Do you belive that rich should have the same money as poor?
Do you think there should be no difference in how much one person makes from another?



Well, if you answered yes to either question, you're a potential if not already a communist.
This is just to go along with ol'Joey.

___I remember that book(animal farm) because my teacher made us read the ending during class and I broke down laughing at the last few lines of the final chapter. I was sent to detention but it was so worth it because everyone else was just like "I don't get it". It was great.

Yeah, Bex, Animal Farm is a great book.
But if any one here is looking for a highly anti-collectivist (communist) viewpoint to explore, I would recommend Anthem by Ayn Rand. She was a 20th century Russian author who abhorred the collectivism and communism she saw in Russia, and came up with her own political system, Objectivism, to counter it. You all ought to read it.

But that's not to say that I necessarily agree with it, at least not all of it.

Now let's look at this:

Communism

Theoretical Premises: Everyone is inherently equal. The Group is best. No religion.
Empirical Usage: Soviet Union - well, I think we can fairly all agree that that country didn't do so well in the long run.
Conclusion: Communism just doesn't work.

Objectivism:

Theoretical Premises: Everybody is inherently unequal. The Individual is best. Shuns the idea of government interference with commerce. Nobody should control another person. Everything is individual choice. No religion.
Empirical Usage: None - Doesn't that say something?
Conclusion: Objectivism just doesn't work.

You're asking what if everyone was equal? I'll tell you - it wouldn't work. But neither would the opposite extreme. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why life should never be about extremes.

Everyone should have equal rights, but we shouldn't all be equal.

Homelessness and poor is a problem, and they should be helped, but I don't think that everyone should be equal. Some people work really hard for their money, and so they have more of it and should be able to live in luxury if they wish.

Besides, if everyone was equal, life would be very boring because we would loose our individuality.

everyone has an opinion (whatever) so mine is if everone was equal by money then it would be boring. everyone is not equal as far as respect either, but that would also be boring. well i guess it would be nice but i highly doubt that it would ever happen.

Some would become more equal than others.

Animal Farm, great book…

Yes, my disagreement with Communism fundamentally is that if everyone is equal, even if you work harder you are not going to get any more reward. This is, in its own way, just as unfair as having rich and poor.

Bex

a rich person cannot have the same amount of money as a poor person or they wouldnt be rich/poor. I think everyone should earn as much money as they actually work for.

I think that communism sounds great in theory. In practice, I don't think it would ever work. Though we would all [or most of us] would love to have the rich and poor on the same level--it's really hard to actually make that happen.

Okay, if you think one person working 12/7 for $50,000 a month and another person working 2/4 and getting $50,000 is anything like Welfare...you have no idea what welfare IS.

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DJ-
YOU'RE a MORRON! Capitalism has no bearing on this discussion, plus it was just an example, maybe an exageration but mostly with true meaning in the moral

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Oh that’s funny; I thought we were talking about economic systems here. I must have gotten confused when you said "Do you belive that rich should have the same money as poor....
Do you think there should be no difference in how much one person makes from another," that statement clearly separated the discussion from an economic tone.

DJ-
YOU'RE a MORRON! Capitalism has no bearing on this discussion, plus it was just an example, maybe an exageration but mostly with true meaning in the moral.

Wow. People accnowledged my presence... Or my stories presence. Thats a first!!! WOW!! There is a first for everything isnt there?

I know it didnt exactly go with the topic, but I thought it was cool so I posted it anyways.

-Nicole

Interesting story, that "Utopia"... Doesn't sound like a world I'd want to live in.

According to our constitution we are already equal. I do not belive that equality means we have recive the same amount of money, cars and etc. I belive being equal is how we as people are treated. That is the real issue.

Vonnegut's an avowed socialist, so Harrison Bergeron (not anything related to Thomas More,s Utopia, which I've read, but always possible there's some short story based on H.B. by that name) may not be the best story to use when arguing that people shouldn't be ecenomically equal. Then again he's a moderate red who believed to a limited degree in free enterprise and spent the Cold War writing anti-Soviet propaganda for Europe. Strange fellow, but on to the actual debate.
While the very top levels of money, prestig, etc should only be awarded for actual achievement, why shouldn't effort be rewarded in its own right? Rewarding effort will create more incentive to make an effort and increase the likelihood of people doing great things.

Tch. The perfect world is the one that no one would want to live in. How boring, if everyone was equal.

I believe that people are entitled to basic services such as healthcare, education and food. I believe everybody should have equal opportunity to succeed but how far they go should ultimately be decided by how hard they work.

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What if you worked 12 hours a day 7 days a week and made $50,000 a month. And the guy who works 2 hours a day 4 days a week is also getting $50,000 a month. It's very similar to welfare but this is an example of communism.

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Oh yes because we all know people are picking up 30,000 dollar welfare checks, pfft.
Also, do you believe your little example doesn’t go on these days in our pretty form of "Capitalism"; you need to look at some corporation’s man. While major companies like American Airlines were talking about working together and everybody had to take a pay cut, they gave their upper management big *** salary increases; and people wonder why unions are necessary.

Utopia...? I could have sworn that story was called Harrison Bergeron. I am confused, or is one an excerpt of the other, or what? I'm ashamed to admit that, though I've thought about it many times, I've never read the actual book Utopia. So maybe I'm mistaken.

I'm not saying everyone shouldn't be equal. This proves my point with the second ques. though. What if you worked 12 hours a day 7 days a week and made $50,000 a month. And the guy who works 2 hours a day 4 days a week is also getting $50,000 a month. It's very similar to wellfare but this is an example of communism.

Wow Nicoley, that was very well put.

But in all fairness we are talking about income and not personal talent.

But I guess it apply somewhat.