Hi All
On 27 May 2001, at 21:53, Platt Holden wrote:
> Hi Horse and all other left-wing, pinko, bed-wetting liberals :-) (Yes--just joking.)
Oh C'mon Platt - I haven't wet the bed for ..... oooh..... weeks! :-)
> While it seems to be the belief among many Europeans that
> Americans are too dumb to know the difference between socialism
> and communism, I can assure you that is not always the case. At least
> you must admit that Pirsig knows the difference when he writes in
> Chap. 21 of Lila, "The advent of both democratic and communistic
> socialism and the fascist reaction to them has been the consequence
> of this earthquake."
Absolutely. I don't believe for a moment that the average American is any more or less
knowledgeable than the average European. I was just pointing out that Socialism and
Communism are not the same thing and that in many cases, forms of Socialism work very
well.
> What puts socialism and communism in the same boat is as Pirsig
> describes them in Chap. 22--both "programs for intellectual control
> over society."
So are you saying that it is immoral for Intellect to dominate Society? Interesting!
> When you have to wait six months for an operation as you
> do in many socialist countries where the health system is intellectually
> controlled, you realize the importance of making room for Dynamic
> Quality, i.e., privatization. Here in this selfish, greedy, corporate
> controlled capitalist country, you get operated on within days, sooner if
> your situation is life threatening, even if you hate the money-grubbing
> surgeon and the profiteering system that supports him. :-)
But only if you are insured or wealthy - otherwise you're slightly on the stuffed side.
'No dough, no go' as the saying goes.
Oddly enough the UK had a much more efficient and workable health service before 'THAT
WOMAN' turned up. It was paid for by taxes, run mainly by medical staff and no-one had to
worry about whether their insurance would run out 10 minutes before the surgeon operated -
actually we still don't. Actually, if you check the statistics for the UK you'll also find that there is
currently a greater risk of death in the private medical sector than in the public sector - mainly
because of the cost of resiscitation equipment.
I suppose another point that I could mention is the Californian power system - a prime
example of free enterprise at work, or not, as the case may be.
See ya
Horse
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