Home Office seeks Brexit tech boss – but doesn't splash the cash

Re: Unbelievable

@AC

The Denmark one seemed amusing to me too. They got so sick of Americans pointing at it as a socialist country (go Bernie) that their president publicly made a statement against Denmark being called (insulted) socialist.

"Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1980 under Tito"

I dont know a great deal about Yugoslavia at that time but single leader for 35 years in which political arrests and assassinations ending in a stuffed economy and war does not sound impressive.

"China is also Marxist-Leninist"

Thats a big no. Under socialism it was peasant farmers and death. They were so economically left behind they were a great example of what people would never want to live under. Then they became more capitalist, free market and opened to the world. The fact that they have jumped from a badly managed and failing country to where they are now is nothing short of a testament of leaving socialism for the real world.

"All four have been stable for 40+ years"

Being stable is a good start but successful? That would be a hard sell to a successful country such as the one we have. I am pretty sure we can drop the Middle east as even before our intrusion they were not success stories as the UK would buy it and same for the south Americas I expect (hope).

"Greece seem fairly stable to me and the population are voting for these parties"

Greece voted far left and Golden Dawn. That was not really a push for socialism as a push against the EU/Euro problem which is screwing up Greece (and other members).

"So, the failure rate isn't 100%, because we still have socialist countries."

So far so 100%. Strip out the Democratic socialists and anything so naff nobody would want to live under it (I stated N.Korea to make the point that its most successful is not a place we want).

"Capitalism has also killed millions of people around the world, and crashed successful economies wherever it has been tried"

The interesting part of an economic crash under capitalism is the country gets back up. Under socialism people starving to death and government mandating their deaths is the problem. Market capitalism relies on people as they are, socialism relies on 'the new man' to 'evolve' to come to love and live the socialist way. Which is probably why it guarantees failure.

Re: Unbelievable

@ Geoff332

"Corbyn's policies would put tax/spend levels in line with countries like Canada and Germany - hardly socialist. So you're arguing from a false premise."

Fleece the rich (France tried it and the rich fled here), print money for government spending (Zimbabwe, Venezuela), more power to the unions (UK when we had blackouts and begging the IMF), massive nationalisation especially where the gov are the ones already screwing up, etc. His praise was for Venezuelan policy which went so well. Hardly developed country polities.

"What worries me is that politics has become increasingly cultish (not a typo), around Corbyn, Trump, Brexit, Macron, etc. Reason seems to go out the window when the world's being run by a bunch of cults (still no typo)."

I do very much agree with that. The reason socialism seems so acceptable seems to be a lack of education. Throughout school and beyond we hear how bad hitler was and the right wing, but the horror of empty shelves, starvation, ruin and other outcomes of socialist attempts has left people fearing a rise of the nazi (not something we want) while forgetting the horror of the Stalin, Mao, Kim's etc (also something we dont want). The lessons have been forgotten.