Milton
Hi
I've heard many Americans say ''Canada is a socialist country'' or ''Canada has a socialist health care system''.
Shouldn't it be ''social'' instead of ''socialist''?
To me, ''socialist'' sounds a bit dated, like an Eastern Europe system used until 1990...Why are Americans calling Canada (and France, Germany) ''socialist''...They are not socialist countries, but democtrat, capitalistic countries with substantial social care for their citizens.
"socialist" refers to "socialism" which is accurate here
"social" refers to "society" in general
see the difference?
Ummmmm, when countries have phenomenally high tax rates (up to 50%) the government uses the money to support social welfare systems, such as free education and heath care, institutions for the poor, unemployed, elderly, etc. It doesn't matter what you *think* when you hear "socialist," what matters is the generally accepted definition of the term and the way it is applied. Research the word first and then make claims.
socialist? : « To me, ''socialist'' sounds a bit dated, like an Eastern Europe system used until 1990... ».
Le terme <socialiste> est toujours d'actualité, n'en déplaise à certains. Il suffit, pour prendre un exemple identifiable par tous, de songer à Pascal Lamy (DG de l'OMC → depuis longtemps) & à DSK¹ (DG du FMI → depuis peu).
¹DSK : Domique Strauss-Kahn → rival malheureux de Ségolène Royal lors des primaires du PS en 2007.
OMC = Organisation mondiale du commerce
FMI = Fonds monétaire international
En ce qui concerne la terminologie, il y a non seulement <socialiste> & <social>, mais aussi <sociétal>. Pas tout à fait la même chose.
ERRATUM
¹DSK : Dominique Strauss-Kahn
<<En ce qui concerne la terminologie, il y a non seulement <socialiste> & <social>, mais aussi <sociétal>. Pas tout à fait la même chose. >>
yeah, and "socialistic" too...what's your point?
so it should be "sociality"
GEEZ
"Socialist" is correct. Although Canada is not a *socialist* country, its health care system can be argued to be "socialist" because it is provided solely through taxes.
People try to gauge a nation's "socialist-ness" by looking solely at taxes, but this is a fairly rough estimate and doesn't consider other factors.
Ummmmm, it's also what % of its GDP a country spends on welfare. That puts Canada way behind Europe (but still higher than US, of course).
Is UK a socialist country on that basis?.
My understanding is that the UK is MORE socialist than Canada, though I wouldn't say it is a socialist country per se.
''I think you wrote your name in the subject box, and the subject as your name. Would you like me to fix it?''
Yes please.
thanks
It appears that Portugal is the only socialist country in West (Developed world).
''Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa) (retains constitutional references to socialism)''
In Europe, ''socialism'' is different than ''social democracy''.
I don't know why Americans call these social democracy governments socialist governments.