How Could We Blow This One?

[ljm2002]

7. Really good post...

...and I agree, capitalism requires socialism in order to function properly.

We make a mistake in straight "either/or" thinking.

I have often argued that while we do not want the kind of socialism that the USSR practiced -- actually, a centrally controlled command economy -- we also do not want pure unfettered capitalism.

The one system subjugates the individual to the good of the state; and the other system throws away the common good for the exaltation of the individual.

We need to exalt both the individual and the society as a whole. It is imperative to value the individual, and to treasure the creativity and energy that will only occur if individuals are allowed to express their individuality and to be rewarded for their own individual creativity. It is also imperative to acknowledge that none of us exists in a vacuum, that we are really truly and fundamentally interconnected, and that we must consider the good of the whole as well as the good of the individual. (climate change comes up as an obvious case in point)