When I read some comments on certain threads of Newsvine like HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! COULD THIS BE OUR LAST?  Seeded by Cornhusker4Palin, there is one in particular stuck in my mind written by a Newsviner who calls himself Redneck who wrote:

“I personally think that Obamacare is tantamount to socialism it makes me wonder if we are going to wind up like Switzerland complete with euthanasia”.

That to me signifies “enough is enough” it is evident that many Americans do not know what Socialism is nor what it means. I think it is about time they learnt, if for no other reason at least to understand that even the most socially conscious of American Democrats is light years away from being a Socialist. They confuse Social Capitalism with Socialism which is like saying that the Dalai Lama is a closet Protestant. Of course Social Capitalism is at odds with the “Robber Baron” capitalism of the Republicans, but in no way can it be compared to Socialisms in the true sense of the word. And let’s see why:

CAPITALISM:

 An economic principle of “Laissez-faire” (which means to "let do) opposed to any government excessive effort to help poor workers and with little or no consideration for general welfare of the workforce or the population in general. Capitalism in general bases its core doctrines on competition, self-determination, allowing for creativity, individual profit, and totally based on consumer desire, and consumption.

The core philosophy of Capitalism relies on the Capital itself or on the means of production that generates the Capital through sales and that it is owned, operated, and traded for the purpose of generating profits by private owners or groups of shareholders, whose only emphasis is to acquire as much individual profit for their personal benefit as possible and to bestow as little as possible of those gains on workers or society as a whole. In order to achieve this they need a government that is less regulating and intrusive as possible and preferably one that imposes no taxes on them but that relies mainly on taxing the workers and society as whole.

The philosophy behind the accumulation of capital is that it drives economic activity - the need to continuously produce profits and reinvest this profit into the economy. "Production for profit": useful goods and services are a by-product of pursuing profit. This today is not anymore the case as globalization and outsourcing workforce in countries where there is no regulated and much cheaper workforce, as made reinvestment into the local economy unnecessary. 

SOCIALISM:

Is an economic system characterized by the principle of social ownership that owns or controls the means of production leading to a cooperative management of the economy and backed up by a political philosophy that justifies such a system.

 According to a generally accepted Socialist economic model (There is more than one), all people should be given an equal beginning. Workers theoretically should have most to say in their factory's management, looking out for general welfare of not only the cooperative but of society as a whole. This control of the means of production becomes more ideological than market driven. Where theoretically merit is awarded according to individual ability and reward is meted according to individual contribution thus creating an emphasis on profit to be distributed among the society or workforce in addition to receiving a wage.

 In the model of Socialist economics the means of production are socially-owned by the state with the surplus value produced accruing to either all of society (in Public-ownership models) or to all the employee-members of the enterprise (in Cooperative-ownership models).

Now my dear American Right Wingers, and fellow Newsviners, to attack President Obama because he is black and you resent the colour of his skin, or because you believe that he is a closet Muslim with marked homosexual tendencies because of his stance on gay marriage, to put in doubt even his citizenship is despicable but acceptable under freedom of speech sanctioned by your 1^st Amendment.

However to call him a Socialist????? Now that is truly unacceptable. There is no way that even the most liberal of Democrats could even envisage in his wildest fantasies a nationalization of American means of production, or a collectivization of American economy, or an abrogation of private ownership!

 Do not confuse Social Capitalism with Socialism, the two are mutually exclusive. In social Capitalism fair taxes should paid by all members of society, so as to create the structures of Capitalism itself, and those are infrastructures, roads, airports, and ports that allow the smooth transport of goods and services to markets, a national health care system that caters for a healthy and productive workforce, a fair wage for workers that allows them to live decently and spend the money on the very goods and services that fuel economic growth, a good an efficient education system that allows future generations to have the means to be employed in more and more technologically driven economy.

NOW IS THAT SO DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND??????

You really want Socialism? Come across the pond and go France, and really experience Socialisms at his best. I am glad that I live in Switzerland because I would be taxed there for over 75% of my earnings.