Misunderstanding of socialism

So Spencer Parker (“No socialist alternative,” May 14) thinks anything that serves society, i.e. could be labeled “social”-ist is bad. He is in the wrong country then.

Think of all the social benefits we have: roads, bridges, airports, schools, police, Social Security, Medicare, 911, the fire department, FEMA, CDC - need I go on? All that comes from all of us for all of us. I won’t even go to the huge tax breaks big corporations get from us.

As for “socialist countries being extinct,” last I heard Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and others was doing just fine, thank you. The only difference is that people there, in general, were doing better than many people in the U.S.

I think there is generally a huge misunderstanding of some words., e.g., “Communism.” Human nature is incapable of true community. What has been labeled as “communism” is anything but. It is the purest form of capitalism, i.e. state capitalism. All means of production are in the hands of the state, the worker bees have no say so, I happen to have lived under that quasi feudal form of government.

Incidentally, the U.S. is neither a democracy, nor a republic: It’s an oligarchy.

Karin Overbeck

Deer Park