During the Cold War, the US and its neoliberal capitalist agenda were out to eliminate any trace of socialism and communism, no matter the cost or consequences. In 1973, Chile was under the rule of Salvador Allende, a democratically elected socialist leader. In the hysteria of possible socialist/communist spread to the US, the American government executed a coup d’état leading to the death of Allende. To force Allende out of office, the CIA worked to destabilize Chile’s economy in order to force a neoliberal leader that supported the US economic policy and benefits. This gave the US the opportunity to appoint brutal dictator Augusto Pinochet who would rule Chile for seventeen years. Under Pinochet’s rule, anyone who opposed him was tortured
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Unlike capitalistic America, where individualism and profit is the main driving force, Scandinavian countries value prosperity, equality, and community. For example, Denmark is one of the most socialist countries in the world and is considered in many ways a better place to live than the United States. Not only does Denmark have a higher per capita income than the United States by $6,000, but also has the second lowest relative poverty rate with 6% compared to the United States’ 14.8%. Since capitalism focuses on individual work much more than socialism, Americans work much more than the Danish. The average American works 47 hours a week with 16 days of vacation a year. Danes work an average of 33 hours a week with 5 weeks of paid vacation per year. In the United States, college can be seen not just as education, but also a business as many students are forced to take out student loans. Those unable to pay for college are denied the opportunity of higher education which in turn lowers their quality of life. In Denmark, education is not a profit therefore college is free and students are encouraged to higher education by actually being paid to go to college. Once again, since working at any cost is valued in capitalism, parental leave in the United States is almost nonexistent with 1 in 4 new mothers working within two weeks of birth. In Denmark, …show more content…
Many Americans see socialism as one dimensional, often associating it with Marxism or Marxism-Leninism rather than social democracy. To make matters worse, the American media often shines a bad light towards socialism, such as constantly associating it with issues Cuba and China have relating to their Marxist-Leninist economy. The media almost never mentions the positive outcomes socialism has brought such as the literacy rate in both Cuba and China being higher than in the United States. The media also fails to mention socialism in Scandinavian countries, where the income inequality is at its lowest and the happiness rate is the highest. American citizens have been forced to falsely believe capitalism makes the United States the greatest country in the world and anyone who dares to defy its perfect system is deemed a traitor. Yet, how can a country that has the greatest income inequality in the developed world and has lower ranking than socialist countries in happiness and progressiveness be the greatest in the world? The truth is the United States isn’t even the greatest country in North America. The United States has not been near of achieving the title since the 1950s, when the middle class was booming and the happiness rate was the highest. Of course, when compared
Unlike capitalistic America, where individualism and profit is the main driving force, Scandinavian countries value prosperity, equality, and community. For example, Denmark is one of the most socialist countries in the world and is considered in many ways a better place to live than the United States. Not only does Denmark have a higher per capita income than the United States by $6,000, but also has the second lowest relative poverty rate with 6% compared to the United States’ 14.8%. Since capitalism focuses on individual work much more than socialism, Americans work much more than the Danish. The average American works 47 hours a week with 16 days of vacation a year. Danes work an average of 33 hours a week with 5 weeks of paid vacation per year. In the United States, college can be seen not just as education, but also a business as many students are forced to take out student loans. Those unable to pay for college are denied the opportunity of higher education which in turn lowers their quality of life. In Denmark, education is not a profit therefore college is free and students are encouraged to higher education by actually being paid to go to college. Once again, since working at any cost is valued in capitalism, parental leave in the United States is almost nonexistent with 1 in 4 new mothers working within two weeks of birth. In Denmark, …show more content…
Many Americans see socialism as one dimensional, often associating it with Marxism or Marxism-Leninism rather than social democracy. To make matters worse, the American media often shines a bad light towards socialism, such as constantly associating it with issues Cuba and China have relating to their Marxist-Leninist economy. The media almost never mentions the positive outcomes socialism has brought such as the literacy rate in both Cuba and China being higher than in the United States. The media also fails to mention socialism in Scandinavian countries, where the income inequality is at its lowest and the happiness rate is the highest. American citizens have been forced to falsely believe capitalism makes the United States the greatest country in the world and anyone who dares to defy its perfect system is deemed a traitor. Yet, how can a country that has the greatest income inequality in the developed world and has lower ranking than socialist countries in happiness and progressiveness be the greatest in the world? The truth is the United States isn’t even the greatest country in North America. The United States has not been near of achieving the title since the 1950s, when the middle class was booming and the happiness rate was the highest. Of course, when compared