Questions On Socialism And American Constitution

[debrand]

This might belong in the other forum. If so, the moderators can move it and I apologize for the inconvience.

I feel stupid asking this as it is probably something that I should know.

I keep hearing that capitalism is American and other economic systems are not. Is there anythign in the constitution that states what type of economic system Americans have to follow?

I've always thought that the Bill of Rights makes us American, not our economic system.

Also, some people equate being a Christian with supporting captialism. That seems odd to me as socialism seems to be closer to what Jesus and early Christians taught. Although I suppose this view came about because of fears created by the cold war, it doesn't seem to exist in countries like Sweden. Why do many Americans in the right consider it Christian to be against socialism but Christians in other countries don't?

edited to ask even more questions

[amydamy]

The constitution really doesn't say anything about economic systems. The most it touches on it is regarding interstate trade which with the UCC is not really even relevant anymore. The constitution is really about what the government is not allowed to do not what it can.

As far as Christians and capitalism from what I remember from history classes during the reformation there were two sides. The Catholic side where you were expected to share your wealth and having too mush was unseemly and the protestant view point that you must be pleasing god if choose to bless you with tons of money. I think the divide really comes in after WWII the US didn't have to rebuild the infrastructure that many European countries did so while many of them moved to more socialist systems to help rebuild and the US became more capitalist.

[JuJuBee]

It's not a stupid question at all and is somewhat complex.

The Catholic system of the early years was very involved in people's lives. It collected money from the poplace and was heavily involved in government and society. They said that people had to go through the church to reach heaven (or something like this--maybe someone with a Catholic background can clarify). Protestants were against this and had more of an every man for himself attitude, which kind of goes with capitalism. That's where you get the idea of the Puritan work ethic.

The other issue was that communism and atheism started going hand-in-hand after WWII. We were taught to fear the "Godless Commies," and that's created a lot of the crazy you see in the US with the "Omg, Obama hates God and is a socialist" rhetoric. :roll:

[duchess0592]

The way my American gov teacher explained it was

that the Bible says that Christians are to go and help the poor, widows, orphans, etc.

She asked how can Christians help the poor if we are poor ourselves, which made a lot of sense.

Before you ask what high school I went to, I was homeschooled from pre-K to12th grade

No I was not chained to the table, I had classes outside the home and Jr. and Sr. year I took college classes.

[debrand]

Thank you for answering and not viewing the question as stupid. I've wanted to start a thread on this subject for a long time.

[freejoytoo]

That's interesting. My nana was a very strict Catholic, very conservative socially yet she was also a firm socialist. I assumed that was more due to being English than being American but I didn't know about the Church's stance on it.

I've always been confused about the American attitude towards socialism - 'taxes aren't the AMERICAN way!' Tbh, it makes me glad I'm not American.

[emmiedahl]

I think part of the problem with socialism in the American view is that we have good reason to suspect the American government's intentions and abilities. US programs are run very wastefully, the legislators are too influenced by lobbyists. Most of us really dread interactions with the government, such as the DMV, applying for food stamps, etc.

I think that, whichever economic model we end up with, these issues will have to be resolved. I personally feel that a socialism fueled and funded by capitalism will work best for us.

[Sola]

I can't speak of your bill of rights as I don't know much of it.

However, I don't think there is anything in it that could prevent socialism. I just think that your right wingers try and twist what is there so it appears that you shouldn't have socialism.

I think that the fear of socialism comes from the fear of communism which is still within the American psyche despite it being over 60 years since the Red Scare era. People mix up the two when in reality communism and socialism are not the same.

As for capitalism, the US (to my mind anyway) is everything that is wrong with capitalism. When you have people dying for want of medical treatment in a country as advanced and as wealthy as the USA then something is really, really wrong.

I do find it bizarre too how religion is always thrown into the mix. Religion really has nothing to do with capitalism, socialism or communism. And you are correct, the first Christians lived in what was a proto-socialist society. If anything Christianity has much more in common with socialism than it has with capitalism - not that your right wingers would agree.

What I see among the right wingers of the USA is a perversion of what Christianity started out to be.

[Sola]

I think part of the problem with socialism in the American view is that we have good reason to suspect the American government's intentions and abilities. US programs are run very wastefully, the legislators are too influenced by lobbyists. Most of us really dread interactions with the government, such as the DMV, applying for food stamps, etc.

I think that, whichever economic model we end up with, these issues will have to be resolved. I personally feel that a socialism fueled and funded by capitalism will work best for us.

You see I don't see that as being the fault of socialism or socialist policies. I see it as being an inevitable result of having so many hoops to jump through due to restrictions being placed by capitalist politicians.

[emmiedahl]

You see I don't see that as being the fault of socialism or socialist policies. I see it as being an inevitable result of having so many hoops to jump through due to restrictions being placed by capitalist politicians.

It is not a result of socialism, but it is the reason many people are against giving our government more power via socialism. My mother is terrified that socialized medicine will make hospitals like the DMV. Interacting with the government is very uncomfortable and demeaning in the US, so people want to do as little of it as possible.

The thing is: it is really really good for employers to have healthy, educated, non-stressed employees. Everyone acts like the rich will suffer if we become more socialist, but I think they will benefit. Better employees, less economic instability, lower crime... And all it takes is a small portion of their discretionary income. I don't understand why they will invest in companies that destroy the planet, but not in the people around them.