Surplus under socialism

One member of my discussion yahoogroups posted his definition:

"Capitalism gets the profit and distributes it to owners.
Socialism/communism gets the profit and distributes it to workers."

His definition of forced collectivism (aka socialism/communism )is wrong. The surplus or profit goes to the leaders of the communist party, not the workers. If workers did benefit, the Berlin Wall and "proletarian states" would still be around.

Another member suggested that the 2007-08 financial turmoil was a "market debacle". Again, I will say that this is wrong.

We could say that it was Lehman debacle, AIG debacle, etc., but never a market debacle. Many big capitalist firms are still around -- big airlines, big hotels, big fastfood chains, big coffeeshop chains, big internet portals, etc. The market economy only wobbled, and it must experience that. Expansion and bankruptcy are 101 percent part of capitalism.

Greed is practiced not only by the big guys. It's also practiced by the small guys. Notice how tricycles would lobby, if not sabotage, the entry of jeepneys in some routes that they have monopolized for many years. Notice how jeepney operators and drivers would lobby, if not sabotage, the entry of air-con FX and vans in some routes that they have monopolized for many years.

Stiff competition among players provide the "invisible hand" that lead players' greed to serve public interest. An auto repair shop owner, driven by greed and profit, would open his shop 10 hrs a day, 7 days a week, no lunch break, order his staff to be extra courteous to clients, and not charge his customers too high -- in order to get more customers, to survive the competition by other auto repair shops nearby.