Why Are Some Rich People Socialists/Communists?

How come? Because I think government should support the most vulnerable rather than the most vulnerable be expected to prop up wealthy civil servants?

Look at it this way, the USSR was a 'socialist' country, and millions of people were living in poverty whilst an inner circle of government elites and their cronies lived in luxury.

That's gibberish, and you didn't answer his question.

I'm a social democrat, but that's quite distinct from a socialist.

Also, I still maintain that socialism is a means to an end rather than a good unto itself so to speak.

If I thought there was a better way to deliver a decent public health and education system, and a safety net for society's poorest and most vulnerable, I'd choose that over big government, but as it stands I admit that big government is necessary, albeit a necessary evil.

What concerns me however, and why I think some parts of the working and lower-middle-classesare susceptible to right-wing anti-socialist propaganda is not simply the whole Cuba/USSR/Venezuela authoritarian scaremongering, but also the fear that socialism is a con on behalf of relatively educated and well-to-do professionals, many of whom are employed by the public sector, as civil servants etcetera, to line their pockets whilst clamping down on private enterprise, the one means by which the less educated can aspire to become wealthy.

If the public sector did more to hire a wider range of individuals, particularly from those sections of society that automatically distrust governmemt right now (specifically the working-class, especially those from rural communities), it would go a long way to alleviating and mitigating the impact of the anti-government conservative agenda and rhetoric.

I don't like your username.

Yes. Great point to ponder for this Mensa meeting...

Agreed. That makes no sense to me either (apart from anything else, clearly they're not very good at capitalism).

But speaking as a (poor) social democrat, these (admittedly misguided) people are the ones I feel bad for. Not the wealthy champagned socialists who may share most of my political values, but nevertheless deserve or need none of my sympathy and concern.

It's like racism and sexism. Some black people and women uphold racist and patriarchal societies and institutions against their better interests, but I still sympathise with them because ultimately they're the ones losing out. This is where Marx was right about 'false consciousness'. Some people are not, unfortunately, able to perceive the way society is hurting them, or, even worse, maybe they can and maybe, for whatever reason, they think they deserve to be at the bottom (it reminds me of my parents, two working-class blue-collar school-leavers who nevertheless, to varying degrees, displayed a deference to the wealthy upper-class elites who wouldn't even piss on them if they were on fire).

i guess cos they figure no one owes them a handout

You talking to me?

I'm not American.

Here, here Mark.