Really getting tired of the “bought a jet” story that ends with this morale: “Capitalism is freely giving your money in exchange for something of value.

Socialism is taking your money against your will and shoving something down your throat that you never asked for.”

Pure capitalism is profit maximizing and doesn’t look at the societal ills which it causes including exploitation of fellow humans.

Pure socialism levels the playing field too much and takes away the benefits of risk + reward, leading a society to stagnate.

A blend of the many political ideologies makes a society work. I’ll ignore libertarians, anarchists, communism, and others for now, but rest assured they are all needed for balance.

Socialism recognizes that some things should be communally owned goods because the profit isn’t present even though we want these things: public schools, roads, fire departments, police, water treatment, regulation + inspection to maintain actual building, product, home, and workplace safety.

Capitalism provides the incentives to try new things and be rewarded. Our patent system is meant to allow inventors to recoup their investment while recognizing that ideas should go into the public domain eventually.

No one I know wants pure capitalism, socialism, libertarianism, communism, anarchy. Purity of these points of view results in optimal outcomes for a few, bad results for the rest. We do want a blend of ideologies and need to recognize when adding an anarchist, libertarian, socialist or capitalist idea will benefit all of us.

Legalized alcohol balances a number of these ideologies: libertarian policies let me decide how much to drink so long as I don’t hurt others. Socialist policies fund police to watch for when I and my fellow humans use alcohol and then operate heavy machinery (car) while under the influence. That same socialist bit also makes sure that factors of production have a means to be transported and that the facilities which manufacture the alcohol are safe to work in and producing product up to “healthy” standards. Capitalism improves the quality of alcohol and ensures I have a variety of options to choose from.

In the US, I think we should be adding ambulance rides, recurring prescriptions for chronic conditions, to the list of socialist policies for everyone. Likewise, some post-secondary education should be added– I’d like to value a medical doctor higher than a degree in Egyptology since one scratches an itch, the other helps eliminate the issue causing the itch:)