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I think socialism is good for countries with mostly impoverished people and few opportunities. It can actually help them develop into places where there are lots of opportunities. It's just so damn hard to get and keep a succession of the right kind of people to make sure it doesn't turn into another kind of hell for the population.
I don't feel as though it's a threat in The Other America, except to billionaires from elsewhere who want all their resources, but I do think it's a threat to first world countries, and not just because of the lowered standard of living for so many, but also because of the totalitarian measures needed to force down that standard of living and keep it down.
But just as it can raise the prospects for the extremely poor, it can shrink the prospects for the relatively wealthy... and I mean by that, people like me. Someone with just enough income to starve to death. When I start feeling too sorry for myself I remember those all over the world who can't even afford to starve to death and make dirt cookies to keep their bellies busy.
All forms of government or monetary policy need good humans to administrate them. Protecting against the depredations of greed, as we are seeing so vividly right now, is like a cosmic game of whack-a-mole and if you let down your vigilance for a minute there are more moles than you can whack and shit happens.
Evo is a good man and was a fantastic leader for Bolivia. Little wonder the people want that government back. Can they get it? Too much of that depended on Evo's judgment, just like in Venezuela where so much of it hinged on Hugo.
When you cut right down into the marrow of the matter, you find that THE biggest factor in maintaining or regaining good government is the ability of the people to make it happen. This means arms. This means resources. This means the kinds of people with enough juice to FORCE the will of the people on the corrupt bastards in charge. That's it. THAT is what we have here and are not using... yet.
pipe up any time....
