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Roy Brander's avatar

You'll only make progress when you can propose these things without the blanket socialism/communism charges shutting you down. People have to get over those words.

I found the story of the "langars" of the Sikh community, particularly in Amristsar itself, inspiring. Free food, around the clock 7x24. And they are a poor, poor country but they give out free food, because fundamentally, really basic beans & bread meals are barely a buck a piece.

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D. Kepler's avatar

My favorite rhetorical tactic is to point out the socialism we already have. The US Army is socialist. If private is always better than public, let's privatize the army. Very quickly most people will back away from that. I especially enjoy that one with fellow veterans. If you honestly lived the creed that you would never leave a fallen comrade, never leave anyone behind as a soldier, why won't you live that as a civilian citizen?

I ask them if they would trust a privatized fire department. If they like the outdoors I ask them if they think a non-socialist, privatized national park system would be better. Do they honestly think a privatized national park system would only charge $80 annually for a pass?

We already have socialism, but it's arbitrarily applied, as Nolan points out. I disagree with you that "people have to get over those words." I think WE have to re-frame those words and help others realize we already have socialism for some things, and they like it that way.

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Roy Brander's avatar

I’ve used similar arguments, except I get more brutal. “It’s not really the ‘socialist’ Army, it’s really the ‘communist’ Army, in the field, because they live communally, like the original Spartan army: sleep in barracks, eat in mess halls, no private dwellings.

From each according to his abilities - including asking for your life - and to each, according to his needs, so that a 21-year-old might be handed a $21M helicopter, if that’s his Army need.

I hadn’t thought of us civilians just applying “leave nobody behind” to all civilians - but that’s what it is. Thanks for the thought.

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