[MD] The New Socialism - Wired Magazine

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Arlo] 

> Well now you're arguing my point. Equating "socialism" with "Hitler" 
No, I’m pointing out the problem with your point. Once you define ‘socialism’ as any government 
program/action/regulation, then to be consistent, you have to say Hitler was the all-time model 
of a socialist, right down to regulating the color of the Star of David patch he regulated you 
to wear if he deemed you sufficiently Jewish. 
In general my complaint is against the following kind of reasoning: Step 1) Take a concept like freedom (or meaning). Step 2) Define it in an EXTREME way.   ‘Freedom’ is TOTAL absence of regulation or oversight. (‘Literal meaning’ is TOTALLY without any metaphorical component). Step 3) Draw the absurd conclusion.   Free markets don’t exist.   (All meaning is metaphorical.) 
In contrast to this “strawman” mode of reasoning, consider concepts on a spectrum. At one end of the spectrum, markets can be highly regulated, with government owning the means 
of production, setting wages & prices, as in socialism proper.   Or at the other end, government 
can just establish the structure of the market, without competing in it or dictating economic 
exchanges, as in free markets. 
(You can literally have a monkey on your back if you’re playing with your pet macaque 
or metaphorically if you have a drug problem.   But drugs are not monkeys.) [X Acto, from “ Think like a baby”] 

> valuing individuals other than YOURSELF is socialism you know. 

No, nobody knows this because it isn’t true.   It is one of Marsha’s 38 fallacies. Craig