- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
- 34,817
- Reaction score
- 18,576
- Location
- Look to your right... I'm that guy.
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Centrist
Can ANY political ideology work as advertised?
Seems that every political ideology that has been tried has had varying levels of success and failure... hence they have all been essentially failures to some degree or another (especially when you hear the opposing ideology tell it). Some ideologies haven't been honestly attempted, but in my opinion they would have some level of failure as well.
Take your pick... Socialism, Capitalism, Communism, Conservatism, Fascism, Totalitarianism, Liberalism, and yes, even Libertarianism. (And others that I may have neglected to mention)
Why do they all fail (or would fail)?
In my opinion, they ALL fail to address one simple unavoidable undeniable fact of life... human nature. I believe that any of these "*-isms" could work *IF* everybody were on the same page. As long as everybody is of the same mindset and belief system, any system can work. And that's the rub. Human nature and the complexities of individuals precludes everybody from being of the same mindset and precludes seamless cooperation.
Three examples:
Libertarianism sounds great. Everybody does their own thing, respects one another, treats other fairly, and so on. It's not the libertarian that I would fear in a libertarian society, it's the non-libertarian in a libertarian society that would take advantage and screw it up for everyone else.
On paper, Communism is a great theory. Everybody works together for the common good. Nobody goes lacking. Everybody's a part of the system. Work, and rewards, are distributed equitably. On paper, mind you. Reality has been different. History has shown that not everybody buys into the system, and will take advantage and seek to dominate (i.e.: Stalin, Mao, and so on). It becomes totalitarianism. Even for those who don't aspire to power it doesn't work, as evidenced by private plots on farms out-producing the remainder of the collective farms in the old Soviet Union.
Even totalitarianism could work if those not in charge would be satisfied with their status. Generally, though, they're not. They want more than a mere existence. People generally want some level of ability to make at least basic choices for themselves. Left unto itself, I could see a libertarian society morphing into a totalitarian-like society. Not by design, or in name, but in end result with a select few wielding so much power.
So, the question remains: Can ANY political ideology work as advertised?
I say 'no'. There is no ideal foolproof system. Does that mean they're all equally bad? No, again. Some may be better than others in a relative sense, but there is no ideal system that would work for everybody and satisfy everybody (nor even a vast majority). Each has their own flaws, and said flaws are based primarily in their idealistic short sightedness.
Seems that every political ideology that has been tried has had varying levels of success and failure... hence they have all been essentially failures to some degree or another (especially when you hear the opposing ideology tell it). Some ideologies haven't been honestly attempted, but in my opinion they would have some level of failure as well.
Take your pick... Socialism, Capitalism, Communism, Conservatism, Fascism, Totalitarianism, Liberalism, and yes, even Libertarianism. (And others that I may have neglected to mention)
Why do they all fail (or would fail)?
In my opinion, they ALL fail to address one simple unavoidable undeniable fact of life... human nature. I believe that any of these "*-isms" could work *IF* everybody were on the same page. As long as everybody is of the same mindset and belief system, any system can work. And that's the rub. Human nature and the complexities of individuals precludes everybody from being of the same mindset and precludes seamless cooperation.
Three examples:
Libertarianism sounds great. Everybody does their own thing, respects one another, treats other fairly, and so on. It's not the libertarian that I would fear in a libertarian society, it's the non-libertarian in a libertarian society that would take advantage and screw it up for everyone else.
On paper, Communism is a great theory. Everybody works together for the common good. Nobody goes lacking. Everybody's a part of the system. Work, and rewards, are distributed equitably. On paper, mind you. Reality has been different. History has shown that not everybody buys into the system, and will take advantage and seek to dominate (i.e.: Stalin, Mao, and so on). It becomes totalitarianism. Even for those who don't aspire to power it doesn't work, as evidenced by private plots on farms out-producing the remainder of the collective farms in the old Soviet Union.
Even totalitarianism could work if those not in charge would be satisfied with their status. Generally, though, they're not. They want more than a mere existence. People generally want some level of ability to make at least basic choices for themselves. Left unto itself, I could see a libertarian society morphing into a totalitarian-like society. Not by design, or in name, but in end result with a select few wielding so much power.
So, the question remains: Can ANY political ideology work as advertised?
I say 'no'. There is no ideal foolproof system. Does that mean they're all equally bad? No, again. Some may be better than others in a relative sense, but there is no ideal system that would work for everybody and satisfy everybody (nor even a vast majority). Each has their own flaws, and said flaws are based primarily in their idealistic short sightedness.