# My political philosophy: Practical Democratic Socialism **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898 "2005-06-26T06:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898/41 "2005-06-29T20:19:00Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > If Mr. Smith got a colossal income by manipulating the political system to squeeze money from a lot of Mr. Joneses who only have small or modest incomes, it is certainly reasonable to expect Mr. Smith to give at least some of it back, yes. If Mr. Smith and his small circle of friends own 80% of the wealth, it might be an excellent idea to place some severe restrictions on their wealth and power lest they abuse it. You don’t have to be some kind of ranting, cockeyed radical to believe that extreme imbalances of wealth will create serious problems and perhaps even destroy society altogether. Evasive. What I said was that Mr. Smith invested his money and doubled it. There is no cause to assume any ulterior motive or circumstance. But I think I get your drift. There is apparently nothing that would keep you from pawing at the wealth of other men in the pursuit of your plans for society. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898/42 "2005-06-30T02:28:22Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Evasive. What I said was that Mr. Smith invested his money and doubled it. There is no cause to assume any ulterior motive or circumstance. But I think I get your drift. There is apparently nothing that would keep you from pawing at the wealth of other men in the pursuit of your plans for society. But exactly \* how \* did Mr. Smith “invest his money”? Did he invest it in a company that bought and sold slaves? Did he invest it in a coal mine that worked children to death for subsistence wages? Did he invest in a tobacco company that knowingly suppressed research showing that tobacco was dangerous? You can cover up a multitude of sins with that innocuous little phrase. Perhaps you should put down those Ayn Rand novels and read a little history once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898/43 "2005-06-30T02:32:06Z")
> [@](#): > > But I think I get your drift. There is apparently nothing that would keep you from pawing at the wealth of other men in the pursuit of your plans for society. I think you missed his drift. He said that under one set of circumstances he would support taking some of Smith’s money. That doesn’t mean he would support it under other circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898/44 "2005-06-30T14:50:16Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > But exactly \* how \* did Mr. Smith “invest his money”? Did he invest it in a company that bought and sold slaves? Did he invest it in a coal mine that worked children to death for subsistence wages? Did he invest in a tobacco company that knowingly suppressed research showing that tobacco was dangerous? You can cover up a multitude of sins with that innocuous little phrase. Perhaps you should put down those Ayn Rand novels and read a little history once in a while. Suppose he used it to open a local muffler shop. Should his money be transferred to the person who gambled away his money? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898/45 "2005-07-02T09:50:02Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Suppose he used it to open a local muffler shop. Should his money be transferred to the person who gambled away his money?.. So, you mean to suggest two forms or risk, one legitimate, one not? After all, doesn’t all investment carry an element of risk? If a risk free investment were available, who might choose another? Isn’t that the very essence of the much admired principle of “entreprenuership”? Which would you prefer? A share of American Airlines common stock, or an even money bet that you won’t cut the deck to the Queen of Spades? Aren’t you guys the very champions of vigorous, risk-taking entrepeneurship? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898/46 "2005-07-02T12:56:37Z")
> [@](#): > > My political philosophy: Practical Democratic Socialism I’m fairly new to GD nad have been very impressed with the quality fo the back and forth. I offer, in an honest attempt to be constructive, that this particular one disappointed me. The reason, I think, is that the original post is much too broad. I found myself wanting to respond to many points, but threads go in many directions and thus, make it difficult for a specific issue to be explored well. Also, and this might have been a position of one of the posters, it’s hard to DEBATE when positions aren’t fleshed out. Example: What do you think of my solution to solve the energy crisis? I propose that instead of having our cars run on gas that we use a combination of cut grass and toilet water. Thank you, I’m glad you like it. What’s that, you want to know “how I make that possible?” Well, I’m not really an engineer or anything. I’m going to let the people who know about such things figure them out. Genius, though, isn’t it? Like I said, I truly hope this is received as constructive criticism. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898/47 "2005-07-02T18:18:05Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Which would you prefer? A share of American Airlines common stock, or an even money bet that you won’t cut the deck to the Queen of Spades? Aren’t you guys the very champions of vigorous, risk-taking entrepeneurship? Weren’t you dismissing silly questions earlier? The card option has a mathematically precise probablity associated with it. Who in their right mind would offer that bet in the first place? The airline option carries risk that can be reduced by other factors, especially research about the industry and that particular company. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-political-philosophy-practical-democratic-socialism/309898.md?page=2)