Applying socialism

[Ehakamanda]

I hope this question isn't too broad, but I'm not sure of how to ask it other than this: How can I help to apply/explain socialism based more on the perspective of a service economy?

I find that when I explain socialist ideas to some people they don't seem to understand the industrial/manufacturing standpoint I'm coming from.

I hope this makes sense, and if it doesn't try to help me make some sense, if you will. :p

[Kléber]

Technically, there isn't a clean distinction between service and manufacturing, because the worker in a manufacturing job is alienated from what they produce, they are just getting paid for the service of producing an item.

However, the tendency toward small scale of the non-manufacturing service economy does pose problems for industrial organization. That's one reason trade unions and socialists have done such a poor job in the imperialist countries, where more people have the money to afford luxury services, and wages have been too high for "competitive" manufacturing jobs, over the last few decades.

[mikelepore]

I don't interpret socialism in terms of services provided. I interpret socialism as the development in the workplace that parallels what a republic is in government. When people got rid of emperors and monarchs, and establish republics, they realized that we get better government when the people elect their own law-makers. Likewise for the workplace, we get better management when the workers elect their own managers. Political democracy was half a task completed; industrial democracy finishes the task.

[CartCollector]

This should help, especially if you work in a restaurant: http://www.prole.info/pdfs/ar.pdf