Decius wrote:
"Plunging the country into socialism" implies pervasive government control of the economy and redistribution of wealth.

In that case, we're already there. And yes, the "plunging" comment was intentionally melodramatic. :)

Decius wrote:
One social program does not cause this.

No, but this wouldn't exactly be the first such program in the U.S.A.

However, government healthcare (either as universal insurance or full-blown socialized medicine) is as large as such programs come. Even if it were the only social program, it would be too much.

Decius wrote:
By this standard, there is no "capitalist" society in the world today.

Very sad, very true.

Decius wrote:
First, people are not responsible for the illnesses that afflict them. They can be, but generally, they're not.

Then why is the citizen next door responsible for paying the cost? Responsibility for being sick has little to do with it. Responsibility for the cost of treatment is the issue, and that is the individual's responsibility, not society's.

Decius wrote:
Second, healthcare doesn't work as a market commodity.

If you've got cancer, you need the latest, greatest treatment, and you'll pay whatever is asked. The alternative is that you'll die. You can't walk away from the table.

That still doesn't justify my asking you to pay my medical bills, through taxation. Yes, there are cancer treatments that exist today that weren't available decades ago, but I don't have an automatic right to receive those treatments upon their discovery/invention/development. Just because I need something to treat/cure my illness doesn't mean you should automatically be burdened with my expenses.

Anyway, it comes down to one's core beliefs about rights and responsibilities. Capitalists and socialists are fundamentally different in that regard, and there's no way to satisfy both. Some do like the hybrid system we currently have in the U.S.A., but as we've seen, the two concepts pull in opposite directions, and they simply don't mix well. Sure, I'll take some capitalism over none, but I'd rather eliminate socialism.

RE: FIVE CONSERVATIVE MYTHS