"Socialism always fails" is a stupid argument
Summary
TLDRThis video script challenges the notion that socialism has never been successful, offering a nuanced definition of socialism and capitalism. It argues that socialist countries, despite facing significant challenges, have often outperformed capitalist ones in terms of quality of life and economic development. The script also critiques the double standards applied when evaluating the success of socialist versus capitalist nations, highlighting the resilience and achievements of the USSR and China under socialism.
Takeaways
- 📚 The script discusses the definitions of socialism and capitalism, emphasizing the private ownership of the means of production in the latter and the collective ownership in the former.
- 🌐 It challenges the notion that socialism has never been successful, highlighting the complexity of defining 'success' in terms of longevity, quality of life, military strength, and economic performance.
- 💡 The video argues that socialist countries often provide a higher quality of life for their citizens at the same level of economic development compared to capitalist countries.
- ⏳ The USSR is presented as an example of a socialist state that achieved significant development despite facing numerous challenges, including sanctions, isolation, and war.
- 🚀 The script mentions the USSR's accomplishments in space exploration as a testament to its economic and technological progress despite starting from a peasant economy.
- 💪 The argument is made that military strength is not a valid measure of success, with the USSR's military capability being a point of concern for the US, yet used less aggressively.
- 📈 The People's Republic of China is highlighted as a rapidly rising superpower that owes its development to socialist policies and is expected to surpass the US in the near future.
- 🌏 The script points out the hypocrisy in the West's support for capitalist countries that fail to develop, despite blaming socialism for the underdevelopment of resource-rich countries.
- 🤔 It questions the criteria used to label a country as a failure, noting that many capitalist countries have failed by these standards without being considered as such.
- 🏥 The video argues that socialist systems have provided better healthcare outcomes and more equitable access to healthcare and cultural facilities.
- 🏛️ The script criticizes capitalism for its inherent instability and the prioritization of profit over people's health and the environment, suggesting this is a definition of failure.
Q & A
What is the fundamental difference between capitalism and socialism as described in the script?
-Capitalism is characterized by private ownership of the means of production, market mechanisms as a major determining force in the economy, and wage labor, exemplified by the United States. Socialism, on the other hand, involves heavy restriction or abolition of private property, with production collectively and democratically owned by society through cooperatives and the state, and market mechanisms being subordinate to or entirely suppressed by a national economic plan, as seen in countries like Cuba and the former USSR.
How does the script define success in the context of economic systems?
-Success is defined in various ways, including longevity, quality of life, military strength, economic performance, political and diplomatic influence, and reductions of total human suffering. The script argues that the criteria for success are often applied unevenly, with capitalist countries benefiting from historical advantages and colonial extraction, while socialist countries are often starting from a disadvantaged position.
What challenges did the USSR face that the script suggests were not fairly considered in discussions about its success?
-The USSR faced numerous challenges, including starting from an underdeveloped position, being diplomatically isolated, experiencing civil war, multiple invasions, and suffering greatly during World War II. It also faced continuous attempts at destabilization from the U.S. and NATO. The script argues that these factors are often overlooked or not given enough weight when assessing the USSR's success.
How does the script address the argument that socialism has never been successful?
-The script challenges this argument by pointing out the achievements of socialist countries like the USSR and China, which have risen to significant power and development despite starting from poor conditions and facing external pressures. It also highlights the higher quality of life provided by socialist systems at similar levels of economic development compared to capitalist ones.
What is the script's stance on the comparison of military strength between the USSR and the United States?
-The script argues that the USSR's military strength, while powerful, was not used as liberally as America's and was more about maintaining parity with the United States, which it characterizes as a warmonger. It also mentions that the USSR often pleaded with the U.S. to stop the arms race.
How does the script discuss the economic performance of the USSR?
-The script acknowledges the USSR's rapid development from a peasant backwater to a space-faring superpower within decades. It emphasizes that the USSR's economic performance was impressive given the challenges it faced, and it compares this to the U.S., which had a head start and different starting conditions.
What role does the script suggest that the United States played in the development of other countries?
-The script suggests that the United States has often played a role in keeping other countries poor through mechanisms that enrich the imperial core, such as Western Europe and North America, while also benefiting the wealthy sectors of those countries at the expense of the third world.
How does the script characterize the People's Republic of China's rise to power?
-The script characterizes China's rise as a result of Mao-era policies and accomplishments, suggesting that without these socialist foundations, China would not have achieved its current level of development. It also predicts that China is expected to surpass the United States in economic power within a few years.
What is the script's view on the concept of 'failure' in the context of economic systems?
-The script argues that the concept of failure is often applied inconsistently, with capitalist countries being spared from the label despite facing economic collapses and political changes. It suggests that socialism has been unfairly scrutinized and that capitalist systems, like the U.S., can fail in providing a dignified existence for their citizens despite their wealth and power.
How does the script discuss the role of capitalism in global inequality and the exploitation of resources?
-The script suggests that capitalism is built on the logic of infinite growth on a finite planet, leading to boom and bust cycles and the sacrifice of people's health and the environment for profit. It contrasts this with socialism, which it says has been more capable and willing to provide benefits for populations as a whole.
Outlines
😀 Defining Socialism and Capitalism
The script begins by challenging the common misconceptions about socialism and capitalism. It clarifies that a capitalist country is characterized by private ownership of the means of production and market mechanisms, exemplified by the United States. In contrast, socialism involves heavy restrictions on private property, with collective and democratic ownership of production means, as seen in Cuba and the former USSR. The video also addresses the nuance of defining success in terms of longevity, quality of life, military strength, and economic performance, and criticizes the double standards often applied when comparing socialist and capitalist countries.
🌟 The Success of Socialist Countries
This paragraph discusses the achievements of socialist countries despite various challenges. It highlights the USSR's resilience and development over seven decades, starting from an underdeveloped state and facing numerous adversities such as sanctions, isolation, civil war, and World War II. The script argues that socialist countries generally provide a higher quality of life, better housing, healthcare, education, and cultural development compared to capitalist countries at the same level of economic development. It also touches on the USSR's military strength and its cautious approach to the arms race, contrasting it with the United States' warmongering history.
🚀 The Rise of China and Socialist Policies
The script then shifts focus to the People's Republic of China, emphasizing its rapid development and the role of Mao-era policies. It predicts that China will surpass the United States in development in the near future, with a confident and supportive population. The paragraph also discusses the impact of socialism on breaking neocolonial dependence and benefiting the populations of third-world countries, and it criticizes the United States for its efforts to sabotage socialist countries through various means. The success of socialist thought is evident in the support it garners from revolutionary and independence movements worldwide.
💡 The Failure of Capitalism and the Success of Socialism
The final paragraph delves into the concept of failure, challenging the notion that socialist countries have universally failed. It points out the double standards in evaluating the success or failure of countries based on their political systems. The script contrasts the stability and achievements of countries like Cuba despite sanctions with the issues faced by the United States, such as stagnant wages, debt, and inequality. It argues that capitalism, with its boom-and-bust cycles and prioritization of profit over people's well-being, is the real failure. The paragraph concludes by urging viewers to consider the vested interests that may drive the negative portrayal of socialism and the importance of a nuanced understanding of history.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Socialism
💡Capitalism
💡Means of Production
💡Quality of Life
💡Economic Performance
💡Unequal Exchange
💡Colonial Extraction
💡People's Republic of China
💡Neocolonial Dependence
💡Stasi
💡Infinite Growth
Highlights
Defining socialism and capitalism: Capitalism involves private ownership of production means and market mechanisms, exemplified by the US; socialism restricts private property, with collective and democratic ownership, exemplified by Cuba and the USSR.
Success in a country can be measured by longevity, quality of life, military strength, economic performance, and political influence, not just by comparison to world powers.
The argument that socialism has never been successful is flawed due to the lack of clear definitions and uneven comparisons.
Socialist countries often provide a higher quality of life in terms of housing, healthcare, education, and cultural development, compared to capitalist countries at the same economic level.
The USSR's longevity and achievements, despite starting underdeveloped and facing numerous adversities, challenge the notion of socialism's failure.
Military strength is an unfounded fear when comparing the USSR and the US, with the former advocating for arms reduction.
Economic performance of the USSR, starting as a peasant society and reaching space conquest within decades, demonstrates remarkable progress.
The People's Republic of China's rapid development is attributed to Mao-era policies, expected to surpass the US in the near future.
Socialist countries like Cuba and Vietnam have broken neocolonial dependence, benefiting their populations over imperial core profits.
The US and other Western countries often overlook their own issues while scrutinizing socialist nations' failures.
The capitalist system is inherently flawed, with boom and bust cycles, prioritizing profit over people's health and the environment.
The US, despite being the richest country, faces issues like stagnant wages, debt, and inequality, questioning its success as a capitalist nation.
Cuba, despite sanctions, has a healthcare system that outperforms many developing countries, indicating success in providing for its citizens.
The argument that 'insert X socialist country failed' is often used to shut down conversation and lacks nuance.
Capitalist countries are often given a pass on failures, while socialist countries are heavily scrutinized and their achievements downplayed.
The video challenges viewers to consider why they recoil at the mention of socialism and to question the narratives they've been given.
The video concludes by emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of history and the importance of not ignoring the facts about socialist countries.
Transcripts
hello we are the argument fairly often
but insert X social's country failed or
socialism has never been successful
honestly it's a strange argument to make
let's humor this probably real person in
your life though firstly how would they
Define Socialism or capitalism for that
matter Norway isn't socialist for
example
for ease a capitalist country is one
with private ownership of the means of
production meaning factories lion
capsule Etc Market mechanisms as a major
determining force in the economy and
wage labor the prototypical example of
this is the United States a socialist
country is one where private property is
heavily restricted if not outright
abolished we're not talking about
personal property here that means the
production are collectively and
democratically owned by Society through
cooperatives and the state there is some
form of a national economic plan and
Market mechanisms are either subordinate
to the plan or entirely suppressed
referring to the likes of Cuba the USSR
Etc as socialist in this video and no
that doesn't make them perfect or any
other nonsense you may have just thought
of there's of course a lot more Nuance
to this discussion but I'm trying to
keep it brief without clear definitions
you can't have a conversation so check
out these two videos if you're
interested in further details
now more importantly how would one
define success longevity quality of life
military strengths economic performance
political and diplomatic influence
ceasing to exist or not measuring up or
not to world powers of the time
reductions of total human suffering
perhaps the conversation becomes stale
because the comparisons are never even
filled relatively politically stable
countries that suffered no major
external restriction and benefited from
centuries of colonial extraction for
example France are compared to
semi-futile former colonies that had
just won their independence in the grand
scheme of things and were made to suffer
for it by those same formerly Colonial
powers for example Vietnam by all these
criteria this or that socialist country
meet all of those previous expectations
and in many cases far exceed them on the
flip side many capitalist countries
simply don't the trick in this game
though is to excuse or look over
capitalism's failure at developing
otherwise resource-rich countries this
is done through dedicated mechanisms of
keeping them poor while enriching the
Imperial core Western Europe North
America
Etc and even then all those third world
profits usually flow only to the already
very wealthy top sectors of those
countries in the Imperial core this
delves into concepts of unequal exchange
and value transference a concept I'll
touch on in another video Let's actually
get to comparing we'll use the classic
example the USSR lasted seven decades
despite starting off from position as
underdeveloped as India in the early
20th century it was immediately besieged
sanctioned diplomatically isolated and
not given International recognition into
the 30s torn apart by a civil war an
external Invasion by over a dozen
countries overtaken by German invasion
World War II in which it suffered far
more than any other country in Europe
perpetually suffering from U.S and NATO
attempts at destabilization afterwards
and plenty more already a comparison
without taking these factors into
account is incredibly disingenuous if
we're going by quality of life well I
made several videos on that in short
socialist countries in general provided
a higher quality of life for their
population at the same level of Economic
Development meaning whatever
capabilities a country may have all
things equal socialism would provide
better housing Health Care education
women's rights cultural development and
so on than if the country were to be
capitalist you get some common
objections to this point but they all
fall flat skew data old research blah
blah etc etc which I deal with in the
above videos you just saw on screen
moving on the idea of military strength
is silly to even mention as the greatest
unfounded honestly fear of the US was
the ussr's military capability which
although powerful was used far less
liberally than Americas in fact the USSR
had pleaded with the us to stop the arms
race frequently stating that whatever
you develop
with neutron bomb development the Star
Wars program Etc being Prime examples it
was less an arms race in reality and
more of it keeping a parity with a
warmonger in the United States which
need to remind you has been at War 225
out of 243 years since 1776. regardless
even military strength a ridiculous
yardstick that falls apart at further
scrutiny isn't valid for this analysis
economic performance is also one of
those things that goes without saying
the USSR started as a peasant Backwater
where wooden plows were being used and
within three decades had conquered the
cosmos they Rose to such a high level
that to this day people still unfairly
compare it to the US a country that had
two centuries of development ahead of
the USSR and started off in far better
circumstances also not forgetting the
horror of the enslavement of One race
and the genocide of another take a look
at the book The Triumph of evil
on top of this the USSR had to endure
the aforementioned brutal Civil War
multiple invasions sanctions destruction
brought by the Germans as they destroyed
everything they came across etc etc this
point cannot be understated because it's
always forgotten and many times emitted
intentionally from the conversation
through all these trials the Soviet
Union not only recovered but was
competing with history's largest power
of the United States and even surpassing
it in certain cases
undoubtedly had it not been illegally
dissolved against the Democratic will of
the Soviet people and may have even
surpassed the us in our current age the
second rapidly Rising superpower this
time of the 21st century is the People's
Republic of China which could have never
achieved its current level of
development without Mao era policies and
accomplishments in fact China is
expected to surpass the United States in
just a few years and I'll do this with a
population more or less confident in
their development and agreeing with the
general direction their government is
taking at least a lot more than the Us
and other contemporary liberal states
along with a doubling real income by the
decade and more that's not mentioning
all the other examples that can be
listed from Cuba to Vietnam and Beyond
breaking the ties of neocolonial
dependence and resource extraction to
benefit the actual population of those
third world countries over the profits
of people unfathomably wealthy and
politically connected within the
Imperial core is the program of
socialism both historically as well as
today most clearly of all it showed in
all those countries despite the
sanctions and other hurdles artificially
placed upon them
honestly shouldn't go without saying but
if socialism will fail on its own
inevitably why does the US suspend so
many billions to sabotage invade bombs
sanction diplomatically isolate and
assassinate for just one example take a
look at this video here
back to the video in just a second let's
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video
if we were to go buy a social political
or diplomatic influence well this too is
fairly clear communism was considered to
be the greatest threat to the status quo
in the 20th century and continues to be
practically every single revolutionary
or Independence Movement sought Aid in
diplomatic support from the USSR
meanwhile every puppet dictator from
Latin America to Africa ran to the US
for protection every genuine Progressive
domestic movement has had some socialist
flavor usually of the pro-existing
socialism type from the US to Latin
America and each one was brutally shut
down with American help and fear of the
influence of socialist thought
furthermore I don't think the recent
upswing in anti-commiss medium
publication has gone unnoticed either
how about ceasing to exist Does that
mean a country has failed Iraq my
country is a massive mess yet it still
exists in some certain political order
does that mean it's succeeding if you
doubt it's failure then check out my two
recent videos in Iraq here
these terms are so vague and just
pointless they only serve to end the
conversation before this even started
how many countless capitalist countries
have quote-unquote failed because of
economic collapse political change or
military takeover far more than
socialist countries I can assure you
regarding human suffering this one is
tricky to calculate of course far more
has occurred under capitalism than under
socialism and if you believe the 100
million lie that's been reproduced time
and time again just know that's all well
nonsense they count non-births through
extrapolation and fertility data they
count dead Nazis on the Eastern front in
the total the Aether sleight of hand at
fifty thousand or a million just for the
memes amongst other fantasies if you're
interested in a deeper dive check out my
death total capitalism video here
regardless socialism has been
empirically proven through numerous
studies to provide better Healthcare
outcomes better nutrition more Equitable
access to healthcare and cultural
facilities as well as a more robust
system of care in general in society
things regular people actually need use
and objectively defined quality of life
likewise in the Soviet example with
Leisure more free time more Cultural
Center spas or treats for regular people
regular day-to-day life basically no
rent incredibly cheap Staples widespread
and accessible public transport Etc and
even working life with shorter and less
demanding working days as you're not
there to maximize profit it's good to
keep in mind to not fall into the crap
Austria for example might be nice in
their living standards but Senegal for
example doesn't and perhaps cannot
provide these amenities despite both of
them being capitalist socialism so far
has been the only system that has been
both economically capable and
politically willing to provide these
benefits for their populations as a
whole
let's discuss failure then how would you
define failure collapse in that case did
the Roman Empire fail did the numerous
Portuguese republics fail terms need to
be defined to me it sounds as more of an
emotional attacker than an objective
characterization if equally poor
starting position capitalist countries
achieve the same level of development as
socialist countries along with all the
hurdles artificially placed upon them
they'd be considered Miracles likewise
when your average capitalist country
think Bangladesh Ecuador Kenya Etc
collapses from some form of political
order it's never seen as a failing of
capitalism or shocked up to corruption
or some other nebulous explanation it
seems that only liberal quote-unquote
democracies are spared from being
considered a failure in the fullest
sense here's some food for thought the
United States is the richest country on
Earth and arguably in all of history yet
stagnant real wages despite skyrocketing
productivity most Americans can't afford
a 500 emergency people are drowning in
student and other debt there is no place
in the US where minimum wage workers can
afford rent and nearly half of Americans
don't earn enough to afford even a
one-bedroom rental inflation is
destroying savings and making any
likelihood of ever owning something in
actual fantasy infrastructure is
crumbling widening income inequality
climate catastrophe American government
support for every fascist Tyrant and
every dictator I could go on and on
rampant poverty unemployment
homelessness serious issues with women's
rights amongst many other things people
prefer to die rather than go into
medical debt stable employment and
workers rights are regularly trampled in
pursuit of profits as we've seen in Ohio
recently school shootings crumbling
indication is this not failure to remind
you this is with no sanctions on the US
no foreign Invasion no internal sabotage
nothing the American government has
every privilege it is the political
military and economic hegemon it
regularly dictates the policy of other
countries thousands of miles away to its
own benefit it dictates international
trade and dominates it through its
currency it can get away with whatever
it wants and still manages to not
guarantee a respectable and dignified
existence for all or even most of its
citizens Cuba a sanctioned third world
targeted by the largest superpower ever
known as a thriving and efficient
Healthcare System that is the Envy of
all developing countries they have a
stronger track record than the United
States when it comes to life expectancy
infant mortality child malnutrition
literacy and far more how is this not
success in comparison capitalism is a
system built on top of the cancer cell
logic of infinite growth despite a
finite planet with finite resources A
system that breaks down every few years
as a result of inherent boom and bust
cycles of which young people have
experienced several once in a lifetime
economic catastrophes a system where
People's Health and environment are
regularly sacrificed on the altar of
profit this is the definition of failure
the capitalist system working as it's
supposed to
but the fallacy in all this is to ignore
these facts and to only consider the
richest countries as capitalists France
U.S Britain Etc while ignoring places
like Peru Bhutan the Congo Moldova or
other less palatable yet fully
capitalist examples to use the Richard
wolfline if you had a car or electrical
grid system or even a roommate as
unstable as capitalism you would have
left a long time ago again I reiterate
my earlier point the insert X socialist
country failed statement is a sad and
Petty non-argument used to end the
dialogue before it even begins its use
shows less of a nuanced understanding of
history and more a certain level of
ignorance usually mixed with American
sexualism or a severe malanite scrutiny
placed over socialist Nations that
doesn't cross over to capitalist ones
unsurprisingly that honestly is the Crux
of the matter the most minute negative
of a socialist country is not only
magnified it's blown out of proportion
or outright lied about and the largest
most blatant positives are so heavily
and unfairly and in many cases
incorrectly scrutinized as to diminish
their accomplishments and trivialize
their struggles meanwhile capitalist
country usually wealthy Western ones can
get a pass I'll give you an example the
East German secret police deshdasi is
spoken of in ill terms to this day
hilariously by Americans who live in
practically bugged houses with numerous
public and private agencies spying on
their every word move and of course
purchase where their every detail is
intimately known they will condemn the
East Germans while not batting an eye at
their own peculiar situation of course
that's not to absolve the Stasi but to
give you food for thought you were told
that East Germany was the height of
totalitarianism for this but you living
in a hellscape far more grotesque and
they tell you not to worry as if you
ever worried at all if you're interested
in these Germany take a look at the
bookishtasi state or socialist Paradise
for a deeper dive
regardless it's a reproducible pattern
some will condemn Soviet utilitarian
housing blocks meant for temporary
post-war housing while living in
incredibly small apartments themselves
where two-thirds of their paychecks go
towards rent and homelessness is rampant
if you instantly recoil when hearing
Socialism or communism ask yourself why
maybe those that continuously villainize
social examples and ideas have a vested
interest in keeping the population
ignorant of the facts but those who own
everything those with all the money they
would never lie right
and that's about it for today if you
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