Is socialism doomed to fail just like communism?

Question

Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland are all seeing the downfall of socialism.
France, Germany, The U.K, Sweden, Belgium and Denmark are all having to dramatically change there government and make it much more conservative and capitalistic to succeed and are being held down by other socialistic countries in the European Union.
All of the countries I just listed have very high unemployment rate and unbelievable high taxes.
Canada has health-care but that is payed for by natural resource's that socialist are against.
The more America drifts from capitalism to socialism the more in trouble America gets.
So is socialism proving not to work and doomed like communism does the (redistributing wealth never work cause people abuse the program?

Answer 1

July 11th, 2001



€ 1 = $ 0.860

$ 1 = € 1.163



July 11th, 2011

€ 1 = $ 1.405

$ 1 = € 0.712



In 10 years the $ has reduced its value 38.78%



That means that americans are almost 40% poorer than europeans now than 10 years ago. That exactly what it means.



When it comes to fixing debt problems you've got two options. Either you make the troublemaking country/area/state/region fix its problems, like it's happening in Europe with Greece or Spain... or you just devaluate your currency to pay off the troublemaking state's debt, making everyone poorer, like it's been happening in the US with California or the central administration.

Answer 2

Denmark is not a socialist country. It is mixed market capitalist economy one of the most competitive economies in the world and it is doing quite well compared to many other European countries in the crisis both before and now... it has also been ranked #1 country to do business in a couple of times.



The coming changes are a more a result of demographic changes. More and more elderly people compared to workforce that is needed to support them. This will mean that people will need to work just a couple of years longer before retiring in order to keep welfare. There are many other problems but long term budgets have already been made in order to preserve welfare and this.



And just on a side note the current government (Liberal/Conservative) has been in power for the past 10 years.



There is a difference between socialist Cuba and Laos and capitalist Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark, Belgium etc.

Answer 3

Ireland is not a socialist country - how dare you - thats insulting! Yes it has social welfare but thats it



Ireland healthcare is mostly private and always has been. Only very poor people are entitled to free medical cards. Everybody else has to pay a large sum of money to visit a family doctor and most people who can afford to have private health insurance as the 'free' healthcare in hospitals is extremely basic and you'd be pretty much risking your life with it. Even with private health insurance you're doomed in ireland right now, rule of thumb is just don't get ill and don't have an accident, hospital units are being shut down all over the place.



ADDITIONAL: 'America's downfall is because of the government controlling the banking industry' - are you serious???!!!! In Ireland, it all went horribly wrong because the govenment FAILED to regulated the banks. The banks lent billions to whoever they wanted, people who never had a hope in hell of paying it back, people who would have failed every credit check if they'd bothered to run them as the banks were so arrogant they thought they didn't need to and just lent to anybody. And the governemt just stood by. And then it all came crashing down and the banks had to be bailed out by the Irish goverment who then in turned had to be bailed out by the EU to the tune of $113 billion - for a population of the size of 4 million. So taxes are gone up to repay that $113 billion and unemployment is massive as all those people who owe the banks money have had to shut down their businesses and people are terrified of losing their jobs so they don't spent money which in turn leds to shops closing etc etc etc





And you're trying to say that a bail out of $113 is needed because of social welfare and not because the banks screwed up and the government let them?! Irish banks - capitalism at it's best :(



And China IS Communist!!!

Answer 4

None of the countries you mention are socialist. Countries like Sweden and Denmark are marked by the crisis, yes, but are actually doing well compared to the world average, including the U.S. For the record, Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with mixed market CAPITALIST economy. And even though the unemployment rate has gone up, it is still lower than in the U.S. Denmark is also one of the countries in the world where it is the easiest to start up your own business. The current government is right wing and has been for years. Denmark does have has high taxes, and yes, it is near impossible to become insanely rich in Denmark, but one still needs to look at overall standard of living, purchase power of income after tax, tax deductions etc. For example if you want to compare health care, you cannot lump Europe together as one. The heath care systems in each country is different. Take one country at a time. For example, the costs of health care for a Dane is 8% of his income (after tax deductions, the first 8250 USD earned per year is tax free). Now you have a figure that you can compare to the U.S. insurance based health care costs. Also, many private Danish clinics have their prices online. This will give you an idea of what a Dane will have to pay if he decides not to use the "free" health-care, where there in some cases can be a waiting time on treatments, and again...give you the possibility of direct price comparisons, waiting times for specific treatments can also be looked up etc. It is fine to argue against a welfare security net and social health care, there are certainly advantages and disadvantages these, and what might work in one country might not work in another, based on population, mentality, logistics, database systems etc. but you would make a much stronger point if you would take the time to check your facts. I don't think it is possible to find the 100% flawless system, nor to find a "one system fits all" when it comes to comparing different countries. I will say, however, that I am baffled by how many people believe Denmark is "socialist" or even "communist", just as baffled as I am every time I hear the Danish system being proclaimed the "ideal". Not to mention it is toe-cringing as it confirms the negative stereotype many Europeans have of the average American being "uneducated".

Answer 5

No. Most Countries balance between free market economies and Social Services. Both are needed to have stable, free and happy populations. Last time I check, China was still a communist country and they are doing just fine.



The US is having economic trouble because the Government failed to regulate banks and investments and not because the tax rate is too high or there are too many people unwilling to work.

Answer 6

OKAY you really need to educate yourself if you think it was socialism that brought down the irish economy.



The irish economy was the MOST NEO-LIBERAL CAPITALISTIC COUNTRY IN THE EU. No regulation on the financial services, low corporate tax rate, run-away speculation on the markets, unregulated building boom in pursuit of ocsene profits. That's what brought the irish economy down.



France has been run for ages now by one of the most right wing presidencies. Conservatives have been in power for a good while in Germany. italy has an incredibly right wing government. The EU as a whole has been pushing neo-liberal low regulation promarket policies for decades, undermining public services



Any progressive policies in Europe are those that have been fought for on the streets by the people of europe.

Answer 7

all those countries treasuries are suffering the same lack of revenue as the US is . they have gotten their legislators to make tremendous cuts to the taxes on the rich . the zionist agenda of greed does not want to give up 1 dime extra in tax . even though the top 1% richest owns over 90% of ALL wealth , that is not good enough for them . they want it all . god chose them , not you . they are entitled , right ?

Answer 8

Ireland isn't socialist. Its politics have been dominated for its entire political history by two right wing parties

Answer 9

Another long rant by someone who thinks "socialism" is to blame in Greece. Honestly, there is so much information on the internet (including Yahoo Answers) to set you straight, I don't think it's worth repeating.

Answer 10

it seems that you attest every malady in the US to social programs... weird



edit - see Jim's answer for a mature and logical view