Don't you just love socialism?

[Lewkowski]

http://news.yahoo.com/maduro-urges-c...025926774.html


"Maduro is gambling that by expanding price controls he can regain support he has lost since being elected in April, as inflation soared to a two-decade high and the U.S. dollar shot up on the black market to nine times its official value.

The president said he also plans to set profit margins for companies if congress approves a law granting him special powers and is creating a special prosecutor to investigate businesses for "usury and robbery of the people."

Analysts said the populist measures might bolster government candidates in next month's mayoral elections, but warned that the tougher rules are likely to inflict more damage on Venezuela's economy by discouraging investment and adding to shortages that reached a record level in October.

Maduro is also taking his offensive to the Internet, blocking access to seven websites that track the value of the country's bolivar currency on the black market. The president over the weekend accused the websites of spreading panic and conspiring against his government.

Free-market economists say the only way to stabilize the economy is to lift capital controls put in place a decade ago by the late President Hugo Chavez and to devalue the bolivar.

That's a notion Maduro rejects.

The president argues that Venezuela's 54 percent inflation rate is the result of hoarding and speculation by his opponents in Venezuela and in the U.S. He says the country, which is South America's biggest oil producer, has more than enough dollars to pay for imports."

Liberals - when will you learn?

[Aimless]

I'm sorry what exactly does this have to do with "liberals"?

[Lewkowski]

I'm sorry what exactly does this have to do with "liberals"?

Liberals like socialism. Maduro and his ilk are socialists. Their country is going down the crapper. Liberals like and support socialism.

The connection is clear.

[Being]

Liberals like socialism. Maduro and his ilk are socialists. Their country is going down the crapper. Liberals like and support socialism.

The connection is clear.

The connection isn't clear. Socialism is about ownership of the means of production. Liberalism is about ideology.

[RandBlade]

Given that socialists and liberals are two completely different things it is pretty absurd.

Socialists - when will you learn? That would have made sense.
Lefties - when will you learn? Absolutely.

If you mean socialists (which you managed to type into the title) then say socialists, not liberals. They're different words as they mean different things.
Getting over Lewks linguistic incontinence, this is another example of the failure of left wing politics. An extreme example.

[Lewkowski]

The connection isn't clear. Socialism is about ownership of the means of production. Liberalism is about ideology.

Gee that statement makes it sounds like the beliefs on who should own the means of production isn't an ideological position...

[earthJoker]

Liberals - when will you learn?

Yes when will you learn?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

Read it, then come back.

[Timbuk2]

[Lewkowski]

Yes when will you learn?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

Read it, then come back.

RB used to pull the same crap. American Liberalism is NOT classical liberalism and everyone here knows it.

From your source -

"During the twentieth century, liberal ideas spread even further, as liberal democracies found themselves on the winning side in both world wars. Liberalism also survived major ideological challenges from new opponents, such as fascism and communism. In Europe and North America, there was also the rise of social liberalism,[9][10] which is related with social democracy in Europe. As such, the meaning of the word "liberalism" began to diverge in different parts of the world. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "In the United States, liberalism is associated with the welfare-state policies of the New Deal program of the Democratic administration of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, whereas in Europe it is more commonly associated with a commitment to limited government and laissez-faire economic policies."[11] Consequently in America, the ideas of individualism and laissez-faire economics previously associated with classical liberalism, became the basis for the emerging school of libertarian thought.[12]"

Name an influential liberal in the Obama administration that supports laissez-faire economic principals.

[RandBlade]

Used to pull the same crap? Have you got me on ignore or something, I said the same thing in this article.

Anyway if your vocabulary expands far enough to use the word socialist then why not use the word socialist? Why use a word that does not mean what you're talking about. American liberalism and classical liberalism may not be the same thing, but while classical liberalism is the complete opposite of socialism, American liberalism is not socialism either.

Name an influential liberal in the Obama administration that supports Venezuelan command state socialism and capital controls.

Your misuse of the word liberal is no different to idiots on the left amalgamating conservative and fascist to being the same thing. You made a good point in the OP about the failures of socialism only to make it look stupid by using the wrong word.

[Aimless]

Liberals like socialism. Maduro and his ilk are socialists. Their country is going down the crapper. Liberals like and support socialism.

The connection is clear.

That's almost as retarded as saying that you Lewk want to kill children because you support spanking. I mean, to be fair, you do want to kill some children, but it's not BECAUSE you like spanking them. Conservatives also want to stone gays right?

[earthJoker]

RB used to pull the same crap. American Liberalism is NOT classical liberalism and everyone here knows it.

This is an international topic on an international board, no reason to use your local U.S. vocabulary on this.

[Lewkowski]

Used to pull the same crap? Have you got me on ignore or something, I said the same thing in this article.

Anyway if your vocabulary expands far enough to use the word socialist then why not use the word socialist? Why use a word that does not mean what you're talking about. American liberalism and classical liberalism may not be the same thing, but while classical liberalism is the complete opposite of socialism, American liberalism is not socialism either.

Name an influential liberal in the Obama administration that supports Venezuelan command state socialism and capital controls.

Your misuse of the word liberal is no different to idiots on the left amalgamating conservative and fascist to being the same thing. You made a good point in the OP about the failures of socialism only to make it look stupid by using the wrong word.

The world revolves around America, I'm from America, when I use the term liberal I refer to liberal in the American sense. This should be obvious and its pointless to play semantics about it.

[Veldan Rath]

I'm from the USA where words have meaning. Socialism does not mean liberalism.

[Lewkowski]

I'm from the USA where words have meaning. Socialism does not mean liberalism.

They don't mean the SAME thing however liberals love socialism. Self proclaimed socialists are liberals. Not all liberals are socialists however I'd wager the majority are.

[GGT]

You abuse and misuse the term "liberal", too.

[earthJoker]

The world revolves around America, I'm from America, when I use the term liberal I refer to liberal in the American sense. This should be obvious and its pointless to play semantics about it.

[RandBlade]

The world revolves around America, I'm from America, when I use the term liberal I refer to liberal in the American sense. This should be obvious and its pointless to play semantics about it.

Liberal in the American sense is not socialist either though so you still failed. The word you meant, in American English, was still socialist. The word you should have used was socialist.

[Khendraja'aro]

The world revolves around America, I'm from America, when I use the term liberal I refer to liberal in the American sense. This should be obvious and its pointless to play semantics about it.

Last time I looked, the world revolves around the sun.

[RandBlade]

While time revolves around London (Greenwich). Even Thor recognises that.

[Aimless]

This is an international topic on an international board, no reason to use your local U.S. vocabulary on this.

He's not using his local US vocabulary, he's using his personal made-up nonsense.

They don't mean the SAME thing however liberals love socialism. Self proclaimed socialists are liberals. Not all liberals are socialists however I'd wager the majority are.

I wish you'd actually put money on this wager

[earthJoker]

He's not using his local US vocabulary, he's using his personal made-up nonsense.

With local I was actually referring to his brain.

[Aimless]

I think you meant "loco" but it's an easy mistake to make

[Khendraja'aro]

In regards to the locality of his brain, "nusquam" would be the proper term.

[Lewkowski]

Liberal in the American sense is not socialist either though so you still failed. The word you meant, in American English, was still socialist. The word you should have used was socialist.

Liberals believe in socialist policies. I can't make it any clearer then that. I guess I can try.

Liberals want government control. Socialists want government control.
Liberals want the rich to pay more taxes. Socialists want the rich to pay more taxes.
Liberals do not believe in the free market. Socialists do not believe in the free market.
Liberals feel wage inequity is a huge problem. Socialists feel wage inequity is a huge problem.
Liberals laugh at the notion we live in a meritocracy. Socialists laugh at the notion we live in meritocracy.

There's a theme here, can you find it?

[Loki]

Surely if a liberal believed in socialist policies they'd be a socialist and not a liberal?

[Flixy]

Surely if Lewk understood political ideologies he wouldn't post such stupid things. Btw, lewk, I would count as a liberal in your book, probably, and I think the Venezuelan government is an abomination that I hope falls as soon as possible. How does that work in your black and white world?

[Aimless]

There's a theme here, can you find it?

Lemme guess, is it that you don't know what you're talking about?

[Lewkowski]

Surely if Lewk understood political ideologies he wouldn't post such stupid things. Btw, lewk, I would count as a liberal in your book, probably, and I think the Venezuelan government is an abomination that I hope falls as soon as possible. How does that work in your black and white world?

Of course you think their government is an abominations - it makes your ideology look bad.

[GGT]

Of course you think their government is an abominations - it makes your ideology look bad.

Classic troll.