socialist and capitalist

Okay so I'm not really going to wax eloquent on socialism and capitalism here (mainly because it would become quickly apparent how gormless I am on such subjects) but we did have a bit of an introduction to the differences between the US version of social services and the UK/EU version of social services just the other day. (This is where you might want to jump off ... it could be terribly boring and dull to read any further, but I want to include not just sight-seeing stuff, but also learning stuff.)

So we went to Oxford the other day (quite a lovely town) and we were given a lecture there (and cookies and tea -- which we all promptly scarfed down..) about the UK/EU social aid services (particularly to workers and concerning health care). It was a fascinating talk because I began to realize how very isolated are my understandings of social services in countries other than the US. For example, because of the EU, there can be a transfer services, goods, people, and capital from country to country. This means you can go buy a case of wine in France and bring it back to England with no customs tax (as long as you aren't going to sell it). Now that has little to do with social services, you say,but the same is true for things like health care as well. For example, we were told the story of an Italian who went to work in Germany (legally -- imagine if it were true between Mexico and US...), went back to Italy to visit family on his six week vacation and got sick at the end of the vacation. The German company paid for his healthcare in Italy and was required (there was a lawsuit, but the guy won) to allow the person to have paid sick leave (also a perk of the German system) in Italy while he recovered. We also learned about the differences of 3 types of citizenship (as outlined by T.H. Marshall -- i think) including 1.) liberal citizenship (protects you from the state -- the state cannot steal from you); 2.) political citizenship (voting rights, free speech, right to demonstrate, etc); 3.) social citizenship (giving all a decent standard of living). The point made was that the third one has to be in place before the first two types of citizenship can TRULY occur. I wonder, do we have that third type of citizenship -- i mean really have it for all -- in our country??

We also learned about how countries like Denmark and Sweden have a much higher percentage of public social assistance expenditure (based on GDP) than the US. I'm reminded of the movie "Elling" (which is quite funny by the way -- you should really rent it because it's much more interesting than the rambling I'm doing here) in which two mentally challenged (what is the PC term??) men find their way in the world after being given an apartment upon their release from a mental facility (it's set in one of those Scandinavian countries..). I remember watching that movie and thinking, "Wow, they have their own apartment furnished by the government!"

Of course it is much more complex than this, but it has really set me to thinking about our own way of doing/running things in the states and our own issues with truly serving all people. I'm really thinking about how many folks in the US do not have healthcare or adequate social services. I'm thinking about how it would be possible to ensure everyone services in a capitalist society which seems to shudder at even a whisper of any kind of socialist bent (take note of all the voucher stuff in education... what some say is the last socialist institution in US). Not that EU countries don't have their own issues, but it is interesting to begin learning about the differences.

i still have TONS to learn...