Posted: Mar 31, 2014 5:40 pm
laklak wrote:God, some of y'all sound like Christian Fundies arguing against evolution. No matter how many times socialist systems fail, usually in a spectacular manner, you find a reason it's the fault of the Ebil Capitalists.
You want to talk about creationist style arguments? You're using single points of cherry-picked data, with no control, in a system with high levels of noise to justify blanket statements of generalised policy, and then using that to write off specific economic policies in entirely different circumstances. If we had multiple worlds and could run history multiple times with different economic policies in different countries then you might be able to draw some valid conclusions from it.
But redistribution in general has been used the world over to great effect, - not least in America in the 1950s where the top tax rates were above 90% and the investments made some of the greatest progress towards overall prosperity that they've had before or since. And the reason for that can be explained with sound economic principles.
So you're right, I shouldn't have tried to explain the economic reasons why Cuba might not be doing so well. - Though I want to point out that the fact that America is capitalist makes absolutely no difference to the economic effects of the embargo on Cuba. - I should have just said that the methodology you're using to judge economic policies here is fundamentally flawed and irrational.
If you want to discuss the effects of redistributive economic policies in economic terms, where they do and don't work, the benefits and limitations, etc, then fine. But if the best you can do is say "look at this particular example where not everything is perfect, therefore the whole concept in general is bad" then you have nothing worthwhile to say on the subject.