[cpursley]

Are they though? In order to have socialism, you have to give more money and power to the state. Money and Power in state hands can go in dark directions "for the common good". The culture must be ready for it (like the Danes and Fins but unlike the Russians or Americans); it's really important.

[tacheiordache]

I don't really understand what you're saying here. Can you explain what you mean?

[cpursley]

Culture matters. The Nords are more oriented towards social harmony, are culturally homogeneous, have high transparency, low rates of corruption. This means everyone's one the same page more-or-less.

Vs the large diverse cultures of the US (where I'm from) and Russia (where I now live). After living in Russia, it's no surprise that socialism did not work here. Forcing socialism onto cultures when they're not mature enough won't work. Even worse, it leads/would lead to massive oppression and corruption.

[tacheiordache]

It seems to me that the culture is largely forced down or forced to shape on us from the top, especially in the US. The elites, the billionaires and the wealth owners don't want much harmony because they can squeeze the lower layers at their benefit. The current culture appears to have something to do with this but in fact it's a side effect of this increasingly growing gap between the rich and the poor.