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HailHailtoMichigan! 
Michigan Fan
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| Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 8:33 pm)
As we all know there is/was very little incentive in communist/collectivist societies because you aren't rewarded for your services in the form of money. I was talking to a very misguided friend today, who happens to be a huge green party activist, who claimed that this "no incentive" is a myth. Despite pointing out to him that actual facts and history disagree with his assertion, he claimed that there wouldn't need to be incentive, for money would be non existent, and you are rewarded for your work you did for no money by having a right to what other people did for no money, and vice versa.
Do collectivist sympathizers actually believe this shit, or is my friend just a bumbling buffoon?
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Draconian Sanctions 
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 8:35 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!)
Taken to the extreme of soviet russia yeah it's true. But the right does itself no favors when it screams bloody murder at a very small uptick in the highest tax rates, using this as reasoning. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs came of age when taxes on the rich we much higher than they are now and it didn't seem to slow them down.
This post was edited on 2/26 at 8:35 pm
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Godfather1
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 8:36 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!)
quote:
my friend just a bumbling buffoon?
Based on what you've told us, I've gotta go with this one
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CarrolltonTiger
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 8:44 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!)
Everything wasn't free. Many things were highly subsidized and most production had no market reality, but there was great income differential, a disparity of privileges and income had great value.
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Patrick O Rly 
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 8:45 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!)
quote:
Despite pointing out to him that actual facts and history disagree with his assertion, he claimed that there wouldn't need to be incentive, for money would be non existent, and you are rewarded for your work you did for no money by having a right to what other people did for no money, and vice versa.
Communist economies still rely on outside trade. Even if you did achieve "World Communism," paper currency would simply be replaced with goods and services, and there would still be people who delegated it out to "each according to his need."
I've said before that every country is capitalist. It just varies as to holds the capital. If the concern of communist is for workers to not be exploited, there are a number of ways that can be achieved through a capitalist society.
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HailHailtoMichigan!
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 8:51 pm to Patrick O Rly)
quote:
Communist economies still rely on outside trade. Even if you did achieve "World Communism," paper currency would simply be replaced with goods and services, and there would still be people who delegated it out to "each according to his need."
Thus he claimed that the "incentive" to produce under communism is the knowledge that you have your needs provided for you, for you have the rights to another man's labor, and his to yours.
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Patrick O Rly
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 8:56 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!)
Really? I though Marx's argument was that it's immoral for a man to not have ownership of his labor? Admittedly I haven't studied Marx in depth.
He will have incentive for the bare minimum it will take him to meet his needs. There are some people who will work harder because it's in their personality, but many won't see the point in being productive.
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HailHailtoMichigan!
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 9:07 pm to Patrick O Rly)
quote:
He will have incentive for the bare minimum it will take him to meet his needs. There are some people who will work harder because it's in their personality, but many won't see the point in being productive.
I tried explaining this to him. I also tried explaining to him how each person would know how much to produce without a price system.
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Patrick O Rly
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| re: Incentive in communist countries where everything is "free" (Posted on 2/26/13 at 9:21 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!)
I really would like to meet the people who convince others that communism is a good idea. I personally loath socialism, but it can work if it's in a smallish country with enough natural resources to fund it, and people can be happy. I can see how it can "work." Communism on anything other than a very small scale is doomed for failure.
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