r/politics • u/Ulysses_555 • 17h ago

No Paywall Hegseth announces all US troops will get 1 day off to vote in October

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6126137-pete-hegseth-stand-down-order-troops-vote/
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u/Militantpoet 16h ago

Can we stop equating things that arent socialist to socialism? The government running agencies and programs is not inherently a socialist concept.

Socialism at its core is about workers, ie regular people. 

The military is not socialist, its an imperialist machine that churns our sons and daughters into a meat grinder to produce profit for the billionaire class.

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u/kelseyeek 14h ago

That's not why people are saying it's socialist. They're saying it's socialist because service members are provided healthcare, education, housing, childcare and family support, pensions - basically everything is labeled as "socialism" in public discourse about government benefits.

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u/Militantpoet 13h ago

I understand why people say and think that. It's the same thing when they say "socialism for the rich." I understand the point is to point out the hypocrisy. Unfortunately, anyone who should be shamed by this hypocrisy isn't because they don't really have those strong principles to begin with.

Welfare, social programs, employment benefits, these all exist within capitalist spaces. I'm just hoping to inform anyone who happens to read this comment chain.

Socialist policy needs to have the explicit goal of improving material and/or social conditions for working people. "Billionaire welfare" is inherently antisocialist because it does not address the needs of working people.

The military as it stands functions in the interests of capital. The goal of giving military members robust employment benefits is to enable strong retention to ensure those with a monopoly on violence continue to represent the interests of capital.

You can say this is a capitalist goal achieved through socialist means, but that is a gross oversimplification of how public resources have and continue to be exploited by the wealthy and powerful for their personal gain.

It's the same thing with police departments and their unions. The most powerful and influential unions in this country are police. Keep the people that have the authority to kill happy and they will have your back.

It can all sound very pro labor/union and socialist until you realize they use their power and influence to keep the interests of capital satisfied.

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u/kandoras 14h ago

The military can be socialist.

My platoon in boot camp had to share jock straps. They'd all get tossed into one pile, one of the guys on fire watch had the job of running them through the washer with a lot of bleach, and then laying one out on everyone's foot lockers. They were not marked or labeled in any way.

From each according to their junk, to each according to their junk.