Did You Know that America is Socialism....and boy, ain't it Swell
“Did you know that we have socialism? That’s right. America has socialism. “How’s that?” You ask. Here’s how. Because we have a water dept., a board of education, police and firemen and even, a dog catcher. Those are all socialist. Meaning, America is all about socialism. And you thought socialism was bad, or maybe even that socialism had the cooties. But no, socialism is safe and cootie free. So relax and enjoy socialism.
This message was sponsored by the people who should never be allowed to vote…ever…I mean ever!”
If you can’t distinguish between radically divergent ideas like socialism or capitalism, or the difference between a republican form of democracy and socialism or communism, you will be voting based on what? A meme or two? A spiffy slogan that’s easy to memorize? A desire to have free stuff so you can live that life you always wanted to live, but were forced to work instead, in order to pay for useless shit like bills? I mean, with socialism, all that stuff is free. Right? How is it free? I dunno. It just is. Oh! Wait a minute! Because the rich will pay their fair share. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
As silly as this sounds, it is only the delivery that exposes the inherent silliness that lurks within. Ideas do not exist in a vacuum, however. Ideas, once they’re put into practice, require mechanisms for enforcement. When would-be socialists say things like “The government will makes sure everybody does the right thing.” Apparently, they believe this because the government is big and powerful and will just make good things happen. That’s the same government that starts wars. That’s the same government that created slavery and made it the law of the land. That’s the same government that used drones to kill civilians, to execute dissenters, to gas and murder civilian populations, to create mass starvations, killing tens of millions of people, to fight crusades based on religious ideology—and no, I’m not talking solely about America or Europeans, but all ruling elites throughout all of human history.
“No. Not that government.” The would-be socialists respond. “We want the government with the good people. The people who think like us.”
Here’s the thing, government is a framework of laws. It is an institution. It is neither good nor bad. Some forms of government are more conducive to freedom and prosperity than others. But, in the end, government is comprised of people, real, living, breathing, flawed human beings. Not gods who walk among us. If there are failures in democracy, it will be human failure that is the cause. The institution is just a thing, without moral intent. Moral intent comes from moral beings, not from institutional concepts. By comparison, all socialism eventually becomes totalitarian. And it does so for one simple reason, because the restraints that limit political power, enabling some men to rule over others, have largely been removed, shifting the balance of power from the people to the government.
Where there is failure within democracies and free markets, it is neither freedom nor democracy that is the cause, unless you believe that freedom and democracy are bad, making you a totalitarian. A benevolent one, maybe, but a totalitarian nonetheless. In the end, though, a tyrant is still a tyrant, no matter their intentions.
Mark Magula
As silly as this sounds, it is only the delivery that exposes the inherent silliness that lurks within. Ideas do not exist in a vacuum, however. Ideas, once they’re put into practice, require mechanisms for enforcement. When would-be socialists say things like “The government will makes sure everybody does the right thing.” Apparently, they believe this because the government is big and powerful and will just make good things happen. That’s the same government that starts wars. That’s the same government that created slavery and made it the law of the land. That’s the same government that used drones to kill civilians, to execute dissenters, to gas and murder civilian populations, to create mass starvations, killing tens of millions of people, to fight crusades based on religious ideology—and no, I’m not talking solely about America or Europeans, but all ruling elites throughout all of human history.
“No. Not that government.” The would-be socialists respond. “We want the government with the good people. The people who think like us.”
Here’s the thing, government is a framework of laws. It is an institution. It is neither good nor bad. Some forms of government are more conducive to freedom and prosperity than others. But, in the end, government is comprised of people, real, living, breathing, flawed human beings. Not gods who walk among us. If there are failures in democracy, it will be human failure that is the cause. The institution is just a thing, without moral intent. Moral intent comes from moral beings, not from institutional concepts. By comparison, all socialism eventually becomes totalitarian. And it does so for one simple reason, because the restraints that limit political power, enabling some men to rule over others, have largely been removed, shifting the balance of power from the people to the government.
Where there is failure within democracies and free markets, it is neither freedom nor democracy that is the cause, unless you believe that freedom and democracy are bad, making you a totalitarian. A benevolent one, maybe, but a totalitarian nonetheless. In the end, though, a tyrant is still a tyrant, no matter their intentions.
Mark Magula