I would hope so, it was always a far different idea than communism and to a point had its name blackened by association.
If Socialism can evolve it may well have a future here and in other western country's one day.
My idea is of a new caring sharing world and a system based on a hand up not a hand out.
We first have to ask is it fair that some get better health care, education, and so much more just because they have more money?
Could a real job that helps the community but takes no work from full time paid workers be better than a life on the dole?
I think we can learn much about better ways to make public owned endeavors work as well or better than privatized things.
So yes if we care about those who can not make it we can have a for of accountable Socialism.
I must underline calling me leftist is quite wrong but saying I want a better world is not.
And why please do those who think this way say only the left care?

Well belly to ensure health,education and even employment would be good, but there is a serious problem with public jobs.

First you need to have the utilities to employ these people and at the rate the states are going there will not be much left.
NSW the freight has gone from rail, country link is going and they have been talking about city rail.

Electricity thats gone

buses well that will be sold off

and for federal the commonwealth bank,telstra and now qantas so really this does not leave much if anything.

The pollies well there's jobs for people to do, scratch their bums,talk crap, and do they really do anything, they do have all those advisers, and tea makers, and letter writers.

What is left in the other states, not much

This is why there is no real income anymore for the states, it has all be privatised and what they got for selling off the assets has gone, so no more is constatly comming in.

So where does this leave the people, in a country of privatisation and hurt with higher costs.

We are done for

So really change does need to be made.

www.tapp.org.au

Dear Belly, firstly some housekeeping. I think you gained the wrong impression of my purpose in the Anzac day threat old son.. I'm totally in favor of it, please read more of my comments there.

Socialism? well, as with any big idea, it depends totally on the good will of those running the show. Socialism as an idea of equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity is great in theory.
But most people driving such an agenda seem to also deny a greater purpose in life, such as our reliance on and obligations to our Creator.

I contend that without a right relationship to God, there is little personal movitation for altruistic or socially beneficial directions in life, apart from tokenism for self satisfaction reasons.

The Pharisees of Jesus day were very much socialists in one sense.

Mat 23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.

They gave of their wealth for the public good, problem was they did so in order to be praised and noticed. Would it surprise you that people in the Socialist heirarchy did the same to be noticed by those above them?

The pharisees were just one expression of the 'natural' man who lives for himself and his own glory. Today we have our share of that type.

So, I'd venture a theory that a Christian Socialism has a future, but even that would be seen as 'imposing' a religion on society.

Have a peek at how things worked in Ancient Israel, yes, they did have some harsh punishments, but on the social welfare side, they were all expected to look after their mates and the underprivileged. (including foreigners)

Tapp you are close to the truth here BD I except your new posts in the thread as your views.
May I say I build my idea of government employment after 22 years in that job?
And while you BD have a right to your views the self seeking thieves I found running Church's, not all of them, confirmed my view man made Gods all of them.
Socialism! well forever an enemy to communism and that part of it hiding behind the name of Socialism my dream is for a new Socialism.
One that is not the property of the left alone but of a caring sharing country.
We pay more to privatized things for lessor outcomes than we should.
If we can not get our trains to run on time and at a price how would selling them to some one who only wants more profit not better services help?
Once we expected public ownership to give better outcomes now we plan for failure so we can sell it!
Say railways, why can we not combine some best practice management with public ownership?
If the job is not getting done never forget the buck stops with management.
In my view those who blame the tools in say the NSW RTA are the problem.

Well, DB I agree with you that socialism is a nice idea but not necessarily in theory. On the other hand, I think god is totally irrelevant to this discussion.
Boaz, you've said yourself that christianity encourages a separation of church and state, and I realise that you're talking about the individual values of christians etc etc, but if for a moment you can accept that not everybody's values hinge on god and they are just as wholesome as yours, perhaps you can move beyond the god element of this discussion... otherwise I fear your contributions are going to be rather stale.

Socialism I don't think can be effectively introduced as a whole system. (Standby for Tao's contributions to the opposite).

Elements of socialism however - essentially social liberalism - have a great deal of potential, though I think we've canvassed this pretty well here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=464

Belly,
Don't we already have some of these socialist attributes in our present system. Education is available to all, and it is not substandard just because people are willing to pay for private education.
We have a health care system available to all, albeit slow for some.
Our welfare system should be viewed as a hand up, it is there to aid people in times of hardship whether that be through unemployment, raising a family or medical reasons. Unfortunately the system is often abused and the perception becomes "handout". Will those that flaunt the system now change under a more socialist system?
We have people working for the community already, they are the public sector employees, some 1.7 million of them. Don't we already have a work for the dole scheme? Often critisised that it's doing work that could be done by genuine employees.

Our society doesn't revolve around equality and it seems money is a measure by which we differentiate ourselves. Some strive for more, and some are capable of making more money and it is they that provide the basic standards for those can't or don't.
Surely that must be a form of socialism.