And in all honesty, asking for a "definition" for such a broad concept isn't terribly useful. It would be like attempting to offer up a 'definition' of "football" or "democracy" or " fiscal responsibility" or "the revolutionary war".
foot·ball
Football pronunciation [foot-bawl]
noun
1.
a game in which two opposing teams of 11 players each defend goals at opposite ends of a field having goal posts at each end, with points being scored chiefly by carrying the ball across the opponent's goal line and by place-kicking or drop-kicking the ball over the crossbar between the opponent's goal posts. Compare conversion (def. 13), field goal (def. 1), safety (def. 6), touchdown.
2.
the ball used in this game, an inflated oval with a bladder contained in a casing usually made of leather.
3.
Chiefly British. Rugby (def. 3).
4.
Chiefly British. soccer.
5.
something sold at a reduced or special price.
Interesting to note, dictionary.com does not recognize the codeword of the US nuclear briefcase, which is called the Football. This is why there is always room for other sources and other definitions.
democracy
[dih-mok-ruh-see] pronunciation Example Sentences Origin
de·moc·ra·cy
democracy pronunciation [dih-mok-ruh-see]
noun, plural -cies.
1.
government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2.
a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies.
3.
a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
4.
political or social equality; democratic spirit.
5.
the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.
fiscal responsibility is a phrase, not a word. Here are the component words though:
fis·cal
fiscal pronunciation [fis-kuhl]
adjective
1.
of or pertaining to the public treasury or revenues: fiscal policies.
2.
of or pertaining to financial matters in general.
noun
3.
(in some countries) a prosecuting attorney.
4.
Philately. a revenue stamp.
re·spon·si·bil·i·ty
responsibility pronunciation [ri-spon-suh-bil-i-tee]
noun, plural -ties.
1.
the state or fact of being responsible.
2.
an instance of being responsible: The responsibility for this mess is yours!
3.
a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible: the responsibilities of authority.
4.
a person or thing for which one is responsible: A child is a responsibility to its parents.
5.
reliability or dependability, especially in meeting debts or payments.
Idiom
6.
on one's own responsibility, on one's own initiative or authority: He changed the order on his own responsibility.
Combining Definition of Fiscal #2 plus Definition of responsibility #1 you get:
the state or fact of being responsible of or pertaining to financial matters in general.Which seems to me to be a pretty solid definition of fiscal responsibility.
Same problem with the Revolutionary War as with Fiscal Responsibility, however Dictionary.com actually allowed the full thing, so here's it's Definition:
Turns out all of these CAN be defined, and pretty accurately. It might not explain the emotional impact of a game in which two opposing teams of 11 players each defend goals at opposite ends of a field having goal posts at each end, with points being scored chiefly by carrying the ball across the opponent's goal line and by place-kicking or drop-kicking the ball over the crossbar between the opponent's goal posts, but at least when you see that particular activity, you can say "Hey, that's football!"
The same with Socialism. People love to try to complicate a very simple thing to try to hide what is the bottom line of the issue.
Capitalism: Property owned by individuals
Socialism: Property owned by groups
Communism: Property owned by all
It's not hard to grasp, and when you look at the ideals held by self proclaimed capitalists, socialists, or communists, you will generally see they are going for whatever type they have. It's only when you see people labeled something they aren't that it gets confusing at all.
Phmcw, Just because someone believes in socialism doesn't mean that is the extent of their views. You can't say "That Definition is Outdated" just because some organizations that advocate that also advocate other views as well. Also, as was pointed out, an organization can move away from what they once were and still retain their name. I believe that real socialists will want Socialism though. Socialism isn't a bad idea on paper. In fact, we already take some of it in our "capitalist" society. Take, for example, a Public Park. This is land owned by the local community, and is therefore an example of the deep root that Socialism has in the USA. It's ridiculous to argue it shouldn't exist, but it IS an example of socialism. Public roads, same thing. More dramatic example would be power plants owned by Municipalities though. This differs from Government-owned institutions, which are communistic aspects, as they are owned by "all", instead of the local community. Still, localized examples of each system aren't bad, what is bad is wholesale adoption of any of those systems. We currently have a capitalist form of governance, and I think it's ultimately very beneficial. The problem is that when you start getting past the point where you are able to support your family, I think you start having an obligation to the community to provide opportunity for others to do so as well. Some people do, some don't. Those that don't currently get the greatest rewards in our society, hence why our society is the way it is.
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Topic: Occupying Wallstreet (Read 288905 times)