April 5, 2016 5:02 AM

Socialism: the source of all evil and sloth...or is it??

Socialism [soh-shuh-liz-uh m]

  1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

  2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

  3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

It’s almost an article of faith among Conservatives that socialism is universally and without question an evil so odious that any trace must be eradicated when this nefarious, soul-sucking ideology rears its ugly head. In such a world, only unbridled and unchecked self-interest and individualism can be economic drivers. It’s the individual whose hard work and gumption moves our economy forward; all socialism does is suck the life force and initiative from good people, turning them into government-dependent zombies who live from handout to handout.

Except that all this attitude does is show how little Conservatives truly understand about socialism. At it’s most basic, socialism is about the collective; it elevates the interests of the many of that of the individual, which is fundamentally different than the unvarnished individualism characteristic of American capitalism. Where we run into trouble is when Conservatives operate from the (mistaken) assumption that socialism is a gateway drug leading inevitably and inexorably to…wait for it…COMMUNISM!!!!

Yeah, about that…while socialism can be, depending upon your philosophical/ideological orientation, a waystation on the Expressway to Hell path to communism, it’s not a prerequisite. Just as there are something-less-than-palatable aspects of capitalism, the same holds true for socialism. Neither is a perfect system.

Capitalism tries for a delicate balance: It attempts to work things out so that everyone gets just enough stuff to keep them from getting violent and trying to take other people’s stuff.

  • George Carlin

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money.

  • Margaret Thatcher

For me, the key is how you view your place and role in the world. Are you part of a greater whole? Do you believe we’re better together than we are apart? Or do you believe that everything an individual achieves was accomplished on their own and thus they owe nothing to anyone?

There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.

  • Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Individual initiative and effort is certainly part and parcel of success in America…but no one who achieves a measure of success can truly claim they did it on their own. Depending on what your definition of success happens to be, America played a role. The rule of law provides a predictable environment that assures one’s hard work can’t be undermined or co-opted by a capricious government. Market stability provided by our carefully regulated economy makes for an environment conducive to investment. Patent laws mean ideas can’t be stolen without recourse. Our highway and rail systems provide for the efficient transportation of goods.

I could go on, but I think you very likely understand my point. We live with aspects of socialism each and every day; our economy couldn’t function as well and efficiently as it does without the things we pool our resources in order to do for the collective.

If you’re going to whine about the “evils” of socialism, it would help to understand what it is you’re talking about. Too often these days, that’s not the case…and we really should be better than that.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on April 5, 2016 5:02 AM.

Sometimes unity isn't always a good thing was the previous entry in this blog.

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