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Hedges writes: "The streets of Montreal are clogged nightly with as many as 100,000 protesters banging pots and pans and demanding that the old systems of power be replaced."

Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges. (photo: Truthdig)

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-59 # MidwestTom 2012-06-04 13:45

How does Socialism change a governments need for additional funds to keep ot running. Especially when the efficiency of labor takes the inevitable drop once personal economic reward is gone? The students have been sold a lie. Do not blame capitalism, blame governments who have acted as if they had an infinite supply of money to give citizens benefits. I do not know Canada's numbers, but here in the U.S. we are borrowing $0.41 of every dollar the government spends.

+50 # Andrew Hansen 2012-06-04 14:34

The fallacy in your reasoning is that you can't separate the government from the capitalists. The government is run by those corporations who've won the political battle, in short we have a plutocracy (or oligarchy, depending on your viewpoint).

The lie being sold isn't coming from the government, it is from the financial and educational institutions of both "not-for-profit " and "for-profit" flavors that benefit monetarily from debt, endowments (Wall St), and highway robbery respectively.

+14 # jwb110 2012-06-04 15:37

Quoting MidwestTom:

How does Socialism change a governments need for additional funds to keep ot running. Especially when the efficiency of labor takes the inevitable drop once personal economic reward is gone? The students have been sold a lie. Do not blame capitalism, blame governments who have acted as if they had an infinite supply of money to give citizens benefits. I do not know Canada's numbers, but here in the U.S. we are borrowing $0.41 of every dollar the government spends.

Socialism does not mean returning taxes to the people who actually paid them in order to give others tax breaks. The 1% will never have a problem sending their kids thru college.

+10 # bluepilgrim 2012-06-04 16:20

"labor takes the inevitable drop once personal economic reward is gone"

Why would say that personal economic reward with socialism? Don't you know what socialism is? That's not socialism. You should look this stuff up and learn about it before you comment on it.

+1 # John Locke 2012-06-05 06:32

When prices rise that affects everyone but the top 1%, they benefit from inflation. Most of the higher prices such as with the stock exchanges and futures are a controlled inflation, put in place by wall street to churn money from the little guy and transfer the wealth to them selves. The system is gamed against us. When a stock is weak and is being short sold, to block the little guy and keep him invested Wall Streety has a stop trading policy to allow the stock to cool off. The Stock Market is a sham, today only a fool or an insider should be trading at all.

The problem with capitalism is that it is coersive and the capitalists need to take control of the money and then the government to block regulation That is why a Democracy can never last. for that reason Capitalists should be the government itself.

+42 # noitall 2012-06-04 14:21

Tom, what do you call the bailout? That is the People's money going to bail out the banks for their gambling that went bad. Is that socialism? more so than what you're calling "socialism". When the People get "socialism", they pay taxes on it, spend it immediately benefiting business and stimulating the economy. The banks sat on the money and drew interest and made no loans. How did that help? It didn't, but the oversight didn't change they demanded no regulation through their owned politicians and they continue on as usual and brilliant minds like yours begrudge dollars to those whose jobs have been exported. You teabaggers have been sold lies that don't even make sense. Empty your head of hatred, give it a shake, and give it another thought. "Personal economic reward"? you mean more job assignments and no additional pay? cutbacks in staff and increased output? three minimum wage jobs? That makes the workforce so greatful to be working for the man. You're reading straight from the teabagger book of talking points.

+45 # tedrey 2012-06-04 14:30

It would seem that unbridled capitalism, both through unemployment, and by stripping by far the greatest part of the wealth from the lower and middle classes for the benefit of the upper, has done more to destroy "personal economic reward" than socialism could imagine. In fact, American capitalism is now right up there with its oligarchical brother, communism, for dstroying the incentives of those who otherwise could produce reasonable wealth for all.

+16 # bluepilgrim 2012-06-04 16:27

Communism is not oligarchic government -- you are thinking of USSR style state capitalism.

It's time for people to learn what these words and ideas mean.

OK -- if I distorted capitalism the way some people distort socialism and communism, I would say:
The problem with capitalism is all the workers are owned, can't escape from the plantations, and never get paid, and are sent off to die in wars.
That's actually a truer description of capitalism than what is being said of socialism and communism because that's often the practical result of it.

+28 # Vardoz 2012-06-04 15:46

What we have is Socialism for the rich, corporations and the Elite at our expense. People pay into a system and what they pay should come back to them in the form of healthcare, services and education. The lions share should not go to wars and corporate profits. There is a global push for global austerity designed to crush vast populations and their ability to prosper. They do not care if we die or starve in the gutter. Canada is oil rich and mineral rich yet the old BS trickle down rap has proved a huge coup inorder to make the rich richer at our expense. The people are demanding regulations that favor them, policies that favor them not the top, the military and the corporations. They cannot let those in power rob societies of their freedoms, rights and ability to porsperty as they enrich themselves. The people must fight for justice because all of our lives arre at stake. We have seen ow sadistic dictators operate over and over and it is only a big rebellion that can restore equality. The Earth is on the midst of environmental collapse, the fate of the Earth is in the hands of insane polluters that are taking us towards extinction. If we don't fight now then when?

+4 # cordleycoit 2012-06-04 18:42

I am not sure replicating anything is a good idea. I do think that trying out original ideas is the way to learn.I find the drifyt towards an SDS stand to be a step backward. Working with the victems of the fraud and confiscation of wealth by the hedge funds to one way of helping and learning where the weak points are so we can leverage from solutions to the problem rather than demonstrating outside empty government buildings on a Sunday.
Why do the crooks get to keep the money and take our liberty? Who orders brutality and why? Why Coke or Pepsi elections what about the real issues. How do we get media to ask real questions. Look at the whores Beck and the Rush look at them set the debate at a name calling useless waste of time non-issues. They are tripping over their clown suits they should be laughed off stage.

+6 # Majikman 2012-06-04 19:40

I just made a red square to pin on my jacket. Viva la revolution!

+2 # KittatinyHawk 2012-06-04 20:34

Perhaps ours should be the same red square with a white circle ending with a Blue Star.....

+3 # RLF 2012-06-05 03:24

If things can't get fixed using the government then the government is no longer useful...and they should remember that.

+1 # Listner 2012-06-05 09:18

Lets not run around encouraging people to revolt when we don't offer an alternative. We all recognize the failings of the current system and the people leading it. To advocate for change is one thing but to offer no solution is advocating anarchy which in a country already brimming with fear,will end badly.
There are huge differences between Romney and Obama, despite their names appearing side by side.
It's taken all these years for this mess to evolve, and it will take many years to resolve but throwing out common sense is not a good beginning. If Obama wins, we can start with overturning(dra ft legislation ammending the constitution) citizens united. A universal sit in, march in, be in, write in until they get it. It's how you start a revolution in a democracy.Advoc ating anarchy is both foolish and counterproducti ve.

+2 # bluepilgrim 2012-06-05 15:42

First, this is not a democracy, as should be obvious. Second, anarchy, specifically, as examples, socal anarchism or anarcho syndacalism is not offering no alternative or solution (even if one does not like those offerings).

There are various other alternatives too -- the problem is not so much no alternatives offered, but rather too many with none of them fully developed and agreed upon -- a result of divide and conquer, general ignorance of political science, and lack of organization among the people -- but those are the very same things which will result in the failure of efforts to draft legislation and work within the current capitalist/fasc ist system.

"Common sense" is too often just another word for ignorance and lack of critical thinking.

+1 # bluepilgrim 2012-06-05 17:05

Some good reading from UK socialists at
http://www.swp.org.uk/about-us
Writings by Colin Barker

These provide material for thought for people here in the US in the struggle against fascism. Did you know that this is what socialism was really about?

A few good articles, among many:

Applies to Congress too:
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=131
Can't we win change through parliament?

What is a good balance between centralism and distributed, anarchal leadership? And why doesn't centralism mean tyranny? Here are some ideas to ponder:
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=305
Democracy without centralism will fail

How globalisation requires world wide transformation:

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=570
Can there be socialism in one country?

and

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=830
Against imperialism

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