About half of America’s millennials between the ages of 18-29 think that socialism is good. Socialism has never worked anywhere it has been tried. It failed in the former Soviet Union. It failed in Nazi Germany. Other countries in Europe have tried it and have failed or are in the process of failing. On the extreme side, you have countries like Venezuela that have literally crashed and burned. Inflation is so high in Venezuela that one cannot carry enough money in his pocket to purchase a loaf of bread. People are starving or doing their best to leave the country. The political leaders of Venezuela have ruined this formerly rich and prosperous country, and there is no end in sight to the human suffering.
Socialism has been tried in America, and it, like all other attempts, failed. Do you remember the name William Bradford? Bradford was the governor of the Plymouth Colony. When he and his fellow colonists arrived in the New World, the practice was to bring all of the produce into a common storehouse. Everyone would share and share alike. But something was wrong. Some people worked hard and produced goods and services that the colonists needed while others did only a small amount of work. Soon there was nothing in the storehouse. Goods and services became scarce. One historian wrote, "The Colony’s leaders identified the source of their problem as a vile form of what Bradford called ‘communism.’ Property in Plymouth Colony, he observed, was commonly owned and cultivated by the Colony. This system bred ‘confusion and discontent’ and retarded much employment that would have been to the settlers comfort." Simply put, people work harder and produce more when they are working for their own self interest and own their own property. This is what free enterprise is all about.
For some reason, our schools have failed to educate America’s youth about the dangers of socialism. Many of the millennials believe that everyone in society should be equal, and socialism provides the mechanism. If everyone were equal, they argue, many of the conflicts that we see in our society would subside. If everyone received a free college education and free health benefits, then we would have a "fair" society. If the government guaranteed everyone a yearly income, the world would be a nicer place to live. Free housing provided by the government would be great, and a monthly food allowance would insure that no one went hungry.
But there is a problem. How does the government pay for all of these free services? What is the incentive to work if everything a person needs is paid for by the government? But this presents another problem. The government must somehow have money to pay for all of these goodies, so how do they get this money? The only way a government can get money is through taxation; consequently, at least 90 percent of a workers’ wages will be spent on taxation. Everyone but the leaders will be equally poor. No one can become wealthy. No one can start a business without the consent of the government.
"The idea of class conflict lies at the heart of socialism. Its most prominent voice, Karl Marx, believed low-income workers would inevitably revolt against wealth. In its place, he envisioned a society where government owned and controlled industry."
The truth is that the only people who can obtain wealth in a socialistic economy are the leaders. Vladimir Putin, for example, is purported to be worth well over a billion dollars, most of this wealth stolen from the Russian citizens.
Socialist leaders, Kim Jong Un of North Korea, for example, see themselves apart from the population in general. Their self-interest takes priority over the needs of the people. Elizabeth Warren, a socialist Democrat senator, has already introduced a bill in the Senate that would require American citizens to seek permission from the state to start a new business.
Capitalism has proven over the years to be the best way of distributing goods and services. Every man and woman in a truly free society, a society that promotes free enterprise, works for his or her own self-interest. The result is more production. Socialism (communism) was tried early in American history.
It failed. William Bradford recognizing the problem with socialism, saved the Plymouth Colony by instituting the free enterprise system, and as they say, "The rest is history."
