You wrote: "So what your saying is...Its NOT really a communist or socialist system...it just is for the masses, in reality a bunch of fat cats are living off the people. Doesn't sound like much of a utopia to me."
HAHAHAHAHA!!! You think statist systems breed anything else? That's hilarious!
Anyway, China has only a few rich people, while America has many. China's stated principles are yours, America's are not.
Stop kidding yourself. China is everything you desire in a nation state; much more than America.
After reading many posts, it's quite obvious that a large portion of the Slashdot readership is decidedly left in their political beliefs. In fact, I haven't seen such anti-American sentiment since I last visited Berkeley.
Many of you are proclaimed communists and socialists who continually complain about the so-called shortcomings of capitalism and individual freedom in America.
"America's bad." "Founding Fathers were all slaveowners and nothin's changed." "Capitalism makes everybody poor except for corporations." But then I realized that there's an elegant solution to your problems: China!
I have to admit that I'm somewhat envious. If there existed today a fully capitalist country anywhere in the world I would relocate there without hesitation. But alas, there are none, and here I remain.
But you, the socialists and communists who comprise the bulk of the Slashdot community, your Nirvana exists! I have read your posts and I hear you. I understand your desires and motivations. Utopia is within your reach, and it is: China!
Don't take my word for it. Read it straight from the PRC Constitution itself:
Preamble
After founding the People's Republic, China gradually achieved its transition from a New-Democratic to a socialist society. The socialist transformation of the private ownership of the means of production has been completed, the system of exploitation of man by man abolished and the socialist system established.
socialism, yeah!
Article 1
The People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants.
The socialist system is the basic system of the People's Republic of China. Disruption of the socialist state by any organization or individual is prohibited.
wow!
Article 2
All power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people.
the people, not the corporations!
Article 6
The basis of the socialist economic system of the People's Republic of China is socialist public ownership of the means of production, namely, ownership by the whole people and collective ownership by the working people.
oh my God yeah!
You see, it's there, waiting for you. Think about it. No more posting messages about all the rich people who make you feel bad 'cause they own all that stuff. In China, nobody's rich! (Except for the bureaucrats, but no country's perfect.)
So to you, my Red Readers of Slashdot, I present my July 4th gift: China.
You wrote: "It depends. If I was the CEO of Nike and you trashed my home while I was away, perhaps I shouldn't have incited you by employing 12 year olds in Indonesia for 50 cents a day."
"Incited you?" Your choice of words rests my case.
You wrote: "The flip side of this is that the CEO gets his home fixed by the insurance and you go to jail for five years. Civil disobedience means you have to be willing to pay the consenquences, and that is what separates an act of civil disobedience from an act of violence."
So if I murder you and am willing to pay the consequences, then that's civil disobedience. But if I'm not, then that's violence. Um, ok.
"When big corporations such as McDonalds trash the environment, acts that will force climate changes in the next 50 years, what do you call that?"
I call that your fantasy world, unsupported by any scientific facts. Even if it were, you are still not justified in blowing up restaurants.
"Its mass destruction of our common property at the hands of the corporations."
This is rhetoric and sensationalism. Marx would have drooled over the thought of having you as a lackey.
As a socialist, you are without question in direct opposition of the principles on which America was founded. Those principles being, in essence, that individuals should be able to live their lives free from government coercion. Socialism and all other forms of statism hold as core the antithesis of that principle: that government, whose actions are backed by the threat of the use of physical force, will dictate how the citizens shall live their lives (for the purpose of fairness, equality, humanity, etc., etc.)
Of course, America is not what it once was. Today it is, at best, a mixed economy heading toward a socialist state. What I'm saying is that you, and all other socialists, are not and cannot be regarded as American patriots in the revolutionary sense. It's simply silly to think otherwise. Socialism and freedom are not compatible.
I'm not arguing against socialism per se in this post, but only against your assertion that you somehow embody America's founding principals. You don't. The Founding Fathers would have hated you.
Furthermore, I don't understand why you find it necessary to ally with them. They stood for minimal government; you advocate a powerful, redistributive state. They didn't espouse a government which provided "the basic needs of life." You do.
If you had the confidence to stand on your claimed principles, you would argue that the values on which America was founded were absolutely wrong, that the Patriots were misguided and that socialism, rather than capitalism, is a superior politico-economic system and the one best suited for America.
But such honesty, I'm afraid, demands too much of you, "patriot."
By your definition, if I took issue with your post and destroyed your entire home while you were vacationing at the Cannes, that would constitute a "noble act" since I didn't "directly hurt you."
A violation of property rights is an act of violence and is almost never morally acceptable. Perhaps you'll learn that in Philosophy 102.
Mr Katz, The violation of property rights through acts of violence is not a long forgotten American ideal. To paint yourself as an American patriot is truly laughable, for indeed you are the opposite: a communist/socialist/statist. I sincerely hope that someone embodying your values takes issue with your business. We'll see how fast you run to the defense of the "patriot" who puts a bullet in your chest or razes slashdot to the ground.
Keep in mind that NPR is largely funded by tax dollars; i.e., money that is forcibly extracted from the citizenry.
This necessarily separates it from (what Katz calls) open and closed media companies, which must actually earn their readership by offering a valuable product or service to those free to use or reject it.
Slashdot Mirror
You wrote: "The only problem I see with your essay is your basic assumption: all readers of /. are 'Red.'"
But I didn't say "all" readers. You said that.
And if you're thinking about voting for Harry Browne, China is definitely not for you!
You wrote: "So what your saying is...Its NOT really a communist or socialist system...it just is for the masses, in reality a bunch of fat cats are living off the people. Doesn't sound like much of a utopia to me."
HAHAHAHAHA!!! You think statist systems breed anything else? That's hilarious!
Anyway, China has only a few rich people, while America has many. China's stated principles are yours, America's are not.
Stop kidding yourself. China is everything you desire in a nation state; much more than America.
LEAVE
Many of you are proclaimed communists and socialists who continually complain about the so-called shortcomings of capitalism and individual freedom in America.
"America's bad." "Founding Fathers were all slaveowners and nothin's changed." "Capitalism makes everybody poor except for corporations." But then I realized that there's an elegant solution to your problems: China!
I have to admit that I'm somewhat envious. If there existed today a fully capitalist country anywhere in the world I would relocate there without hesitation. But alas, there are none, and here I remain.
But you, the socialists and communists who comprise the bulk of the Slashdot community, your Nirvana exists! I have read your posts and I hear you. I understand your desires and motivations. Utopia is within your reach, and it is: China!
Don't take my word for it. Read it straight from the PRC Constitution itself:
Preamble
After founding the People's Republic, China gradually achieved its transition from a New-Democratic to a socialist society. The socialist transformation of the private ownership of the means of production has been completed, the system of exploitation of man by man abolished and the socialist system established.
socialism, yeah!
Article 1
The People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants.
The socialist system is the basic system of the People's Republic of China. Disruption of the socialist state by any organization or individual is prohibited.
wow!
Article 2
All power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people.
the people, not the corporations!
Article 6
The basis of the socialist economic system of the People's Republic of China is socialist public ownership of the means of production, namely, ownership by the whole people and collective ownership by the working people.
oh my God yeah!
You see, it's there, waiting for you. Think about it. No more posting messages about all the rich people who make you feel bad 'cause they own all that stuff. In China, nobody's rich! (Except for the bureaucrats, but no country's perfect.)
So to you, my Red Readers of Slashdot, I present my July 4th gift: China.
And in return, my only request is: PLEASE LEAVE
"No, actually no one would ever learn that in a contemporary philosophy class."
You're right. Thanks for the post.
You wrote: "It depends. If I was the CEO of Nike and you trashed my home while I was away, perhaps I shouldn't have incited you by employing 12 year olds in Indonesia for 50 cents a day."
"Incited you?" Your choice of words rests my case.
You wrote: "The flip side of this is that the CEO gets his home fixed by the insurance and you go to jail for five years. Civil disobedience means you have to be willing to pay the consenquences, and that is what separates an act of civil disobedience from an act of violence."
So if I murder you and am willing to pay the consequences, then that's civil disobedience. But if I'm not, then that's violence. Um, ok.
"When big corporations such as McDonalds trash the environment, acts that will force climate changes in the next 50 years, what do you call that?"
I call that your fantasy world, unsupported by any scientific facts. Even if it were, you are still not justified in blowing up restaurants.
"Its mass destruction of our common property at the hands of the corporations."
This is rhetoric and sensationalism. Marx would have drooled over the thought of having you as a lackey.
As a socialist, you are without question in direct opposition of the principles on which America was founded. Those principles being, in essence, that individuals should be able to live their lives free from government coercion. Socialism and all other forms of statism hold as core the antithesis of that principle: that government, whose actions are backed by the threat of the use of physical force, will dictate how the citizens shall live their lives (for the purpose of fairness, equality, humanity, etc., etc.)
Of course, America is not what it once was. Today it is, at best, a mixed economy heading toward a socialist state. What I'm saying is that you, and all other socialists, are not and cannot be regarded as American patriots in the revolutionary sense. It's simply silly to think otherwise. Socialism and freedom are not compatible.
I'm not arguing against socialism per se in this post, but only against your assertion that you somehow embody America's founding principals. You don't. The Founding Fathers would have hated you.
Furthermore, I don't understand why you find it necessary to ally with them. They stood for minimal government; you advocate a powerful, redistributive state. They didn't espouse a government which provided "the basic needs of life." You do.
If you had the confidence to stand on your claimed principles, you would argue that the values on which America was founded were absolutely wrong, that the Patriots were misguided and that socialism, rather than capitalism, is a superior politico-economic system and the one best suited for America.
But such honesty, I'm afraid, demands too much of you, "patriot."
No, there isn't. And the flag Mr. Katz is waving is maroon and gold with hammer and sickel.
You are an incredible doofus.
By your definition, if I took issue with your post and destroyed your entire home while you were vacationing at the Cannes, that would constitute a "noble act" since I didn't "directly hurt you."
A violation of property rights is an act of violence and is almost never morally acceptable. Perhaps you'll learn that in Philosophy 102.
Mr Katz, The violation of property rights through acts of violence is not a long forgotten American ideal. To paint yourself as an American patriot is truly laughable, for indeed you are the opposite: a communist/socialist/statist. I sincerely hope that someone embodying your values takes issue with your business. We'll see how fast you run to the defense of the "patriot" who puts a bullet in your chest or razes slashdot to the ground.
Keep in mind that NPR is largely funded by tax dollars; i.e., money that is forcibly extracted from the citizenry.
This necessarily separates it from (what Katz calls) open and closed media companies, which must actually earn their readership by offering a valuable product or service to those free to use or reject it.