Socialism

Many people wonder what heaven is like -- so many, in fact, that philosophers and scholars over the years have hypothesized about how heaven on Earth can be achieved. The term "utopia" was coined in 1515 by British writer Thomas More. Utopia describes a perfect place or society, where everyone is equal socially and economically.

The political and economic theory of socialism was created with the vision of a utopian society in mind. Contrary to other economic systems, there is no real consensus on how the ideal socialist society should function. Dozens of forms of socialism exist, all with differing ideas about economic planning, community size and many other factors. Despite the variations in socialist thought, every version advocates the benefits of cooperation among the people, steering clear of the "evils" of competition associated with capitalism.

True socialists advocate a completely classless society, where the government controls all means of production and distribution of goods. Socialists believe this control is necessary to eliminate competition among the people and put everyone on a level playing field. Socialism is also characterized by the absence of private property. The idea is that if everyone works, everyone will reap the same benefits and prosper equally. Therefore, everyone receives equal earnings, medical care and other necessities.

As we've learned, socialism is difficult to define because it has so many incarnations. One of the things socialists agree on is that capitalism causes oppression of the lower class. Socialists believe that due to the competitive nature of capitalism, the wealthy minority maintains control of industry, effectively driving down wages and opportunity for the working class. The main goal of socialism is to dispel class distinctions by turning over control of industry to the state. This results in a harmonious society, free of oppression and financial instability. Some of the other forms of socialism include these goals:

Guild socialism: Based in early 19th-century England, workers' guilds (similar to unions) were responsible for control and management of goods.

Utopian socialism: Advocates social ownership of industry and a voluntary, nonviolent surrender of property to the state. Implemented in communities like Robert Owens' New Lanark.

State socialism: State socialism allows major industries to be publicly owned and operated.

Christian socialism: Developed in England in 1948, this branch was born from the conflict between competitive industry and Christian principles. Christian socialist societies are characteristically led by religious leaders, rather than socialist groups.

Anarchism: Opposes domination by the family, state, religious leaders and the wealthy. Anarchism is completely opposed to any form of repression and has been associated with some radical events, including assassinations in Italy, France and Greece. U.S. President William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist.

Market Socialism: Often referred to as a compromise between socialism and capitalism. In this type of society, the government still owns many of the resources, but market forces determine production and demand. Government workers are also enticed with incentives to increase efficiency.

Agrarianism: Form of socialism that features the equitable redistribution of land among the peasants and self-government similar to that in communal living. Agrarian ideals were popular in the rural United States well into the 1900s, although increasing government control deterred their growth.  READ MORE...

Living in a Utopia

A utopia is an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens.  The term was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island society in the south Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South America. The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia, which dominates the fictional literature from the 1950s onwards, chiefly because of the impact of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). 

However, the term can also denote actual experiments in what participants regard as a vastly superior manner of living, generally in what are termed intentional communities. In common parlance it is synonymous with "impossible", "far-fetched", and "deluded".

Literary utopias focus on, amongst other things, equality, in such categories as economics, government and justice, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying based on ideology.  

 Lyman Tower Sargent argues that the nature of a utopia is inherently contradictory because societies are not homogeneous and have desires which conflict and therefore cannot simultaneously be satisfied. SOURCE:  Wikipedia

The television series Star Trek was based upon a Utopia under the control of a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT:   The United Federation of Planets.  And, it was this Federation that operated much like our United Nations but with a hell of a lot more power.  

People did not have to work unless they wanted to and if they did work they were paid according to their level of skill, not necessarily education but some form of formalized training in order to acquire those skills.  They were paid in credits but everything was provided for them:  housing, clothes, transportation, medical, etc.

And, no one bitched about it costing too much money or that one's taxes would be increasing...  it was just an accepted lifestyle.  However, there were some that rejected this space-age lifestyle and preferred to live "off the grid" so to speak but they were non violent and wanted to be left alone.

Star Trek was an instant success because of this ideal lifestyle and living conditions and complete acceptance without concerns or regret...

BUT, that will never happen today because most people do not want to be controlled by the government...  which is one of the main reasons why we wanted our independence from Great Britain.  We wanted to be free of government but we also wanted religious freedom as well...  and, the freedom to be able to say whatever without fear of going to jail.

Utopia's are nice concepts but they are impractical because of man's desire to be different...  no body agrees with everyone else ALL THE TIME...  and, this is exactly why Utopias will always FAIL...  except in Star Trek.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER...