To the Editor:

What’s in a name? North Korea’s official name is The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Maybe Kim Jong Un has more of a droll sense of humor than we give him credit for. Is there anyone on the planet that thinks North Korea is a democracy?

When I read Christopher Longo’s letter, “Keep socialism as far away from Guilderland as possible,” I found many issues that should be addressed. First, is that he appears to conflate socialism with communism. They are not the same!

If you want to see the “evils” of socialism I suggest that you look up Happiest Countries in the World. The Forbes Magazine (hardly a bastion of socialist thought) survey shows that 7 out of 10 happiest places on earth are all or significantly Democratic Socialist countries.

Finland (yes that cold-straddling the Arctic circle country) has earned the #1 spot for eight years followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Norway, Israel, Luxembourg, and Mexico.  

Here is an excerpt from the Forbes article.

“So what is Finland’s secret? Taking care of social needs and the feeling of belonging to a community is an integral part of national character and a source of creativity,” Jeli Jimeniz, senior director of international marketing at Visit Finland, said in a statement.

Hardly the sterile, cold, soulless drudgery that Mr. Longo presents. Think Volvo, Saab, Skanska, Maersk, Ericsson, Norsk Hydro, Atlas Copco (with a plant in Voorheesville), Carlsberg (bottoms up) Nokia, Sandvik, Electrolux, etc., etc.

Think Ibsen, Bergman, Nobel Prize, Niels Bohr (theoretical atomic structure and quantum theory), Bjorn Borg, Anders Celsius, Dolph Lundgren, Annika Sorestam, Edvard Grieg, Edvard Munch (he of The Scream), Viggo Mortensen, the Linux operating system.

All this creativity with a combined population of about 25 million. Talk about creatively punching above your weight.

Yes, their taxes are higher per capita, but you get something for them such as free medical care, education, services — you know, the things that make for a happy life worth living. You get money put into a socialistic society instead of giving to billionaires. You get a government that takes care of its people instead of cutting funding for children’s brain cancer research and gives tax cuts for the rich.

Mr. Longo writes: “Socialism brings with it no warmth whatsoever.”

Really? I think it’s time to refrain from drinking the capitalist Kool Aid. Responsible capitalism need not be evil. Unfortunately we’re transitioning from capitalism to an oligarchy.

Oh, by the way, the United States continues to drop in the happiness standings, from 23 last year to 24 this year.

Harvey Vlahos

Altamont