Socialism v Conservatism

I was listening to talkback the other night and the "host" was discussing the difference between socialism and conservatism. His thought was that socialism looks after "society" whereas conservatism looks after the "individual".

I think he's only half right. The basic difference is the view each takes of the individual. Socialists believe the individual exists for the good of the State, the conservative believes the State exists for the good of the individual. It's no good debating the issue because when it comes down to it the answer will be provided by the attitude of the person, not the logic.

However having said that the question has to be asked "how good a job have the Socialists done in fostering the well-being of society? Is society in good health or not? For all their ardour for change, socialists have not understood a basic law of sociology, and that is that people do not handle change well at all, and constant change creates sociological illness. The most visible symptom of change can be seen in the immigration of races different from our own e.g. east v west. The problem is especially bad where immigrants have nothing in common with the host nation. The push for multiculturalism is a huge mistake, and one that cannot be effectiviely fixed. Look at the incredible ferment in English, especially London, society with its no-go ghetto areas.

The other area where socialist dogma puts society at risk is in the area of taxation. Everybody is clamouring for tax cuts, which the Labour-led government will only concede at the bitter end, and only in an attempt to cling to power. The socialist ideal is for everybody to pay their entire earnings to the State which then gives some back "each to his needs". We already have a form of this with the "Working for Families" initiative.