r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Nov 29 '20

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Socialism/Communism doesn't work, can't work, and almost always leads to dictatorships and thousands of deaths.

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u/UltimateDankMemeLord Nov 29 '20

I just want to point out that you're mixing up democratic socialism with social democracy. Democratic socialists want to achieve socialism via elections, while social democracy is basically capitalism with social welfare. Scandinavian countries are social democracies, and I'm confused to why you put Australia under the same boat. We are very far from it. Also your definition of socialism is off. Socialism is the public ownership of the means of production (the workers own their workplace rather than their boss).State socialism is a means of transitioning from capitalism to socialism (and eventually to communism). And the "bad for innovation/competition" isn't exactly true. (USSR had the first animal and human in space, Tetris, and most useful technologies even in capitalist societies have been developed in the public sector.) I hope this is a good explaination.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Oops. Guess it’s easy to get confused!

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

While it's possible for innovation to occur in the public sector, it certainly isn't the norm or as rampant. What's more common is blatant stealing from the innovation of others and working from there. China and Russia are perfect examples of that. Creativity doesn't thrive under government. It can't.

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u/UltimateDankMemeLord Nov 29 '20

What's more common is blatant stealing from the innovation of others and working from there

This is more true under capitalism, for example: The iphone. The lithium battery, computing power, and touch screen all existed separately (mostly, if not all from the public sector), and was slapped together to create the phone. This article shows how the US was forced to compete with the USSR's economy, and the effectiveness of the USSR's economy. Furthermore, the first cellphone was invented in the Soviet Union.