There Are Very Few Socialists in America: Krugman

[DFW]

63. I used to get this a lot in France in the 1960s, from many 18 year old experts on the USA who had never been there

I have seen "the true existing socialism," as they used to label themselves, in East Germany, where the regime proudly shot their own people at the border when they didn't react appropriately to the demand of "Papiere, Bitte!" and tried to leave anyway. I was in Cuba in 1982, and talked with both the lower echelon party true believers (riding around in chauffeur-driven Volga sedans, convinced they had "earned" it) and realistic higher-ups who explained that the government frankly didn't have enough hard currency to both pay for vital imports and let their people travel whenever they wanted. They didn't want to raid every house looking for it (the top guys were under no illusions of how "popular" their socialism was), but they couldn't let it leave the country, either. "Una cuestión de devisas," is how one of the top guys from the BNC put it. At least their upper rank government people knew what the score was--they just never dared say so to the ones riding the limousines. I have seen enough socialism in practice to conclude that "Democratic Socialism" is in the same category as "Military Intelligence" and Vegan Steakhouse." You can wade into the ocean and swim, but you will never grow gills, and you are still not a fish.

And I STILL don't like fish eggs!! They are all yours!