Yep, Wikipedia is a great aid and advance to research...I use it a lot. I don't believe it's 100% correct but it's generally factual and a useful source for beginning a research endeavor.
But the question is, since I have zero idea where you came from, did you flee socialism or a communist dictatorship? Many people confuse/combine the two but they are quite different. From a source other than the suspect Wikipedia, this page spells out the differences well: Communism vs. Socialism
And then there's a further distinction between socialism and democratic socialism (espoused by Bernie Sanders). What is Democratic Socialism?
It's that greater economic and social democracy that sticks in the craw of the alt-right GOP. Which is itself delicious irony because the GOP claim they want a democracy in America...right up to the point where the people start reclaiming their power such as in the town hall meetings the GOP tried to escape from.
While I kinda like the term democratic socialism, the term I think is better is Progressivism which says "Progressivism is a philosophy based on the Idea of Progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development, and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition."
But these are all just labels we put on ourselves or others. What matters more than beliefs are actions. Can anybody here justify Trump's actions and his meanness? How about the meanness of the AHCA or the way Paul Ryan talks about less fortunate people.
Don't we want to help our fellow men and women? Or would you rather step on them to gain advantage for yourself?
Jeff, there are so many problems with this post, it's amazing.
First Wikipedia is not a good resource for any research. No professor would accept Wikipedia as a noted source on any paper.
Second, reclaiming, or claiming, your power in a democracy by voting for representatives is a lot different then insisting the general public has control over private companies and their decisions, which is what you are suggesting. Sure, protection is key, and you can argue preventing pollution through regulations is protection for health reason, but
over regulating other areas, such as banking, is nonsense.
Virtually every business has an effect on the public, so should all businesses (including yours and mine) need to confirm to how the general public feels?
I mean, I have clients I need to answer to, but I could care less about how the average person feels about my business. If you're not paying me, take your song and dance somewhere else. As a matter of fact, if you're not a designer, architect, GC or CM, art producer, or a consultant I hired, I really don't care about your opinions on how I should run my business.
Insofar as the less fortunate, the day is what you make of it. I have found that many people end up in the position they do from their own bad decisions. Of course some are dealt a bad hand, but most are there due to themselves.
In all my years teaching, only two of my students who failed did so because they were just not smart enough. All the rest failed because they put forth no effort, some on purpose with the idea that working for 2 months during the summer was better then for 9 months during the rest of the year. Try talking someone out of that decision.
Last, you imply that in order to make wealth you need to take wealth from others (step on as you put it). There is no economic theory or evidence that proves this point. It is a fallacy that many people need to be suppressed in order for someone to become wealthy.
This is further supported by the fact that the creation of money is not finite. Although the amount of currency a government can make to represent value is, money and wealth are created by interest from investing, which has no limit. Point being, people who are wealthy actually create their wealth, not steal it from others.
