• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

One word to describe US

smallvoice said:
What you think is "greed" is capitalism at its best. It works when no other economic system does. If you are lazy, it won't work for you. That would be my diagnosis of your problem with the US.
Click to expand...

Capitalism is like the gas pedal on your car. But just because a car needs a gas pedal to work does not mean it doesn't need a brake pedal or a steering wheel.

Many Americans have been so impressed by the power of the gas pedal that they have forgotten about the idea of social safety nets or the importance of a decent set of regulations and laws by a competent government.
 
ataraxia said:
Capitalism is like the gas pedal on your car. But just because a car needs a gas pedal to work does not mean it doesn't need a brake pedal or a steering wheel.

Many Americans have been so impressed by the power of the gas pedal that they have forgotten about the idea of social safety nets or the importance of a decent set of regulations and laws by a competent government.
Click to expand...

"Social Safety nets" are neither a brake pedal , nor a steering wheel. Economics 101 will give the answer. Ever hear of Adam Smith? The Invisible Hand?

My guess is you only see liberal government as the only competent government. From my view, nothing could be farther than the truth. A liberal government is more like a police parking boot.
 
smallvoice said:
"Social Safety nets" are neither a brake pedal , nor a steering wheel. Economics 101 will give the answer. Ever hear of Adam Smith? The Invisible Hand?

My guess is you only see liberal government as the only competent government. From my view, nothing could be farther than the truth. A liberal government is more like a police parking boot.
Click to expand...

Adam Smith was writing at the dawn of the industrial revolution. He did not foresee the rise of monopolists, robber barons, and the ever-increasing exploitation of child labor until some laws and regulations were put in place.

There is a reason ALL developed economies in the world today are mixed economies, ie, they have gas and brake pedals. Long and painful experience over the last 2 centuries has shown that the invisible hand is also blind and can hurt a lot of people if left completely without supervision. It is not a all-powerful, all-wise deity to deliver justice and prosperity to all if just left unchecked. All these developed and developing economies around the world are mixed economies not because they have not read Adam Smith and are ignorant of the power of free markets and the concept of "the invisible hand".
 
smallvoice said:
"Social Safety nets" are neither a brake pedal , nor a steering wheel. Economics 101 will give the answer. Ever hear of Adam Smith? The Invisible Hand?

My guess is you only see liberal government as the only competent government. From my view, nothing could be farther than the truth. A liberal government is more like a police parking boot.
Click to expand...

All laws and regulations, by definition, are a limit on freedoms. But sometimes it's worth it. Traffic laws, stop signs, red lights, speed limits, etc... are all a pain. But if left completely free, most people feel the alternative would not be acceptable.

The only place where there is complete freedom is the jungle. The only law there is all natural: the law of the jungle. And somehow humans decided that a state of law and order in civilization, despite all its limitations, is somewhat superior. Why?
 
Only the left hate America.

And foreigners.
 
ataraxia said:
Adam Smith was writing at the dawn of the industrial revolution. He did not foresee the rise of monopolists, robber barons, and the ever-increasing exploitation of child labor until some laws and regulations were put in place.

There is a reason ALL developed economies in the world today are mixed economies, ie, they have gas and brake pedals. Long and painful experience over the last 2 centuries has shown that the invisible hand is also blind and can hurt a lot of people if left completely without supervision. It is not a all-powerful, all-wise deity to deliver justice and prosperity to all if just left unchecked. All these developed and developing economies around the world are mixed economies not because they have not read Adam Smith and are ignorant of the power of free markets and the concept of "the invisible hand".
Click to expand...

So you are now a classical liberal. The less we have of controls, the better off we are. I NEVER said "no controls" which is the position you lefties want the righties to take.
 
grip said:
What's your one word to describe the US?

Mine is "greedy."
Click to expand...

That's a challenge. I can think of a bunch of words, so it's hard to pick just one. But your choice prompted "generous" to come to my mind. Americans have given away a buttload of money and time over the years to nations and peoples who didn't always deserve it.
 
Last edited:
Divided comes to mind....but lost is as good a word as any.
 
So hard to define the US in one word. I'll try.

Constitution.

We as a nation are strong, resilient, successful, generous, greedy, capable, giving, supportive...how others view us typically depends on their own myopic world view. If someone...anyone views the US through Trump they are a ****ing moron. Trump is one man...and he is bound by the Constitution. Any ****wit that says he is violating the Constitution 1-hasnt been able to demonstrate how and 2-never said **** when the previous administration LITERALLY used our nations intel to not only attack Trump but to spy on ALL of us. SO again...its that myopia thing. If you JUST use the word greedy...OK...fine...but what you really mean is "and they wont GIVE ME any!" When foreigners say they prefer Obama to trump I can certainly see that. Obama spent 8 years subjugating himself to the world and kissing peoples ass and THATS how they like to see the leader of the strongest country on the planet. People from the southern hemisphere of the Americas that are pissed they cant just come through the open door Obama created for them are not victims of Trumps decision to FOLLOW AMERICAN LAW...they are victims of the lies the previous administration spun to allow the mass migration in the first place.

We arent without flaws. No one is. Ive been around the globe more than a few times...spent significant time in the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, and throughout the Middle East. Nothing but love for those places...but still no place on the planet I would rather live.
 
Bum said:
Divided comes to mind....but lost is as good a word as any.
Click to expand...
Lost? Nah. The only people that are truly lost are those that wont see where they are and where they need to go. Willfully.
 
smallvoice said:
So you are now a classical liberal. The less we have of controls, the better off we are. I NEVER said "no controls" which is the position you lefties want the righties to take.
Click to expand...

I am not interested in labels- only learning from the consequences of various courses of actions.

Eliminating safety nets for protection of basic human rights, like food, shelter, access to clean water, a basic education, and access to healthcare, with the reassurance that the free markets and this magical "invisible hand" will take care of it, is essentially "no controls". That has not been the experience of the last 2 centuries since the industrialization, and has led to repeatedly unacceptable situations.

Folks who have such magical faith in the magic of pure free markets are about as blind to the actual experiences and lessons of history as those who have a magical faith in pure communism. They too tell us the only reason communism has never worked is because it has never been implemented in its pure form. Such ideological purists want to sacrifice the repeated lessons of history to the altar of ideological purity. The world is a much more messy place. That's why the actual economic systems developed nations use these days is also similarly mixed and messy and never "pure".
 
grip said:
What's your one word to describe the US?
Click to expand...


* * Failing * *

- Significant loss of American influence in virtually every region on the planet, as Chinese and Russian influence grows. (Obama's foolishness and Trump's idiocy.)

- Enthusiastic debtor nation, with ever increasing expenditures. (Bush's mismanagement of the War on Terror, Obama's increases, Trump's lack of caring.)

- Billion-dollar corporations freed from paying taxes. (Trump's 2017 Tax-Cut and Jobs Act.)

- Anti-science beliefs continue to threaten the American edge in science. (GOP partisan stupidity...it's all a hoax!!!!)

- Democracy under assault by voter ID restrictions, racial gerrymandering, select poll closures, political court packing as high even as the Supreme Court, actual multiple voter fraud cases, and illegal legislation to strip gubernatorial powers from victorious opponents. Not to mention a seated President's willingness to commit treason for personal gain. (GOP exponential modus operandi.)

- Education belittled in such a way that we don't really invest in our own nation's future. (Average voter and tax-payer)


It's a smörgåsbord of blame. But it all results in the American people letting the Founding Father's down and disappointing all those countries out there who need us to succeed.
 
Last edited:
Mine was stolen from me in the OP. See how you are?
 
Cornucopia

One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father Kronus. In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goat Amaltheia ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of her horns, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.[1]

AKA horn of plenty

Cornucopia - Wikipedia
 
smallvoice said:
"Social Safety nets" are neither a brake pedal , nor a steering wheel. Economics 101 will give the answer. Ever hear of Adam Smith? The Invisible Hand?

My guess is you only see liberal government as the only competent government. From my view, nothing could be farther than the truth. A liberal government is more like a police parking boot.
Click to expand...

If one is a true political liberal, they would want as little government involvement at all. Adam Smith has a pretty good handle on capitalism and the free market. The way our country was in it's infancy, the church was the center of the community, and that was the "safety net". What people mistakenly call "corporate greed", is usually some type of scam or gaming of the system. There are laws that should keep it in check, but doesn't always do a satisfactory job. I consider myself a classic liberal.
 
mrdeltoid said:
If one is a true political liberal, they would want as little government involvement at all. Adam Smith has a pretty good handle on capitalism and the free market. The way our country was in it's infancy, the church was the center of the community, and that was the "safety net". What people mistakenly call "corporate greed", is usually some type of scam or gaming of the system. There are laws that should keep it in check, but doesn't always do a satisfactory job. I consider myself a classic liberal.
Click to expand...

These folks are not true liberals, they just like what they have bastardized the word to mean. They abandoned the church safety net and want gubmint to pick up the slack. My church still provides it in a rational manner. If one were to follow modern liberal/progressive goals it would give us the nanny state we are heading for. Workers would just let the government do it all and give them what it wants them to have.
 
ill-served
 
smallvoice said:
What you think is "greed" is capitalism at its best. It works when no other economic system does. If you are lazy, it won't work for you. That would be my diagnosis of your problem with the US.
Click to expand...

I don't have a problem, per se, with the US. It's the greedy multinational corporations that use their power, money, and influence to leverage the system unfairly against the average worker. We don't need multi-trillion dollar companies too big to fail using lobbyists, special interests, and campaign donations to rig the system.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom