Terminological note: "non-socialist" is not the word I'm looking for. I'm looking for an opposite of "socialist" that isn't inherently negative (i.e., tempting as it is, "fascist" won't do.) If you can think of le mot juste after reading the post, let me know in the comments.
I once heard someone who wasn't socialist (and may have been opposed to socialism) define socialist as "I want this but I don't want to pay for it." I find that definition imprecise. When I want something and don't want to pay for it, I go to FilesTube or Pirate Bay. When I'm being socialist, I'm saying "Everyone should be able to have this," and most often I'm saying "I have this, I see it is good, I think the world would be a better place if everyone had it." It isn't about me, it's about everyone.
Oddly, this is similar to my attitude towards breaking the rules. Sometimes, when the line at a store is really long, I'm tempted to just shoplift my purchase - not because of the money, but because of the unreasonable wait. Haven't done it yet, but it is tempting sometimes. So I was googling around this idea once, and found people saying that people who shoplift (yes, for the express reason that the line is too long) just think they're specialer than anyone else. This isn't true in my case. I'm tempted to shoplift not because I think I'm special, but because I don't think it's reasonable to have to wait in line to buy your food for longer than it would take to eat said food. If anyone else shoplifts in this situation, I totally see where they're coming from. It's not that I think I should and they shouldn't. Similarly, when I jaywalk, or when I skipped class in high school, it wasn't that I thought I was above the rules, it was that I thought the rules were unfair (to everyone) and no one should have to follow rules that are unfair.
So thinking about this, I find myself wondering if non-socialists feel that their views are somehow for the common good (rather than just "I shouldn't have to spend money on stuff I don't use myself). On one hand, my own viewpoint is less selfish than they think it is, so it would be ungenerous not to consider the possibility that their viewpoint is less selfish than I think it is. On the other hand, the fact that people think I'm thinking of socialism purely in terms of my own benefit - and the fact that people think I break the rules because I think I'm specialer than anyone else - suggests that these same people might view their own politics - and any disregard for the rules that they might have - purely in terms of their own benefit.
7 comments:
"Fascist" and "Socialist" are synonyms, not antonyms.. It was called "National Socialism" for a reason - collective statism. Left and right aren't on a line - it's a circle and that's where they meet.
Nazis weren't socialists, they just used the word. It would be like if I got business cards printed up saying I was a prize fighter. That wouldn't make me a prize fighter and other prize fighters should be judged based on my ability.
In any case, what do you think is a better word for non-socialist?
"Free-marketeers" is probably the shortest route. Longer routes: proponents of unregulated capitalism, or laissez-faire capitalists.
I sometimes call them "sink-or-swimm-ers".
the fact that people think I'm thinking of socialism purely in terms of my own benefit - and the fact that people think I break the rules because I think I'm specialer than anyone else - suggests that these same people might view their own politics - and any disregard for the rules that they might have - purely in terms of their own benefit.
I'm going with this one. Especially because the virulent, vehement free-marketers claim to believe, if you can afford something, you can have it, and if you can't, tough shit - including health care, education, and whatever else many of us believe should be paid for by all according to ability to pay and used by all according to need.
As an aside, as a former occasional shoplifter, many people shoplift for the thrill.
Sink-or-swimmer does it, although I'm looking for a more standard word. I want a word that more reflects the social outcomes rather than the economic input (although I do see the two are related).
many people shoplift for the thrill.
Do people who shoplift for the thrill think they are specialer than other people/more deserving of shoplifting than other people? Or are other people even part of that conceptualization of shoplifting?
Sink-or-swimmer does it, although I'm looking for a more standard word.
I'm going to keep thinking.
Selfish? That may be true, but it's not specific enough.
Individualistic?
Do people who shoplift for the thrill think they are specialer than other people/more deserving of shoplifting than other people? Or are other people even part of that conceptualization of shoplifting?
Not in my experience. For some people, it's a personal risk-taking activity, almost like an adrenaline sport. To my knowledge, other people aren't in the equation.
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