Is Canada a Capitalist or Socialist country?

[hyperawarewolf]

On 11/26/2008 at 6:37 PM, M.Dancer said:

Canada has been moving with the Laurentian Plate towards the colombian plate more and more every day.

You can blame a lot on plate tectonics and continental shift

that was absolute BRILLIANCE.  applause.

[Michael Hardner]

2 hours ago, hyperawarewolf said:

that was absolute BRILLIANCE.  applause.

JFC that has to be a record...

[hyperawarewolf]

22 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

JFC that has to be a record...

of which kind?

[Zeitgeist]

The Liberal-Conservative dichotomy is a false choice today.  Both are different brands of a neo-liberalism straining under pressures such as pandemics, fears of climate change, and disasters.  Public policy direction is more clarified by data than in the past, but public views more heightened and polarized.  The new forces in opposition are Green-Fascism and Authoritarian Capitalism.  Fear of the Extinction Menace is pushing people.

Canada has socialist elements and I know in the US election, especially if Sanders wins the Dem nomination, people will be trying to define "socialism" by looking at its form in different countries, but I'm not sure it's really socialism that is being peddled.  It's something different, ultimately, that seems to be emerging on the left in reaction to forms of authoritarian capitalism, such as in China and the US. 

The New Opposition.pdf

 

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Zeitgeist

[eyeball]

4 hours ago, hyperawarewolf said:

of which kind?

Thread bumping.

In any case given how even US Democrats have been transformed into pyjama clad AK47 packing extreme radicals these days - worrying about whether Canada is a socialist country seems quaint.

Edited February 24, 2020 by eyeball

[SkyHigh]

This is a silly topic

Socialism is defined as; a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

As I can presently purchase things produced, distributed, and exchanged through private companies, Canada is demonstrably not a socialist country.

Social programs in a capitalist economy don't make it socialist, even the states(closest thing the world has seen to true free market economy) has a strong history of socialized programs.

So again the question posed with this thread in itself is ridiculous.

[SkyHigh]

On 4/7/2012 at 2:42 PM, y2k8 said:

socialism is a transition state between capitalism and communism

Thats the just the Marxist theory, of socialism not the accepted definition in political science, you also omitted(purposely or not) the operative word in the Marxist definition of socialism which is  "overthrow" 

So the Marxist theory of socialism is; the transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of communism. Who's "overthrowing" ? And who do you know advocating for the realization of communism?

Again the accepted definition is that socialism is that all means of production are controlled by the state, something no body is advocating for

 

[cannuck]

On 8/17/2008 at 11:31 AM, fellowtraveller said:

The only meaningful choice is 'other'. The first two choices provide examples of countries that don't fit the choices, and every country has elements of socialism and capitalism. For example the 'capitalists' in Japan have much more govt involvement in businessthan Canada.

The most capitalist country would be somewhere like Switzerland or the Cayman Islands.

Yes, I believe we are neither fish nor fowl on this one.   First of all, there is simply NO country that doesn't have social policies and programmes.   That doesn't make them socialIST countries.  You only get to be that IMHO when you meet the standards of the Regina Manifesto regarding property - i.e. the means of production belonging to the state.  Since this is also the communist requirement, you now need to look at how decisions and laws are made.  If that, too is exclusively the purview of the state, then IMHO you are truly communist.  I think the right term for Canada would be Social Democracy (kind of fits the first answer, but not exactly).  None of that precludes being a capitalist state, since the means of production in our social democracy can and do mostly belong to the people as private owners.   By the same token: our constitutional disdain for personal property rights definitely takes the word "capitalist" out of the running to describe the whole country, if not the means of production.

I guess the answer is that capitalist/socialist is about who owns material things and means of production, not the kind of government one has.

Edited February 28, 2020 by cannuck

[cougar]

On 8/15/2008 at 5:45 PM, Moonbox said:

It's completely laughable to even think that Canada is a SOCIALIST country.

 

Absolutely.  Only a person who has no idea what a socialist country is can raise the question.

EI is not a social / socialist program.  It is insurance, like car insurance for example.  You do not get to collect EI unless you have worked and contributed to the pool.

It is shocking to see so many people pointing at EI as a sign of socialism.

[eyeball]

11 hours ago, cougar said:

It is shocking to see so many people pointing at EI as a sign of socialism.

In a day and age when even political parties like the Democrats are cast as communists?  It's not shocking it's drudgingly banal.

It's hilarious watching conservatives giggle away to one another in their recently popularized exercise of assigning various derangement syndromes to the counter-sentiments of un-right people.  They seem to be utterly oblivious to how years of derangement syndrome towards progressiveness has crippled their ability to think straight about anything.  They should all be lined up and whacked in the heads with shovels.

[jbg]

Canada is a healthy mixture of socialism and capitalism. Anyone who compares it to the People's Democratic Republic of Korea or Cuba is a drama queen. I suspect the necessities of any large-scale building in a harsh climate required more government involvement than in the U.K. or U.S.

[bush_cheney2004]

Canada is the only G7 nation, and one of the few industrialized nations without a national school food program.   And before anyone screams that is a provincial responsibility, many of the K-6 schools don't even have cafeteria facilities...by design.

 

Quote

A Manitoba teacher who sees hunger in her classroom daily says comments from the premier rejecting universal breakfast programs don't reflect the realities facing educators in the province.

Sheena Rohne, who teaches Grade 4 in Vita, Man., said students ask her every day for something to eat. Sometimes they slip her notes, or try to catch her eye while their classmates eat a snack.

"It's heartbreaking.… I have kids of my own, and I can't imagine them having to ask somebody else to feed them," said Rohne.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/universal-breakfast-manitoba-1.5486874

 

[Rue]

 Ian Hannamansingh is a Communist.

Edited March 6, 2020 by Rue

[bush_cheney2004]

34 minutes ago, Rue said:

 Ian Hannamansingh is a Communist.

 

OK....but other G7 nations are not communist.

Is this Canada's dirty little secret....not feeding kids at school ?