Okay, I made that up. Democratic socialism hasn't scored that many points in a long time, at least not on the federal Canadian political scene. In fact the route has been so complete, that even mention of the "s" word in considered a political liability -- and so it is, that at its upcoming policy convention the NDP will once again debate whether it should abandon any reference, prominent or otherwise, to democratic "socialism".
But is this just a clever NDP strategy to avoid drawing attention to the fact that Canada is, in fact, a socialist paradise?
Yes, I'm talking about Canadian social(ist) programs, medicare being the largest and most important. Remember the paradigm -- from each according to her or his ability, to each according to his or her need -- hey isn't that the way publicly funded health care works? Ditto for public education, welfare, and a public utilities from water supply to waste collection.
Taken together our governments spend well over 75 per cent per cent of their budgets providing services to Canadians according to their needs, not their ability to pm. And funding for these services comes from a progressive (OK, not entirely progressive) tax system.
So please, no mention of the "s" word, someone might notice!
Original Article
Source: rabble.ca
Author: Steven Shrybman
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