Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[Danimal]

Free-markets have lifted way more people up than socialism, that is economic reality.  Capitalism gets a bad wrap because folks often blame it when they should be blaming corporatism. Obviously we do need some safety-nets as a society, a mixed economy to an extent. As far as healthcare goes where we went awry wasn't in not handing it to the government but handing it to insurance companies. Government deciding how healthcare is allotted and executed is far from ideal but inevitable massive medicare expansion will beat the expensive Frankenstein system we've built.

As far as Jesus goes yes he lit into some guys but he never told the apostles to gank the guy's stuff and redistribute it amongst themselves as they saw fit. He would probably be considered an anarcho-socialist by today's standards. But at the end of the day what Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, or freaking Lord Xenu would say doesn't matter in terms of how to successfully run a country.

 

[TGHusker]

Free-markets have lifted way more people up than socialism, that is economic reality.  Capitalism gets a bad wrap because folks often blame it when they should be blaming corporatism. Obviously we do need some safety-nets as a society, a mixed economy to an extent. As far as healthcare goes where we went awry wasn't in not handing it to the government but handing it to insurance companies. Government deciding how healthcare is allotted and executed is far from ideal but inevitable massive medicare expansion will beat the expensive Frankenstein system we've built.

As far as Jesus goes yes he lit into some guys but he never told the apostles to gank the guy's stuff and redistribute it amongst themselves as they saw fit. He would probably be considered an anarcho-socialist by today's standards. But at the end of the day what Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, or freaking Lord Xenu would say doesn't matter in terms of how to successfully run a country.

The bold is true.  It is the free market that drives innovation.  We don't hear of American companies stealing Chinese or Russian technology - it is always the other other way around.  Yes, I'm sure there is some company 'espionage' that goes on but as a rule, it is American technology that is the target.  

 

[RedDenver]

Free-markets have lifted way more people up than socialism, that is economic reality.

They have? Human civilization existed for thousands of years before free-markets. And early hunter-gatherers were a form of "primitive communism", so socialism has been around a very long time and definitely improved the human condition. You may be correct, but it's definitely not obvious.

Your argument about separating corporatism from capitalism and needing mixed economies is one I agree with though.

The bold is true.  It is the free market that drives innovation.  We don't hear of American companies stealing Chinese or Russian technology - it is always the other other way around.  Yes, I'm sure there is some company 'espionage' that goes on but as a rule, it is American technology that is the target.  

The government invested heavily in R&D for decades including the money to tackle basic building blocks of physics and chemistry upon which most if not all of "free market innovation" is based. Take the modern smart phone: the transistors, GPS, wireless comms, internet protocols, and touch screen were all invented under government programs. Apple obviously put those things together and did some nice integration and user experience, but it took both social and corporate R&D to make that happen.

I don't know that other countries stealing US tech is indicative of free-market vs socialism driving innovation as much as the largest economy in the world is driving the most innovation.