There are no truly socialist countries in the world, if you’re going by strict definitions. Neither are there any truly capitalist countries in the world. All countries have some regulations to protect the less fortunate, and all countries have some regulations to prevent the effects of runaway capitalism. There is a spectrum of regulation and a spectrum of social safety nets. “Socialist” usually just means “More socialistic than my country” and vice versa for “capitalist.” The only question is where you want your country to exist on these spectrums. Great answer at Quora.
Tilting at windmills for a better tomorrow.
I think spectrums are definitely a useful way of looking at the world (or even clusters of concepts that don’t fit into a linear graduation)
This all-or-nothing constant barrage of “x vs y” as is promoted by both top-down media as well as social media is getting pretty tiring.
Lately I am getting interested in this thing where I try to talk to people in a non-judgmental manner but listen for ways I can do two things:
1. If something they say is disagreeable to me, I try to find a way something they said contradicts a belief I formerly held about a position I hold dearly, and adds some additional, complex surf-area to my perspective
2. I also listen for areas their own ideas might be simplistic, particularly in such a way that something I believe and hold true is actually compatible with the way they see things, but maybe they didn’t realize it. It’s pretty cool if / when they are willing to acknowledge that extra complication as something they agree with.
This is not to say that one can’t have stable beliefs or strong convictions, and “both sides” can often be a cop-out, sure, but I think that it’s useful to flesh out details about specific concepts and arguments, particularly when it comes to what you stand to gain and lose based on the tenants of each camp.
Sometimes you gotta treat things like distinct tools in a toolbox, each with its own characteristics and properties and go for some context-aware decisions about which device to use, and when. And often the project in the aggregate might be best served by mixing numerous ideas, tools, etc, all working in concert, applied to appropriate circumstances.
Very well said Michael. I’m totally with you – it feels like public debate is becoming more binary, more simplistic, more nuanced, when in reality almost everything is more complex than it appears on the surface. Whether we’re talking about race relations or climate change, we need more nuanced discussion.