China isn't any kind of communist. Maybe some social fragments, not even to an European degree though, I'd bet.
They do like to call themselves communist though. With the CPC running the government for the last 70-ish years at least.
And North Korea calls itself a democratic republic. What you call yourself has no bearing on what you are.
Agreed. I do however think that China's self-representation as being "communist" has colored some people's opinions on what "communism" is though.
Regrettably so ... Communism has a lot of associations that make about as much sense as associating islam with truffles.
China, as a country, is officially called People's Republic of China. In reality there is nothing "Republic" about it. At the same time, while the party itself is communist, the actual economic system is some weird mix of communism and "free market zones" called "Special Economic Zones" by the Chinese government. In terms of actual government workings, China is also fairly iron-gripped, with appointed officials and such. Even in cases like Hong Kong where there are supposed to be free elections, recent changes basically meant that the Chief Executive candidates would be handpicked by China, sparking protests in Hong Kong.
The reason I support single payer government run healthcare largely isn't because of "fairness" or "handouts." The more important reason I support it is because I think healthcare is a type of market that will ALWAYS lead to market failure due the nature of the market and its externalities. The Free Market is a powerful construct and is suitable as a resource distribution mechanicism for many things, but it cannot handle ALL types of transactions. The world isn't so cut and dry as that.
I never said this. What I said was that I am against private ownership of land. This doesn't mean I think we should abolish private ownership of land immediately. For example, I can say I believe that humans should all love one another, but it doesn't mean I think there should be a law demanding that. It's a nice idea, but it isn't going to happen and work well just because I like it.
A list of United States "government owned/run corporations" as listed by Wikipedia: Fannie Mae Farmer Mac Federal Home Loan Banks Freddie Mac Commodity Credit Corporation Corporation for National and Community Service (Americorps) Corporation for Public Broadcasting Export-Import Bank of the United States Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Farm Credit Banks Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Financing Bank Federal Home Loan Banks Federal Prison Industries The Financing Corporation Gallaudet University Government National Mortgage Association Legal Services Corporation National Consumer Cooperative Bank National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Millennium Challenge Corporation National Corporation for Housing Partnerships (NCHP); Washington, D.C. National Credit Union Administration Central Liquidity Facility National Endowment for Democracy National Park Foundation National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak Overseas Private Investment Corporation Panama Canal Commission Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation; Washington, D.C. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Securities Investor Protection Corporation Tennessee Valley Authority What you will notice is that most of these facilitate one of the following things: Credit Environmental Protection Infrastructure In Canada, many similar ones exist, but in many cases electricity and other public utility providers are also government owned (partially or wholly).
Gvt doing what it does best... Taking advantage of peeps. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/i-already-know-the-winner-of-the-next-powerball-drawing-2016-01-10
