This article about water rights is a little dry, but it's interesting in a socialism vs capitalism kind of way. I'm still trying to figure out where I stand on this spectrum and I'm leaning toward the opinion that limited socialism (for the goods and services necessary for life, maintenance of society, and preservation of the planet: water, power, security, health care, education, infrastructure, national parks, etc.) should be at least somewhat socialized and run by the government, to what extent I'm not sure, but then we should layer WELL REGULATED capitalism on top of that for everything else. Going all the way to full blown communism, where the state owns everything, was never a good idea; it kills creativity and entrepreneurship which are vital to a thriving society. But then I also think everyone should have the basics it takes to survive- clean air, clean water, decent food, shelter, and healthcare, because we have the resources for that in the US. Then everyone goes from there. Some will take advantage, settle for the "basic package", and not contribute anything extra, content to just live off of their small share, and I'm OK with that; for some, the disabled, the elderly, the ill, it will make a difference between life and death, and that's vitally important because everyone has value. I think enough of us will work and contribute to make something like this successful, and now with automation there will be less need for all of us to work anyway....

I need to do more research on this. I'm guessing there are countries where this is working, especially in Europe, so I'm curious to learn more. I know socialism isn't working for other countries, because they went too far. Venezuela comes to mind. The state grabbed ownership of everything, corruption set in, and everything descended into chaos. It's got to be a lot more complicated than that, but that's my surface understanding of the issue.

So some political ramblings for you. Just trying to figure things out.