About socialism....which is better socialism or capitalism? That experiment has been proven over and over again for the last 100 years or so. Compare East and West Germany, North and South Korea, Red China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and let us not forget that the Nazis were National Socialists. They all start out by decrying the exploitation of the working class and end up enslaving their population and murdering millions. Socialism did not.
Like most rightist conservatives they like to make the left-wing platform look bad... You are comparing an extreme far-left politics to right-wing politics. If you must, compare communism to fascism. Which would you prefer? I damn sure would rather live in communist Cuba then Nazi Germany. Having said that communism is not socialism. Communism is an extreme form of socialism and I was never advocating any extremist mentalities. In short take way democracy from socialism and you end up with communism take away democracy from capitalism and you end up with fascism.
There is a major difference between socialism and communism. In communism the government control all production and property. In socialism the government only controls a part of it to ensure all individuals have access to basic articles of consumption and public goods to allow for self-actualization. Large-scale industries are collective efforts and thus the returns from these industries must benefit society as a whole. A key element in communism is a centralized government, planned economy, dictatorship of the "proletariat", common ownership of the tools of production, no private property, and usually an anti-democratic one party system. In socialism economic activity and production especially are adjusted by the state to meet human needs and economic demands in other words to moderate the extremes to ensure working class people are not being exploited by corporations and that they are able to live comfortably and not in poverty. In communism there is no private property but in socialism both private and public property coexist. In communism it is a classless society everyone is equal. In socialism class distinctions are diminished or moderated. In communism the state controls all production in socialism production is variously coordinated by economic planning and the market. In communism there is no democracy. Either the collective vote or the state's rulers make economic and political decisions for everyone else. In practice, rallies, force, propaganda etc. are used by the rulers to control the populace. But is this any different in Capitalism where the corporations use propaganda and bribe the government to control the populace? In socialism religion, jobs, & marriage are up to the individual.
Free, equal access to healthcare & education provided through a socialized system funded by taxation. and this is the most important aspect of socialism you do not have to be born into a rich family to be successful can if they want to go school and get the tools to be successful and not only the rich can get needed medical assistance. I believe the health care system should have a mix of both private and public system which would make it all much more efficient. In essence I am for mediocrity.
It is interesting you mention the Nazis. Do not get confused with Socialists being incorporated into their name because they are anything for socialists. Nazis are a far right wing group. Most of the policies hold an extreme version of right wing politics. Hitler hated communism. Nationalism unified the right while egalitarian unified the left. Hitler was completely against equality. He had a firm belief in hierarchy all beliefs of the right. Big governments exist in both the right and the left. Governments in the past were used to control and enslave the proletariat now they are used to free them. North Korea is called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea yet it is anything but democratic. Lol Hitler was all about aristocracy and the elite. When Hitler came into power he and the Nazis abolished trade unions, collective bargaining and the right to strike. An organization called the "Labor Front" replaced the old trade unions, but it was an instrument of the Nazi party and did not represent workers. According to the law that created it, "Its task is to see that every individual should be able… to perform the maximum of work." Workers would indeed greatly boost their productivity under Nazi rule. But they also became exploited. Between 1932 and 1936 workers wages fell. Sounds familiar to you? Sounds like current American Corporatism. The means of production was actually controlled by a combination of aristocracy and capitalism. Technically, private businessmen owned and controlled the means of production. The Nazi "Charter of Labor" gave employers complete power over their workers. It established the employer as the "leader of the enterprise," and read: "The leader of the enterprise makes the decisions for the employees and laborers in all matters concerning the enterprise." The employer was subject to the frequent orders of the ruling Nazi elite. After the Nazis took power they quickly established a highly controlled war economy. Like all war economies, it boomed, making Germany the second nation to recover fully from the Great Depression.
Politically Fascism were also far right. They favored racism or racial segregation over racial tolerance. Merit over equality. Competition over cooperation. Militarism over pacifism. Capitalism over Marxism. Realism over idealism. Nationalism over internationalism. Exclusiveness over inclusiveness. Gun ownership over gun control. Pragmatism over principal. Religion over secularism.
On another note whether the proliferate are controlled and exploited by the state or corporations really makes no difference. Currently in the US the corporations are exploiting the proliferate and the only thing keeping them from starving are some socialist policies like food stamps, medicare, welfare to name a few. As I said before political ideologies have changed a great deal from the 1930's till now. Before the government was a tool of oppression now it is a tool of liberation from corporate control. Know the difference.
And for the record it is the militant feminist who is pushing their anti-prostitution agenda in the United States and spreading the lie that the average age for a sex worker is 14.
This they sure are but the conservatives are completely utterly against prostitution even if feminists supported it the conservatives will never allow it. It goes against their traditional and religious principals. Ted Cruz would see this as the greatest sin.