Have Democrats actually forgotten…
That every non-democratic socialist country failed miserably at great cost of life?
That every democratic socialist country voted out the socialism part?
That even the Scandinavian countries say they have free-market economies?
I am baffled with the Democratic Party’s strange fascination with the word “Socialism”. And for a lot of them, it is just the word – I’m not sure they actually know that it means government control of the economy. Instead it seems like they just label the parts of government they like as “Socialism”, like some kind of platitude. And this conscious unreality on the part of Democrats is one of the reasons our American Capitalism is (partly) broken: instead of paying attention to the system we have, to ensuring the Keepers of Capitalism actually kept capitalism healthy, the party instead allowed itself to indulge in the fantasy of a different economy.
That every non-democratic socialist country failed miserably at great cost of life?
That every democratic socialist country voted out the socialism part?
That even the Scandinavian countries say they have free-market economies?
I am baffled with the Democratic Party’s strange fascination with the word “Socialism”. And for a lot of them, it is just the word – I’m not sure they actually know that it means government control of the economy. Instead it seems like they just label the parts of government they like as “Socialism”, like some kind of platitude. And this conscious unreality on the part of Democrats is one of the reasons our American Capitalism is (partly) broken: instead of paying attention to the system we have, to ensuring the Keepers of Capitalism actually kept capitalism healthy, the party instead allowed itself to indulge in the fantasy of a different economy.
Ending Private Property to End Greed
The central promise of Socialism is that it removes greed from the economic decision-making process – it’s an economic system that rejects greed as a motivating principal. It does this by ending private ownership of the means of production. Instead of a capitalist owning and operating a factory to advance his or her own interests – to satisfy their greed – the government owns the factory, run by professional managers that are making decisions for the good of all instead of their own self-benefit. That really is the core belief of socialism – if we end private property we end greed and its distorting effect on our economy.
Socialism doesn't end greed
Except.. it doesn’t. Ending private property doesn’t end greed. Because there is benefit from controlling the means of production, even if you don’t own the means of production. If I run the factory, even if I don’t own it, I still receive a wide range of economic and non-economic rewards. I get to hire my friends and relatives. I get to make life miserable for the people I don’t like. As the factory manager, I need to
visit suppliers in different countries, or go to trade shows. I need to give my product to my friends first, so I can better understand what people want. As a factory manager, I can accumulate more and more power, expanding my factory or taking over management of other factories. And the more power I have, the more rewards I have. Greed doesn’t end, just because you can’t own the factory you manage.
visit suppliers in different countries, or go to trade shows. I need to give my product to my friends first, so I can better understand what people want. As a factory manager, I can accumulate more and more power, expanding my factory or taking over management of other factories. And the more power I have, the more rewards I have. Greed doesn’t end, just because you can’t own the factory you manage.
Greed just flows differently
This is one of the critical theoretical flaws in socialism. It is based on the ability to end greed. But even
in theory, it doesn’t do so – it doesn’t end greed. It just closes off one channel for greed, and greed
flows elsewhere. This is why every country that tried socialism failed. It wasn’t because they were
doing it wrong. It’s because socialist theory has this giant flaw – ending private property doesn’t end
greed. The people that ran factories under Socialism were just as greedy as the people that run
factories under capitalism. They just pretended they weren’t.
in theory, it doesn’t do so – it doesn’t end greed. It just closes off one channel for greed, and greed
flows elsewhere. This is why every country that tried socialism failed. It wasn’t because they were
doing it wrong. It’s because socialist theory has this giant flaw – ending private property doesn’t end
greed. The people that ran factories under Socialism were just as greedy as the people that run
factories under capitalism. They just pretended they weren’t.
Willful Blindness
Unfortunately this is why people that call themselves socialists are so frustrating. The only way to
consider oneself a socialist is to ignore the failure of every country that tried socialism, and to ignore this
giant intellectual flaw, among many others. Instead of paying attention to the system we have, they
slipped off into the fantasy of something that doesn’t exist. They stopped paying attention to
Democratic Capitalism because they didn’t like the capitalism part.
consider oneself a socialist is to ignore the failure of every country that tried socialism, and to ignore this
giant intellectual flaw, among many others. Instead of paying attention to the system we have, they
slipped off into the fantasy of something that doesn’t exist. They stopped paying attention to
Democratic Capitalism because they didn’t like the capitalism part.
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Blake Ashby