Lawrence O’Donnell explains what European socialism is. And isn’t

[Playinghardball]

Source: RawReplay
By Roxanne Cooper

Lawrence O'Donnell: Bill O'Reilly is a socialist too

In a Tuesday night segment on The Last Word, Lawrence O’Donnell took Bill O’Reilly to task for his attack on Bill Maher’s definition of socialism, explaining, “socialism doesn’t mean that we’re against making a profit; it just means that government takes over certain things like hospitals, the prisons and the military and schools that shouldn’t be run for profit.”

He also elaborated as to why “socialism hater” Bill O’Reilly is actually a socialist, too.

Watch the full segment, originally uploaded by MSNBC on May 24, 2011, below:

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/lawrence-odonnell-definition-socialism-bill-maher-hospitals-schools-prisons-military-pinhea/

[dkf]

1. The question is if the public wants to fund big projects like building hospitals and prisons.

Do they want to provide the capital for mega expensive technology?

The American public is pretty short sighted. Sometimes it takes a person with a profit motive to pull the trigger on funding. Then if it doesn't work he goes down with it. If it doesn't work in the public realm then we are stuck with it.

[eomer]

3. That may sometimes be the question, but often the question is really,

do we want to own the stuff that we fund. Or do we want to fund it and then give it to corporations to make a profit off of.

[Enthusiast]

6. Yup. You got it right. nt

[bvar22]

4. The Armaments Industry rakes in BILLIONS...

...selling & maintaining advanced weaponry to the Government Run Socialist Military in the USA.

Why do you think Hospitals would be any different?:shrug:



Who will STAND and FIGHT for THIS American Majority?
"By their WORKS you will know them."

[kenfrequed]

5. Uhm no.

The question is "do we trust the profit motive to take care of human beings?"

We really should actually replace all instances of "free market solutions" with "fear and greed based solutions" and decide if that makes rational sense.

If we are talking about consumer goods of most varieties I would say that the free market (or fear and greed) are viable. I love my new laptop computer, my kindle, and the books in my library. I enjoy going out to eat and tip generously.

But at some point we have to be adults about this sort of thing and realize there are greater goods than generating profit for the few and that maybe, just maybe, healthcare and the treatment of illnesses and injuries that can kill us might just qualify as being "too important for profit."

[Enthusiast]

7. Thank you.

dfk often posts this kind of contrary position. I can't understand it.

[mopinko]

2. it was a thing of beauty.

loves me some lawrence.