Rumertron wrote:As a dyed in the wool socialist type I reluctantly have come to the conclusion that state controlled industries or utilities simply don't run efficiently and end up costing the consumer more. Are these the property and chattels you are referring to?
I think he may have been referring to all the palaces and works of art etc, which "belong to us" but are "kept in trust" by the monarchy. In other words we pay for it and they keep it.
Nationalised industries are controlled by a central bureaucracy which leads to longer times and makes the framework far more rigid. It means it can't evolve and deal with challenges quickly, it was a big problem in the Soviet Union and one of the reasons they failed to keep up with the US in the end. However, central state ownership isn't the only solution if you're a socialist. *EDIT* I would go as far as to say that state ownership goes against the very ethos of socialism, namely the ownership of the means of production by the people. The state is not the people.
AshtonBlack wrote:Oh, I've no doubt she dreamed of it, but thought it was too draconian. Labour have just performed a greatest scam on the populace of Britain. I mean, wasn't the whole point of "Labour" to look after our national monopolies? Instead of reversing them, they sold out to "Big Business" and not only didn't reverse them, but continued to sell out OUR legacy to the highest bidders. (If you want an example, count how many Public/Private partnerships actually saved the government money, after 20 years.)
I have two reasons for the dreadful voter turnout in this country, and the first one is what you said. New Labour are basically the Tories by another name. Without a big decision to make (it used to be socialist policies under old Labour or conservative policies under the Conservatives), people are now complacent as they see no point in voting for two wings of what is essentially the same party.
Reason number two is I feel there is too little democracy in this country which is not only breeding complacency but also ignorance. I think we need a system where we have more democracy in our every day lives, at all levels of society. At work, in our local areas, local government and upwards...If people made democratic decisions regularly which affected our every day lives we would be far more involved, have a deeper sense of personal and collective responsibility and we might just get something done now and again.
