Socialism similarities
Dear editor:
This letter is in response to that of Michael Dryhurst. Sir, you make all kinds of unsupported assumptions in your response to the letter of Christine Bosch. I daresay you have never met this fine lady and yet you presume to know that she is uneducated, untraveled and politically naive.
Mr. Dryhurst, I do know Chris Bosch and her husband, Dennis, and I can assure you that they are highly educated, well-traveled, and politically informed citizens of this community. You imply that Mrs. Bosch has never lived outside the U.S. How you can “know” this is beyond me (perhaps you really are Clark Kent?). In any case, one does not have to live in a socialist country to be able to differentiate between socialism and communism. The ability to read and a decent library are sufficient.
You are right that socialism and communism are not identical political theories; however, they are not all that dissimilar. Karl Marx in “The Communist Manifesto” describes socialism as a necessary transitional step to communism. He theorized that communism was inevitable but socialism was a prerequisite to prepare people for the coming totalitarian state. A key premise of socialism is a centrally planned and controlled economy, as well as the primacy of the state over individual rights.
Sound familiar? It should because these are increasingly positions of the Democrat party which you refer to as “centrist.” Not likely.
You mention the U.K. and Ireland as socialist countries. I will add Sweden and Denmark, which are often thought to be socialist. In fact, none of these countries is socialist. They are free-market economies with large welfare programs, programs that are increasingly challenged by their changing demographics.
And finally, I deplore the fact that like so many letters from the political Left these days, your own very quickly descends to the level of personal attack. Since lies, distortions, and lack of context are insufficient to discredit your opponents, you resort to that lowest level of discourse, the ad hominem approach. Not acceptable.
Oh, and if Bernie Sanders is not a socialist, someone should tell him as he consistently refers to himself as one. He is quite proud of it in fact. He honeymooned in the old USSR and has often spoken favorably of various communist countries. Have a good day, Clark!
Jonne Rosenau Hot Springs