Guess I was wrong all along...

[shinnosuke]

I was driving home last night from my Japanese classes. I had given my students some good lessons and I was feeling good for the money I had earned. Just enjoying the thoughts of how the extra cash helped me with my preps. That's when it happened. I had a huge paradigm shift. My world was changed forever.

Right in front of me I saw a 1980's vintage, classic ol' boxy Volvo with a bumper sticker that read:

SOCIALISM WORKS
CAPITALISM SUCKS

Shocked I was, I tell you, to read that.

I pulled around to see the professor who plastered those pearls of wisdom on his car. The driver was in his late 60's...white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel...a scowl on his face. I wanted to ask him if he realized that capitalism was the principle by which the bumper of his car was manufactured, but the light changed and the opportunity was lost.

Pop Quiz:
Can any of you rearrange those 4 words so that they make sense? It's an open-book test. Ready...go!

[Mike]

I'm going to go way out on a limb, but here goes...

CAPITALISM WORKS
SOCIALISM SUCKS

what do you think?

[shinnosuke]

I'm going to go way out on a limb, but here goes...

CAPITALISM WORKS
SOCIALISM SUCKS

what do you think?

Ding, ding, ding, ding!! We have a winner! A thousand bonus points to Mike.

[silverflake]

How about:

"CAPITALISM: THERE'S NO OTHER SYSTEM THAT CAN HOLD A CANDLE TO THE PRODUCTIVE POWERS UNLEASHED BY THE FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM"
"SOCIALISM SUCKS"

You'd need a bigger bumpr.

I must give credit - the line above on capitalism is a paraphrase of a quote by Milton Friedman.

[shinnosuke]

How about:

"CAPITALISM: THERE'S NO OTHER SYSTEM THAT CAN HOLD A CANDLE TO THE PRODUCTIVE POWERS UNLEASHED BY THE FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM"
"SOCIALISM SUCKS"

You'd need a bigger bumper.

I must give credit - the line above on capitalism is a paraphrase of a quote by Milton Friedman.

You must conform to the Official Standards of Bumper Dimensions Regulations, Article 5, Paragraph 47, promulgated by the EPA Permanent Committee on Reduction of Steel and Plastic on Non-Solar Powered Vehicles.

[IdahoCopper]

WORK SUCKS
CAPITALISM or SOCIALISM

[Delawhere Jack]

At this point, I'd have probably circled around him, gotten a good running start, and broadsided him in the drivers side at 45mph+ in my truck, then gotten out and pissed on his dieing excuse for a .............

But, that's just one man's opinion........

[smalltimeopn]

WORK SUCKS
CAPITALISM or SOCIALISM

but one CAN pay a little better...

[68Camaro]

I would love for the old prof to be able to prove his point, IN ANOTHER COUNTRY... Of course he would be found wrong, but he would have the satisfaction of having tried, SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Geez... what a story....

[Hawkeye]

Dang it. I will have to apologize to my Economics class tomorrow. I've been blathering about free market superiority since the beginning of the year. Clearly I was wrong.

[Mossy]

I would love for the old prof to be able to prove his point, IN ANOTHER COUNTRY... Of course he would be found wrong, but he would have the satisfaction of having tried, SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Geez... what a story....

Amazing how people think ideas that are proven wrong everywhere else will, somehow, magically be proven right where they are. National socialism, national communism, gun control, "blood on the streets if we repeal gun control", etc.

(Note on socialism and communism: both are inevitable in small economic units, like families and isolated villages. A touch of both are needed in any large nation. The problems arise when someone tries to force them into parts of the economy where they should not be or to a larger extent than is natural. By "natural", I mean what people will do on their own without being shot if they don't do.)

[mongo]

Its only because of capitalism that this nation even exists. Im with you Mike.

[Treetop]

Im on a form with many socialists and a communist or two. I cannot get a single one of them to admit that social programs will be cut no matter what we do. Doesnt matter what statistics you show them. In their delusions if we end the wars we could INCREASE these programs let alone fund the current ones and even balance the budget!!!! Showing them the actual numbers, that yes the wars are expensive but cutting the military entirely wouldnt produce the result they claim and 100 percent of them on this particular forum clam up.

Most of these people have IQs well above average. Most of them are good folks. Most of them are very capable at basic math and basic reading comprehension. Yet this particular topic and their brains shut down entirely. the farthest I ever got any of them to go is well atleast ending the wars would be a start.

Showing them stats out of europe showing them such programs are not even working in countries with much much smaller militaries either.

Talking about self determination and the fact they could make their OWN collectives without forcing Me into it doesnt appeal to a one of them. who will claim it isnt against self determination to force me into their world view.

showing them how the concentration of power caused most of our issues and making a very solid case that states rights and sound money would of lessened or completely bypassed our current issues is meaningless. in that case im just anti government rather then pro sane government. I guess its irrelevant that I was born in a country that started out exactly as I was describing? they will then ramble on about slavery and women not voting, and I couldn agree more with them on those points. the constitution wasnt perfect... but its as close as humans ever came beyond a small tribal counsel or something. Its impossible for any of them I know to see that you can fix the handful of things wrong with the constitution as it started rather then scrapping the whole thing.

I find many incongruities on the right side of the aisle as well actually. Bu these particular ones it appears impossible to rectify on the left. their brainwashing however it happened is complete on these particular topics.

What i cannot figure out is how the 60s generation who desperately called out for LIBERTY and SELF DETERMINATION... then turned around to decide its their right to force others into their world view???? bizarre....

[shinnosuke]

Im on a form with many socialists and a communist or two. I cannot get a single one of them to admit that social programs will be cut no matter what we do. Doesnt matter what statistics you show them. In their delusions if we end the wars we could INCREASE these programs let alone fund the current ones and even balance the budget!!!! Showing them the actual numbers, that yes the wars are expensive but cutting the military entirely wouldnt produce the result they claim and 100 percent of them on this particular forum clam up.

Most of these people have IQs well above average. Most of them are good folks. Most of them are very capable at basic math and basic reading comprehension. Yet this particular topic and their brains shut down entirely. the farthest I ever got any of them to go is well atleast ending the wars would be a start.

Showing them stats out of europe showing them such programs are not even working in countries with much much smaller militaries either.

Talking about self determination and the fact they could make their OWN collectives without forcing Me into it doesnt appeal to a one of them. who will claim it isnt against self determination to force me into their world view.

showing them how the concentration of power caused most of our issues and making a very solid case that states rights and sound money would of lessened or completely bypassed our current issues is meaningless. in that case im just anti government rather then pro sane government. I guess its irrelevant that I was born in a country that started out exactly as I was describing? they will then ramble on about slavery and women not voting, and I couldn agree more with them on those points. the constitution wasnt perfect... but its as close as humans ever came beyond a small tribal counsel or something. Its impossible for any of them I know to see that you can fix the handful of things wrong with the constitution as it started rather then scrapping the whole thing.

I find many incongruities on the right side of the aisle as well actually. Bu these particular ones it appears impossible to rectify on the left. their brainwashing however it happened is complete on these particular topics.

What i cannot figure out is how the 60s generation who desperately called out for LIBERTY and SELF DETERMINATION... then turned around to decide its their right to force others into their world view???? bizarre....

I nominate the words above as the Best Realcent Post of 2011. Treetop, you have distilled into a few paragraphs the frustration many of us have felt in trying to reason with those who have a worldview so obviously wrong. In spite of all their personal faults, the Founding Fathers will be standing next to St. Peter when we show up at heaven's gate. I hope I can withstand their piercing looks and questions about what I have done with the political LIBERTY they gave me.

[justoneguy]

+1 more for treetop