Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Moldy Rutabaga]

Agree with caveats. I have always been troubled by the cliche that 'communism is wonderful in theory but doesn't work.' Why is something that admittedly doesn't work a good theory? A similar problem exists with 'from each according to their ability..'; it doesn't work in human society because we have no means of precisely measuring needs or abilities, and most people will try to maximize their claimed needs and minimize their abilities.

As I get older and grouchier, I am perhaps getting more pragmatic, and I don't believe any single ism or ology is going to solve all the problems of government. Capitalism works, but it needs constant vigilance and correction to prevent it from exploiting the weak and becoming heartless. Socialism works, but it needs vigilance as well to avoid becoming oppressive and economically unsustainable. Communism.. well.. Cuba, Mongolia, and North Korea aren't exactly shining examples. A balance necessarily needs to be struck between public charity, which can lead to waste, and private charity, which can lead to, well, no charity.

As a note, my parents winter in Arizona, and always comment that the Americans think Canadians are very cheap when it comes to giving. I can only guess that people are either bitter at being taxed to death or feel that the government already has it covered. Statistically, they are bigger givers in the US, compensating for the smaller role government charity plays.

[thepeel]

Never mind the authoritarian apparatus that is needed to enforce subsistence on the part of the productive to sustain the lives of the unproductive, as even that will not dissuade the useful idiots that command/control economies are a good idea. But, perhaps we can say that under such a system, maybe, just MAYBE with the incentive to work lost the people will cease productive activity and therefor either starve to death (the most common outcome before "reform") or simply get whipped like the slaves that they are.

And, who shall distribute? How can we be sure, as it happened in the past, food won't be given out with concern for political loyalties? Oh, maybe we will have some kind of objective super committee of the "people" who will be free from influence. Nah, those who said "yes" aren't naive at all.

I am entitled to the rewards of my intellectual, emotional and physical productive abilities.

Get thee to your history books.

[Thunndarr]

I'm not unsympathetic to the needs of the economically less fortunate. However, I see a lot of problems with that idea. The main problem is that it doesn't take into account that human beings are basically selfish creatures. Human productivity is based on this premise. People produce more when they are working to profit themselves than when they are working to profit others.

So, again, the sentiment behind the idea is nice, however the execution of the idea has a lot of unintended consequences, mainly that people become a *lot* less productive when they see no immediate rewards for hard work. Take away the incentive to work hard and be productive and you've basically sunk your economic ship. At that point, what does it matter if everyone receives the same amount, if that amount is zero?

[Satori]

Strongly dissagree.

In full communism the theory is that everyone gets that same wage no matter what they do. I'd chose to be a pornography censor... Who's going to chose to do the 7 years of real hard slog to become a doctor if they are going to wind up getting the same as the stop/go man on the roadworks crew?

[Moldy Rutabaga]

[ontheway]

There is no "theory" of communism.

Economic theory has shown over and over again that communism doesn't work. It also failed in reality.

The USSR spent billions on economic research trying to establish a theoretical construct under which communism or socialism could work. Their own research showed that it could never work and that the free market (not capitalism, but the free market) was always superior. This is one of the main reasons that the leadership helped along the demise of the USSR and wanted to push the former communist republics in the direction of a free market.