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First, Mr. Ellis, socialism is kinda a bad word. Maybe that's not what you meant. I would argue that Social Security is not really socialism - at it's worst it is redistribution of wealth, at it's best it's a forced 401K. It's never lived up to either.

Second - as an economic system in a large and diverse population, socialism is a really bad thing. Think Union of Soviet SOCIALIST Republic, and one-size fit's all brasiers come to mind along with Stalin - both pretty awful.

That said, "characterized by state or community ownership of the means of production" can work in small organizations. Think Employee owned companies, and family units - both potentially awesome.

The key to all three above is "large and diverse" - that makes all the rules difficult to write and even harder control - yet "we" either do not recognize that or just ignore that reality.

One final thought, then down to the torture chamber: That same principle: "large and diverse makes all the rules difficult to write and even harder control" applies to most things.

Using as an example a recent LTE: "Vote for candidates who support your agenda"

Securing the borders. With local control we would simply not buy products from local companies that hire illegal immigrants .. or we wouuld decide illegal immigrants add value to what we do and we would encourage it. It would depend on your community situation - are they taking away your factory job? Are they screwing up your local hospital? Are they picking the crops that sustain your local economy, then drifting away whant the strawberry's are harvested?

Reducing oil dependence. Got me on that one ... but we use to hitchhike 'cause we all knew each other.

Tax reform. "Hey John. What are you, as Mayor, doing with my monies?" If you personally know all the governement officials, they'll do right or you'll be knocking at their door and hounding them in Church.

Health care. Locally we can decide what we want to do without fighting BCBS or Hilary. We are also "large enough" to pull resources when one family deals with cancer while another family remains healthy.

Education. We can easily decide - and enforce -what get's taught in our school. Local control would remove Grier and NCLB and a bunch of other stupidity.

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Idealistic? Perhaps .. but it's the size thing that screws up everything - and really my main objection to Corporate Globalization. I'd gladly pay an extra $1 / pound for steak from my local butcher, know the steer was raise on grass an sunshine vs. corn and steriods.

Give me back what has has been stolen from me over the years (without interest) to invest as I see fit, steal no more, and I'll gladly go off into the sunset without the old-age pension check.

JDR, your paean to local control [two posts above] are "keepers."

It was the tiny city-states [local control] of classical Greece that invented western civilization --- there was no concept of a Greek nation-state at that time.

It was the CITY-STATES of Renaissance Italy [there was, at that time, no Italian nation-state] that would revive learning and the arts and sciences and move it forward (Da Vinci, Michangelo, Raphael, Galileo, etc., etc.).

Writing and many other arts of civilization were invented in the Sumerian city-states of ancient mesopotamia 5000 years ago.

Citizens living in cities that were under local control, competing with each other and with other cities.

Today we opted for homogenizing state-prescribed uniformity in schools and in so much else --- variations of Soviet Style one-size-fits-all brassieres.

Neo:

As you probably know, most of your (and your employer's) FICA contributions toward Social Security are already gone.

"Many of us fortunate Americans have been saved from the poorhouse..."

Perhaps. The down side, however, is that SS did more than its part to save you from prosperity.

Like the Lottery, like the Tobacco Settlements, Social Security was just money collected for one thing and used for someting else .. and we keep electing these assholes because they are 1a) pro-life, or, 2a) pro-choice - or 1a) wearing a red tie, or, 2b), wearing a blue tie.

No better reason and nothing else matters.

Rockefeller,

Then y'all stop electing them.