If a fire department is socialist, then I don't see how that disrespects individual rights. And this economic crunch of 2008, engineered by wall street in which no banker or trader has been charged with a crime, is that capitalism? What about a school board, or national defense?
I think people see socialism and capitalism as opposites and maybe they are not. Maybe a fire department, a socialist construct, is the most effective way to deliver that service, and in that sense it is both socialist and capitalist. Our media, certainly, prefers issues to be yes and no, black and white, left and right, and as controversial as possible, but almost certainly these issues are considerably more subtle than that.
In my tool box I have a hammer and a screw gun. Which one is better? Each one is more effective at some jobs, so the debate should not be whether socialism or capitalism is overall more effective, but which would be more effective in which context.
The United States has socialist police forces, so you pay taxes and you get police service, doesn't matter if your house gets broken into six times, the cost of policing for you doesn't go up. The United States has socialist education, so if you send one kid to school or you send five kids to school the price is the same. There is a debate in the United States about whether, and to what degree, they should socialize medicine.
I don't get why people who are so opposed to Obamacare are not also opposed to public police forces. I don't see how being the victim of cancer or the victim of crime are that different. Shouldn't previous victims of crime pay more for policing?