[OS:N:] Re: When CNN says it...

[Daniel Carrera <dcarrera math umd edu>]

> >May be, but if you ever come across a communist democracy, let me know.
>
> I nominate Chile and republican Spain. Seems to me, though, that communist
> democracies find it difficult to survive in the same world as capitalist
> democracies (and here, in both cases, we're really using "democracy" to mean
> "consenting oligarchy").

A consenting oligarchy is definitelly a democracy.

A communist democracy has trouble competting.  That's why they are rare.
This is not because communism isn't compatible with democracy.  It's
because communism isn't as efficient as capitalism.

I hate it when people refer to communism as a political system, and as the
opposite of democracy.  Communism is an economic system and it's the
opposite of capitalism.

One thing I wanted to point out is that, today, no country is truly, 100%
capitalist, or 100% communist.

For instance, in the USA, roads are owned by the public.  The government
owns enterprises, etc.  The USA is one of the more capitalist countries
around, but there is quite a bit of collectively-owned property and
enterprise.

People usually employ the more acceptable term "socialism".

On the other extreme, China is communist, but there is some level of
capitalism going on in China.

Canada, for instance, is more socialist than most capitalist countries
(e.g. there is the public health care) and I like that.  It makes Canada
less competitive, but I, for one, am willing to pay that price.


Daniel Carrera                       ___                         ___
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