Capitalism or Socialism?

Socialism vs. Capitalism? It is a false dichotomy.

In the most capitalist societies (read: where corporate monopolization and creeping deregulation are common, such as USA and Canada) large multinational corporations are being extremely selfish over the last 5-10 years, sitting on mounds of record profits, rather than spending on R&D or employee wages / benefits. Talk about selfish.

As for socialism, what does it really mean? Full on Marxism – an impractical fantasy of the left – or decades of social programs, public health care and institutions, at least in Canada, that have all but ended pre-vaccination childhood diseases, raised everyone’s standards of living and helped more people get at least basic educations? And we’re as much a capitalist country as a socialist one, last time I checked.

Of course large corporation elites can be greedy bastards. They run state-sanctioned profit centres, after all. And governments can be greedy bastards as well, often run by business titans, lawyers and über-wealthy politicians who tweak our taxes into profit centres too.

Sharing and caring begin with empathy, which is highly contagious, no matter how insulated we seek to become. But empathy can fade with age without periodic inoculations against isms, isolation and various forms of what I term “monocracy.”