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From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.politics,can.politics
Subject: Re: Liberty and Isolation are not the same things.
Message-ID: <1123@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Sep-84 12:28:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: dciem.1123
Posted: Fri Sep 21 12:28:02 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Sep-84 13:17:46 EDT
References: <4343@utzoo.UUCP>
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 36

====================
> How did the growth of the (socialist) German economy
> compare with Canada's or that of the USA in the 50's, 60's and 70's?

Silly me, here I always thought West Germany was a capitalist state.
I trust you are talking about West Germany, since East Germany hadn't
performed any economic miracles last I heard.  Certainly the major
factor behind West Germany's economic recovery has been private
enterprise, lightly assisted by the state at times.  If this is socialism,
then I fear the term has lost all meaning.
-- 
                                Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
                                {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry
====================
I think you are right.  The term "socialism" has obviously lost useful
meaning in this debate.  If West Germany is not to be considered an
example of socialism because it is capitalist, but China is although
it proclaims itself to be Communist, then where should we use the term?

Another net correspondent has taken me to task for not distinguishing
between socialists and Social Democrats.  For the life of me, I can't
see the difference there, so perhaps I should use the term Social
Democrat instead of Socialist.

If I don't know what you mean when you say "socialist", and you don't
know what I mean, by all means let's drop the term.  But we still need
something to describe the moderate welfare state with limited nationalisation
that lies between your preferred total free enterprise and the Communist
totally planned economy.  What shall we call it, if not socialist?

P.S.  I am off the net until Oct 12, so will not respond to correspondence.
-- 

Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt
{uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsrgv!dciem!mmt