pros and cons of socialism

[asasuzaku]

i have never heard socialism before until i read through some of these discussions.  after looking it up, other then the fact that it takes away some freedom (some that are RIDICULOUS), are there any other things good/ bad about it.   

  greatly appreciate your guys info and thoughts!

[Abrupt]

An often stated quote (attributed to a statement from Margaret Thatcher) that best sums it up is "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money".

Personally I value my freedom and I am not the sort of person that needs to be told how to live, what to eat, what to drink, what cars to drive, what light bulbs to use, what toilet to use, etc, and so I would never welcome socialism.  I do know there are some that do need to be told how to live and for some strange reason are incapable of making their own decisions and living their own lives.  Part of the reason many are talking about socialism is because the US is becoming Socialistic and it always starts with such sayings as "for the good of America" or "for the good of mankind" or "fair share" or other rubbish like that.  If you notice in the examples there are many in effect in the US now highlighting our journey into this stupidity.  Our Republic, protected by The Constitution, should be enough to allow us to defeat this incursion but you can see the politicians so readily try to thwart The Constitution and our laws so it still requires our participation.

Another threat to our Republic is this class division tactic being played out.  It is especially dangerous in taxation, as it has been said that as soon as you get over half of the voters not paying taxes that our democratically elected representation will become a simple majority rule Oligarchy and then it all starts to blow up.  Hopefully we will be smart enough to resist that, but listening to some people and why they vote for who they vote for I worry.  You should be very careful about trading any measure of your freedom for safety.  The patriot act is an example of such a foolish trade and politicians are always coming up with more.