What is the difference between communism and socialism?

[Davezz]

communism is when the government tells you what to do and how to do it without regard to how you feel or how you would vote on it. if you break the rules you can be killed and you are not supposed to leave.
think hitler, sadam etc
also think kings from the very very old days

smell the ignorance...

 

[Davezz]

believe the theory states that money is not even necessary. Everyone just gets what they need.

Thats anarchism

 

[kebman]

In Norway, is the transportation a pain to deal with? Like, "I would like to take a trip to wherever" "No problem, just put in your application for a ticket and we will let you know if it goes through in six weeks"

Hahaha! I love your fantasy. :crackup:

I just got a ticket today. One month pass for all the collective system of the Capitol and the surrounding areas. I got it in less than a minute, and I don't even need to flash it when I enter a tram (unless there's an inspection - which rarely happens).

No, but the taxes are extreme to keep our social welfare system rolling, and despite being one of the richest countries in the world (we actually keep the oil revenues off the national budget to stop inflation) we still have to pay full price for dental care.

Moving around is pretty free in Norway. For instance, in the forest and mountains property owners cannot stop you from tresspassing or setting up tents. This is set down in our law as "Freedom to roam". You don't even need a passport to go to most of the neihgbouring contries (except from Russia).

Yawn. But since we have so many freedoms and such a low crime rate, we are of course also very gullible.

 

[Epicenter]

Look who is back. Comrade Lenin in West Germany.

 

[Xenom0rph]

Communism is absolute government ownership of all property and all means of production and absolute price control on markets. It usually requires a violent revolution to bring into power because it requires the direct confiscation of assets.

Socialism is the centralization of power in the form of one federalized government where states and localities have little control. Assets arent directly confiscated, but rather wealth is stolen through excessive taxation and unnecessary regulation to keep people perpetually poor. It usually is a silent takeover and not a violent revolution because it's method of action is taxation rather than outright confiscation of assets. Once in power it seeks to protect itself through censorship of free speech.

Socialism is usually the first step in the march towards communism because it allows for a smoother transition than outright revolution.

 

[Kotaix]

Norway = socialism
USSR = communism

No. Norway is capitalist country with a lot of social programs. Social programs do not imply socialism.

Can anyone clear this up, they seem pert'near similar to me.

You should read the communist manifesto, it's short. It's obvious from the answers that most people have no clue what either system is.

Marx and Engles themselves said in the Communist manifesto that communism is the utopian end goal of socialism where private property does not exist. Communism has technically never existed, and it never will because Socialism does not work in the real world.

Socialism is when the government owns the means of production instead of private citizens. Most countries have a mixed model where some items are government run and others are private.

 

[mrgoodstuff]

Communism is absolute government ownership of all property and all means of production and absolute price control on markets. It usually requires a violent revolution to bring into power because it requires the direct confiscation of assets.

Socialism is the centralization of power in the form of one federalized government where states and localities have little control. Assets arent directly confiscated, but rather wealth is stolen through excessive taxation and unnecessary regulation to keep people perpetually poor. It usually is a silent takeover and not a violent revolution because it's method of action is taxation rather than outright confiscation of assets. Once in power it seeks to protect itself through censorship of free speech.

Socialism is usually the first step in the march towards communism because it allows for a smoother transition than outright revolution.

Terrible

 

[AttackFormation]

No. Norway is capitalist country with a lot of social programs. Social programs do not imply socialism.


You should read the communist manifesto, it's short. It's obvious from the answers that most people have no clue what either system is.

Marx and Engles themselves said in the Communist manifesto that communism is the utopian end goal of socialism where private property does not exist. Communism has technically never existed, and it never will because Socialism does not work in the real world.

Socialism is when the government owns the means of production instead of private citizens. Most countries have a mixed model where some items are government run and others are private.

Indeed. Public services like universal healthcare, progressive marginal taxes, regulations to protect public health, worker safety, the environment, allowance of unions and collective bargaining, and so on - these are policies on the left wing of capitalism (social liberalism, social democracy, paternalistic conservatism), but they are not "socialist".

You are right that most people in this thread have absolutely no clue what either communism or socialism is, but socialism as an umbrella term isn't when the state controls the economy either, that's statism - a term that you'll also see austrian economists use. The specific form of socialism that advocates for temporary or permanent state control of the economy is called just that - state socialism. Every human association is 'governed' in some way, but not every form of government is a 'state'.

But socialism itself is an umbrella term for a number of anti-capitalist movements that are based in positive liberty (freedom is the ability to control decisions and consequences to the extent they affect you) and class conflict, and disagree with each other on both how to reach a post-capitalist society and what that society might look like. That's why the communists under Stalin undermined the anarchists (libertarian socialists) in Revolutionary Catalonia for example, even though they're both "socialist". It's why "democratic socialists" started calling themselves that, to distance themselves from the state socialists that took over in the Soviet Union and started persecuting the other socialist factions. It's why Marx and the communists excluded the anarchists (libertarian socialists) from the Second Socialist International.

The wikipedia page on socialism is great for understanding, if you want an accurate idea. I know that's too much to ask for the willfully ignorant, who proudly keep their minds closed on purpose, but from your writing I can tell you probably aren't one of them.

 

[Xenom0rph]

I heard Venezuela is a socialist utopia..... Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Epicenter]

These are one of the most popular debaters on the internet. They come from the gamer community. So they have their special style. Socialism vs. Capitalism:

 

[Mike32ct]

Socialism scares me. It makes me think of the following:

1. High taxes
2. No air conditioning*

*Mike hates heat. This is a non-starter lol.

 

[Epicenter]

Socialism scares me. It makes me think of the following:

1. High taxes
2. No air conditioning*

*Mike hates heat. This is a non-starter lol.

That is a very practical approach.

What I like about communism:

 

[Who Dares Win]

The problem is that the modern day socialism that leftists love so much is that as if it wasnt sick enough by itself, now enforces political correctness as state religion.

You can hardly find a worse smelling plague than that.