Why are so many young people/students socialist or communist?

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No they chose to because socialism doesn't work, it just encourages people to be lazy, slow down innovation and make everyone poor rather than having wage differences which encourage people to work harder and reach "A higher status" for lack of a better word. This working hard encourages growth in the economy although its inevitable that this means that most people wont actually reach this higher status

Why should we strive for materialism and not our meta-physical needs such as love, friendship, the honing of our talents and such?

There is no such thing as a higher status we simply delude ourselves that having more possessions means you become "more" than other people, but it doesn't you are as little as they are.

But I see what you mean with capitalism encouraging innovation, motivation but it also encourages greed and corruption for the sake of money, does the end justify the means?

Original post by LipstickKisses

Because younger people tend to be have a more idealistic and naive view about the word unfortunately.

That's certainly true, I love communism but I know that it will be a very long time until it will work, unless we forcefully induce utopia through medicine and manipulation and such.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 61

username350927

Original post by Stratos

Its just human nature to want things, we are and always will be selfish. We do good things to help us feel good not to help anyone, Everyone would screw others if it meant they didn't feel guilty. Even using religion as a justification would be selfish because you do it to get into "heaven" you don't do it to just help another person there's always something attached. Than again I am a cynical bastard

Reply 62

ShadowConspiracy

Because they are ****ing deluded.

Reply 63

Stratos

Original post by loki276

I guess I have to agree like the rational egoist I am. :biggrin:

Reply 64

username350927

Original post by bestofyou

India? are you ****ing serious?

China's success is to do with capitalism? Again, f'n serious?

Brazil, same question.

And South Africa? Just got back from there, so don't make me laugh by saying capitalism has succeeded there.

China has state managed capitalism and although its successful right now, at the same time it isn't. It needs to innovate which is hard to do in a country where you are told what to think

India liberalised trade in the 90's and has seen brilliant growth since than.

Don't know that much about Brazil+SA, but anyways theses countries have inevitably been succeeding in the past 2 decades and they arent ridiculously socialist/communist (except china sort of), they are still in the early stages so poverty will be high however slowly as the workers realise they are being exploited and demand higher wages poverty will starts to get reduced also will happen when they stop messing with their currencies so much

Reply 65

Jacktri

young people are unaffected by the greed of capitalism yet hence they have no problems with communism

Reply 66

sorafdfs

Just ask them if they give all their disposable income and unneeded student loan to poor people :h:

Reply 67

zedeneye1

none of these systems have ever been fully tested with complete passion and honesty.

Right in the middle of it, something goes wrong or someone gets greedy. Thats the reason none of these systems have ever been proven to work perfectly.

communism works where people love their country and those people include the leadership as well.
but over time, they try to change, cuz they think the "free-world" is a better place and that messes up everything.

capitalism works where people love financial inequality to give everyone a chance to win the lottery.
but after some time they get too greedy and the general public gets poorer and thinks maybe capitalism isnt really a good thing and tries to adopt communism and ends up turning into a corrupt mixed economy.

Reply 68

visa

Original post by Stratos

Because some of us want material things not sappy intangible nonsense :curious:

Reply 69

NietzschanGuy

I'd probably describe myself as relatively socialist although I don't really like tying myself to one specific 'classical' ideology. I suppose the short version summary would be capitalism with socialist humanism regulating it, similar to the Chinese economic system (obviously given my avatar at the present). Effectively the same as what we already have now pretty much but with one or two more restrictions i.e. nationalised crucial industries.

With regard to the more interesting question as to whether that may change, I'd say my views change quite regularly, depending on what appears to me to be working and what does not. I don't see why anyone would tie themselves to one rigid meta-narrative given how complex and ever-changing our environments are, although whether my views will radically change in the future I don't think so. Certainly on an economic level it'd be completely stupid to choose a viewpoint and stick to it whatever, I think capitalism and socialism both fail utterly if they don't show flexibility and restraint when needed, so I doubt my views will ever really shift hugely from this unless I become more close minded to change in the future.

Reply 70

Kibalchich

Labour aren't socialist and public sector pensions are not "gold plated"

40 years old and a socialist. :smile:

Reply 71

usainlightning

Original post by planetearth

Because Communism is all about working and living for moral incentives, rather than purely material incentives. It is for the good of everyone as a whole, not just as an individual. Unfortunately empathy and selflessness are in very short supply, and are viewed as weak and idealistic attributes by many when it is the exact opposite.

When implemented transparently and democratically the positive effects of a Communist society and economy are almost unparalleled, as happened in the state of Kerala.

I think you'll find that the leading party in Kerala is the INC who are more 'thrid way' than communist.

Reply 72

wactm

I can think its even more naive to think capitalism works to be honest. Personaly I'm very much a beliver of equal opportunities, meaning if everyone has the same standard of education from the very beginning the academic will go to university and the non-academic would be given training in whatever trades they want to pursue. A mix of socialism and capitalism is probaly the best way to go.

And to the people criticising the Nazis and the USSR, capitalist countries are hardly innocent, what about nagasaki and hiroshima? I'm pretty sure they happened.

Reply 73

planetearth

Original post by Ocassus

Human beings do not live for the same morals, they are societal and not a constant. Why define life by something that is so clearly arbitrary and meaningless?

Many human beings live for very similar morals, hence the creation of laws and charities etc...

You believe life is meaningless, however many others don't (e.g. religious people). Regardless, even if you aren't religious it doesn't stop people from having their own values and will to help others that come from basic human instict, necessary for our very survival.

Reply 74

Uneschka

Original post by Aspiringlawstudent

Because they lack maturity and intellect, and are woefully naive.

I'm eighteen and a dyed-in-the-wool Tory, and it seems that most people around my age are stereotypical "ANARCHY 4 DA UK" type rabble rousers, presumably because they've yet to actually grow up.

And the denunciation of the entire socialist student population on the grounds that you happen to disagree with their views gives exellent proof of your maturity and intellect :rolleyes:

Reply 75

Phillipsherman

Original post by mrsabby

Isn't it hilarious my accurate description of communism gets 4 thumbs down

people hate communism I guess :dontknow:

Reply 76

Kickflip

They are not financially independent, and don't pay tax. Plus if they are students they have spent all their lives shielded from the real world in government institutions, and they are also groomed by the perverse and liberal entertainment industry, which encourages degeneracy. Add to that, naivety.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 77

Genocidal

To use a quote from Routledge - "It is not the consciousness of men that determine their existence but their social existence that determines their consciousness"

I think this quote pretty much sums it up; for the majority of people there is a negative positive correlation between wealth and age. As you get older you tend to have more money than you have when you are younger therefore the people with money are going to be less enthusiastic about wealth distribution than people with no money.

Reply 78

J1812

Original post by zedeneye1

capitalism works where people love financial inequality to give everyone a chance to win the lottery.
but after some time they get too greedy and the general public gets poorer and thinks maybe capitalism isnt really a good thing and tries to adopt communism and ends up turning into a corrupt mixed economy.

I claim that there's a lot of evidence that average wage, even of the lowest percentiles, have been improving in capitalist countries. Perhaps you mean relatively poorer?

Reply 79

BulgeBracket

Well think about what point in their life they're at.
They dont have to work and many of them get free money off the government.

I like Capitalism and giving massive amounts of money to poor countries.