Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with socialism

Do communists turn conservative?

aqsakal — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:43:19 -0800

"Anyone who was not a communist|socialist at 20 has missed half the point of life, and anyone who is still a communist|socialist at 40 has missed the other half." Who famously said this (or something very similar...)? I've heard variations on this wording, but the basic concept was that your role in society is to be a revolutionary firebrand (or at least to try to get things changed|moving|cleaned up) when you're young, and when you're maturer you should have realised it's worth while trying to conserve what's worth keeping.

I believe it was put in this pithy format by some famous personality in the early C20th (like maybe Bertrand Russell or GB Shaw).

Has anybody got the original quote?

Water Polo movie/scene about Communism?!

mnop — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:23:10 -0800

What movie did I watch with Water Polo as an allegory for Socialism/Communism? The lovely local WETA station shows foreign films, and I caught the very end of one that had me captivated... it was a climactic scene where a water polo player was contemplating where to aim his penalty shot. It had subtitles that read things like "I should go right..." and "The LEFT! The left is better!" It seemed like some allegory for his decision process about accepting socialism/communism, but I'm not sure. I'd definitely like to give the film a proper viewing, and figure out what it was all about!

I saw this many many years ago, so I don't recall any more details. I believe it might have been B&W though.

Any ideas?

Explain Marx's conception of economic crises.

matkline — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:54:52 -0800

I'm trying to wrap my head around Marx's conception of Capitalist economic crises. He claims that these crises emerge every 7 years, and are caused by "the epidemic of overproduction." Is there any historical justification for this? (Especially in the modern era?)

Socialism--what gives?

emhutchinson — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 13:07:09 -0800

The "S" word. What is it about Socialism that sends the rats running (not bailing) from the ship? Please advise.

So WHAT is wrong with socialism again?

arniec — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:08:06 -0800

PoliSci filter: I was hoping that someone can rationally, without rhetoric, explain to me why the word "Socialism" creates fear and extreme responses in far right-wing people. Soem very detailed specifics within. With all the recent economic turmoil and the elections, I'm seeing the term "socialism" a lot. With the US just today somewhat "nationalizing" some banks the term has been used. Also with Obama's proposed universal health care the term is used again. Also, I recently read that at a McCain speech an attendee said his "biggest fear" was to raise his son in a country raised by "socialists". This really made me want to say "Wha???"

First, as I understand it (and it's been a looong time since my Policital Science classes in college) the US is a Capitilistic Republic. That being two different things. Capitalistic is one thing, the Republic being another (even though we're commonly referred to as a "democracy", as I understand it we are truly a republic).

Continuing that, if we WERE to become socialist then we would STILL be a republic, people would still have freedoms and people would still vote, correct? It's not that Socialism = Communism, is it? Because can't one have a Socialist Republic country and a Capitalist Communist country?

Next, given that Socialism in theory would equalize all people financially in some or all respects depending on how far it went, why are some of the most radical opponants of it lower income blue collar people? Wouldn't those be the ones benefitting most from such a change?

Finally, I look at Canada, which I know has socialized health care. The people in Canada seem happy. I know several Canadians on a very personal level and they do not seem oppressed nor limited. They are not smuggling themselves over the border to escape socialized health care, in fact the benefit of their cheaper nature of pharmacuticals is constantly cropping up in my e-mail. So again, why the fear?

Even if we DID socialize health care (which I don't believe is actually Obama's plan but merely a right-wing framing and demonizing of Obama's plan), that would not make us "socialists" would it? To have a single natioanlized health care institution as Canada does? IS Canada socialist?

Can someone help me clear this up??

Thank you!

Mefites of the World, Unite!

jak68 — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:24:52 -0800

Marxism Filter: Sure, Socialism was the phase before Communism (state monopoly of the means of production right before the proles took over the same). But where in Marx's writings does he talk about this? (looking for the specific books or essays, and if you're an expert, chapter names ;)

Was it in Capital? Was it really Marx who talks about this (this relationship between the Socialist phase and the Communist phase) or was it really Engels or others who came after?

I havent gotten to Capital yet, but in the anthologies I've read so far (Tucker etc) I havent yet come across Marx talking explicitly about the stage theories and transitions and what differentiates the different stages exactly. WHere is all that in his writing? Or was it developed by others later?

Do I have to give dibs to a higher priced Cubs parking space seller?

AgentRocket — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:25:48 -0800

Wrigleyville residents/capitalist theorists: am I obliged to honor the "dibs" system while selling my parking spot during Cubs night games? We own a place about 2 blocks from Wrigley Field, and for night games we often park on the street and then sell our empty private parking spot. We generally don't plan ahead for this; we just do it if we are at home anyway. I like the concept of it, and the money pays for take out that night.

The going rate for parking so close to the ballpark is typically $30, but because I'm more interested in quick money than maximum profit I charge $20. This usually guarantees me a fast sell. If I had to charge $30 and compete for a buyer, I'd probably sell half as often because it would not be worth it for me from a time standpoint.

So last night, I went out to the entrance to the alley and there were already two other parking sellers there waving at cars. Each of them had at least two spots to sell, and each was charging $30. One of the sellers told me in pretty pointed terms that (1) I should be charging $30 like the rest of them, and (2) there is a well-established "dibs" system that calls for later arriving sellers to stand down until the earlier ones have sold their spots. She then tried to put me in my place by saying that I must be new to the area. The other seller there agreed that the dibs system is known and honored around the neighborhood.

I explained that I've lived there five years, that I price my parking to sell quickly, and that she is free to charge whatever she wants but I shouldn't have to wait for her to get a higher price while other cars may be passing her by looking for a deal like mine. Nonetheless, to be nice I let her and the other woman have a car each, then started selling mine. After I got my buyer, I am told by a neighbor that these two other sellers were bad-mouthing me for not allowing them to sell out their spots first and for undercutting their price. Some thanks.

To me, market economics rules here. If I want to sell for a cheaper price, I can do that and I get the benefit of the first car that comes. If they want the first car they can match my price or go lower. To them, we should all be in it together, and price competition will just minimize profit for everyone. So which rules here? Am I being a bad neighbor for not following the unwritten rule, or should I be free to undercut my neighbor's price and jump the queue?

(I will note that both sellers totally tried to poach my customer even after I allowed them their turn first, and that there are literally sellers at every corner so there's no way to do a dibs system except at the most local level.)

(I will also note that while I have in the past heard half-hearted complaints from other sellers that I was undercutting them, they seemed to accept that this was part of the game. After all, we are all out there to soak suburbanites in the first place.)

The problem with Google is similar: too many results.

anotherpanacea — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:29:38 -0800

Did Oscar Wilde actually say, "The problem with socialism is that it takes up too many evenings"? If so, where or when? If not, who said it? I've done some googling, and it seems the line has been variously attributed to either Wilde, George Orwell, or George Bernard Shaw. There were all socialists of some stripe, so that's no help. An Amazon search of the complete works of Wilde turns up no results, and all the googling I've been able to do calls it a 'famous quip' or a 'well-known witticism,' rather than giving a citation. Google Scholar turns up this, which you'll notice promises an endnote giving the citation, but I can't get hold of the book. So I'm stuck. Any ideas!

What book predicted socialist sectarianism?

stammer — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:36:55 -0800

What book argued that social democratic parties (like the British Labour Party) are inherently inclined to split into factions? I think the book was British, and I think it was written roughly mid-20th-century, and I think it argued that sectarian infighting was an inevitable outcome of the first principles of social democratic politics.

Intellectual property is theft!

adamrice — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:11:52 -0800

Legal status of creative works from the USSR. Intellectual property and the public domain are relatively big issues among this crowd, and this got me wondering how creative works from the USSR (or other Warsaw Pact states) are handled today. This seems like a triple-whammy problem, because A) many of those works were (I'm guessing) the property of the state or the people (in the USA, this means "public domain"); B) the legal framework under which those works were created no longer exists; and C) what was one country is now many, each of which has a different legal framework.

Recommend literature explaining the socialist revolution that almost was in 1930's America

black8 — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 01:34:04 -0800

Someone once mentioned that the US was on the verge of a socialist revolution in the 30's. Can anyone recommend some literature on this subject? Thanks...