Quote:
Originally Posted by abaya
[...] I said that there was plenty of capitalism to go around in Iceland. What I meant by it being "socialist" was the emphasis on a welfare state, as I put in parentheses--we all pay a goodly part of our taxes into a nationalized system of education and health care. Also, I don't know if this applies to your question or not, but all workers in Iceland are required to be members of their respective unions. This applies even to higher-skilled workers. They are not "in control," but the unions have more power and representation here than I have ever seen in the US.
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Yes, Canada is the same way. A good proportion of the House of Commons is made up of socialist representatives. These are mostly social democrats and democratic socialists (yes, there's a difference). What this means is that there are a number of socialists with influence in Canadian politics who don't want a Marxist revolution nor want to take down the capitalist system. They want sensible socialist change within what's currently at play, and they want to reinforce the socialist elements that have already been implemented (national healthcare, workers' rights, etc.).
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 07-31-2008 at 06:36 AM..
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