I tend to agree and my reaction was similar, but I think it is good for the discussion to look at the specific concerns around power in each system - and also, I would like to add, not assume that these are the two systems and one must choose one of them.
One of the problems with socialist countries/communist countries has been the potential for a world encompassing idealism. Now of course leaders in capitalist nations can also ‘do things for the people’ and ask people to ‘do things for the people’. But there is something all encompassaing aobut the idealisms in some of the larger far left regimes. China and Russia and the USSR for example. Here we can sacrifice for a great future in ways that I think would be hard in the capitalist nations. Because these latter are trying to convince you that their current policies, in general, are good for you. Selfishness is more built in - for good and for ill - and presumed.
Which is why capitalist nations have to come up with wars, and have creatively got a few going at once now, when we include the war on drugs and the war on terrorism. Wars allow them to shift powers to their buddies/themselves but also make it sound like it is in all our interests.
But in socialist countries there really is a kind of God’s kingdom is coming, though without God, and the government, in that system, is much more able to couch policies in the name of some future proletariet heaven and guilt trip formally and punish depending on the government powers directly based on what all of you need to sacrifice for our ideals. Capitalist regimes have more of a sales job.
I think we also need to look at what happens in powerful socialist nations, because it is the smaller ones that tend to have good human rights records.
What’s good for Denmark, might be problematic in a superpower. You have less degrees of separation between those people in government and those they rule. In Denmark the chances a someone fairly high up in government has kids in a daycare that also has your cousins kids go way up. Large governments with massive militaries and intelligence communities may handle left wing rule in a very different way. I don’t know that’s the case. I see some historical support for that. I think it might be the case.
Now I wouldn’t even know what to call myself. My position is not that socialism is better or that capitalism is better. Honestly I dislike both, though there are facets of both that appeal to me. I see the current US as an oligarchy with socialist facets.
What do we say to people coming from the old USSR or other communist regimes when they raise skepticism about socialism. They lived through the consequences of when leaders put on false humility, and considered inviduals only valuable as parts of the whole and in fact often not valuable in and of themselves. And could even say this out loud. Leading to very intrusive intelligence communities, because the I does not matter. Of course our little NSA with infinitely more highpowered tools is extremely intrusive, but they are joke in terms of intrusion compared to STASI.
Of course socialism does not have to be like in the USSR. Just as capitalism does not have to be like is Saudi Arabia or Guatamala in the 80s.
And then Scandanavia is not really socialist. Certainly not anymore. Though most middle americans would call them commies if they knew what happens there.
WE can smile and say that something mixed is best. Sort of like it is assumed that something with a mix of democratic and republican policies makes for the best.
I am skeptical.
But I do not have an answer.
I can’t really create/designe at the level of 100s of millions of people. If we are talking about the US.
But to repeat: The US being socialist is nto the same as Denmark being socialist. More degrees of separation betwene gov and people. More massive intelligence and military. A history of much more violent law enforcement. Law enforcement that is vastly more heavily armed.