• merc@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    Is the US socialist because nVidia is a public company, therefore the shares are owned by the public? Is it a socialist country because most workers have 401(k) plans containing index funds, so they own a tiny portion of every major company? The ownership of the company is shared, so it must be socialism, right? I’d say no, because it’s not shared evenly.

    What if a single individual owns a single “mean” of production, but everything else is owned by the state, is that whole system capitalist? To me, it’s clearly not. You could argue that it’s mixed, but I’d say if it’s 99.9% not capitalist, it’s not capitalist.

    Modern economies are mixes of socialism and capitalism. The people (through the government) own certain things, and individuals own other things.

    • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      Is the US socialist because nVidia is a public company, therefore the shares are owned by the public? […] The ownership of the company is shared, so it must be socialism, right? I’d say no, because it’s not shared evenly.

      How did you mess up this badly? A “public company” [sic, the correct term is “publicly traded company”] is a regular private company where the owners are hundreds or even thousands of individuals. A publicly owned company is one where every single citizen owns the company simply by being alive or every single worker owns the company simply by working there.

      What if a single individual owns a single “mean” of production, but everything else is owned by the state

      I don’t even understand what you mean by this…

      Modern economies are mixes of socialism and capitalism. The people (through the government) own certain things, and individuals own other things.

      No, they’re not, and this shows a very serious hole in your knowledge of economic and social systems. While, informally, it’s sometimes said to be the case, that’s strictly an oversimplification to communicate a different idea. Countries like the US simply use a government-assisted capitalist model. Places like the Nordic countries have a more transitional system, but are ultimately still just capitalist.

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Of course they are. How can you be so confused. Countries like the US are a mix of socialist and capitalist systems. Some things are owned and run by the government (socialism), other things are owned and run by private individuals (capitalism). No society has ever worked where it was 100% socialist or 100% capitalist.

        • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          Are you illiterate? I specifically pointed to why that’s not the case…

            • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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              10 months ago

              You couldn’t specify your breakfast if you were in the middle of eating it. Grow up.

              • merc@sh.itjust.works
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                10 months ago

                Ah, so you can’t find a flaw in my argument, instead you tell me to “grow up”, as if you’re an adult and I’m not. It’s pretty clear you have no idea what you’re talking about since you can’t argue your point.