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They (the gov't authority) will reach into your pocket, remove a Euro and give it to Freddy, who doesn't have one.

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne
by maracatu on Tue Jul 17th, 2007 at 05:37:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
You're talking about Income. I'm talking about the Means Of Production, although I guess I should have said so...

Redistribution of Income doesn't get us very far, does it?

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Tue Jul 17th, 2007 at 05:50:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I think Europeans cast the threshold at a different point than do North Americans, no?  I mean, "socialism" in America is understood to encompass public ownership of the means of production (even if partial) while excluding the redistributive nature of taxation, while Europeans would include both, no?  Furthermore, I don't think Americans would consider Social Security as "socialist".  Anyway, my overall impression is that Americans have this aversion to "socialism" that the Europeans don't have.

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne
by maracatu on Tue Jul 17th, 2007 at 06:11:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I think that perhaps the defining feature of the North American / "Western" model is the attitude to individual "ownership" and private property rights.

More than any other aspect. And this appears to me to be entirely consistent with what you say.

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Tue Jul 17th, 2007 at 06:35:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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