non existant, sure. Bonus perks would be language classes and walkability/bikeability.

It depends on what "socialism" entails, but US capitalism has failed me and mine, has caused so much suffering in my friends and family.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

I’m an American who has lived in the UK and Australia. Socialised medical systems are fucking amazing.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

Fuck, if someone could pay the costs to relocate me to Norway and set me up with roughly the same job and equivalent house there, I would move in a heartbeat.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Probably not. This is my home and I want to make socialism here.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Yes. Looking hard at the Nordic countries.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

That really depends. Are we talking immigrate to somewhere with functional socialist policies, or to a psuedo dictatorship with what looks a whole lot like strong man fascism except they promote a few (most often failed or failing) socialist programs? Because I have no interest in moving to a failed state like Venezuela. I'm not going to slaughter and eat a bunny.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Do they have legal marijuana?

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We have socialist policies here in the US. We just have fewer of them than other countries.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next β€Ί