WWJD

So, it's Easter. Sri Lanka has killed a bunch of Christians. Pence, at least, is trying to make hay of it. The Manchurian President has said that our country will never be socialist.

What would Jesus do? About capitalism vs. socialism, that is. To start to answer the question, we need to decide what those two mean. Capitalism is generally agreed on: private ownership of the means of production.

Socialism, not so much. The Manchurian President and his cabal use the word as synonymous with Communism. Note the capital; old time Russia and such. Which wasn't the spot on the planet that Marx had in mind with "Das Capital", by the way.

Here are a few ways to define.
- yes, the same as communism (small c) with The State owning all means of production
- The State owns some means of production, those associated with generally agreed to be social goods
- The State owns some means of production, those associated with universally agreed to be social goods
- The State owns no means of production, but enforces laws regarding production/distribution of some social goods
- The State owns no means of production, but enforces laws to pay for externalities generated by production
- The State owns some infrastructure that is generally/universally agreed to be common
- The State provides some degree of protection from economic catastrophes experienced by citizens

If you have not one of those, you have early 19th century USofA; a time and place of widespread poverty, morbidity, and mortality. And not much else for the 99%. Darwin, whom the bible thumpers despise, in full flower. And, as Boeing is proving by the bucket load these days, just because you're a capitalist doesn't necessarily mean you're the Smartest Guy in The Room. Unless your definition of Smart is 'Fuck the Public'.

The most important one, and that I'd considered the sine qua non, is one which penalizes profit-making externalities. I've never been there, but factory hog farms are an excellent example of such bad behavior. And, you don't need a hurricane to experience externalities.

So, right-wing bible thumpers, tell me. What would Jesus do?