Socialism's Downfall
Socialism
has failed everywhere it has been tried, and it will continue to do so
despite the best efforts of the die-hard true believers in the Obama
administration and the rest of the world. The most recent example of
this failure: Euro-Socialism is presently bankrupting the countries that
embraced it in Europe. This will result not only in more social and
economic upheaval, but also the ultimate demise of the ill-conceived
European Union.
The original and current proponents of socialism fail to take into account one very basic but immutable factor: the fundamental nature of the human race.
The original and current proponents of socialism fail to take into account one very basic but immutable factor: the fundamental nature of the human race.
The most dominant trait mankind has, as do all living creatures, is an innate desire to survive and prosper.
While
some may willingly choose to pursue subsistence on their own terms, to
the vast majority of the human race, the path of least resistance is the
most desired. Thus, mankind is susceptible to financial scams,
gambling, crime, and resentment or violence towards those who may have
more. But above all, people are very open to the concept of a central
authority providing them with the means of livelihood.
A
secondary characteristic of human race, again shared by other species,
is the need by some within the group to conquer or maintain control over
their fellow man. Thanks to modern technology and weaponry, gone are
the days when a megalomaniac could by sheer force of determination and
arms conquer and impose his will on others.
The mid-19th
century saw the Industrial Revolution and the rise in living standards
and education for the populace in Europe. It was during this same period
that the advent of socialist/Marxist theory occurred. Those that
considered themselves superior to the masses, and in the past may have
achieved ruling status through the power of intimidation over the
illiterate and unwashed, now had to look to other means to achieve
control of the levers of government.
The
easiest course to assume this power was to promise, in return for the
support of the people, that the state through a new ruling class would
provide the citizenry cradle-to-grave economic security. Thus, a
Faustian bargain encompassing the desire by the majority for ease of
survival and others for the need to rule would be entered into. The
populace, having committed itself to this compact, would expect
never-ending freedom from adversity.
However,
within this arrangement is the seed of its own destruction. For
socialism to succeed, it must have an economic underpinning that can
provide the foundation for massive social spending. The Soviet Union, as
early as the 1920s and '30s, proved that complete state control of the
means of production was a colossal failure, as it could not produce
sufficient wealth to support the population.
Therefore,
only the capitalist economic system, which is anathema to a powerful
central government and its attendant oligarchy, can produce sufficient
wealth to underwrite a social safety net for the general public and
finance the agenda of the governing class.
Capitalism,
reflective of that portion of mankind choosing to seek subsistence on
their own terms, does by its nature celebrate the success of the
individual, not the collective. Individuals, separately or together,
driven by the motive of self-enrichment, produce goods or services
desired by others. In the process, jobs and wealth are created, thus
benefiting society as a whole.
A
massive tension exists between those who adhere to central government
control and swear fealty to socialist/Marxist philosophy and those who
produce the wealth of a nation. The state inherently has more power than
the individual, and once the radical element of the ruling class
assumes power, government begins an inexorable process of injecting
itself into the affairs of the individual and producer class (which is
always a minority in any society).
Those
who believe they have a manifest destiny to rule and are faithful to
socialist tenets have a predisposition to control the populace and
economic activity through laws, regulations, taxes, and intimidation.
Despite the lesson of the Soviet Union and its state control of the
economy, every new generation of adherents to socialist ideology believe
they can make this fallacious philosophy work and maintain their
arrangement with the citizenry.
But
the reality is that they cannot, as the economic engine of capitalism
will not continue to produce wealth if it is increasingly put under the
thumb of bureaucrats and central planners inevitably attempting not only
to institute state control of the economy, but to also to regulate the
day-to-day lives of all citizens. The motivation of the producer class
will be stifled and they will either drop out, join the dependent class
or simply move on to other more hospitable countries.
Governments
will, as history has shown (most recently in Europe), turn to excessive
and unsustainable borrowings and inflation to finance their societal
obligations. The contract between the statists and the citizens who were
promised cradle-to-grave security cannot be maintained, as the economic
underpinning of this arrangement will quickly erode.
Social
and economic chaos resulting in dramatically lower standard of living
must inevitably ensue, and in some cases, these conditions will lead to
violence or revolution. No amount of promises, demonization of
capitalism and seizure of the means of production, confiscatory taxes,
or printing of money will reinstitute prosperity or security for the
populace. This is the path on which President Obama and his fellow
travelers have set the United States.
The
founding fathers of the United States, one of the greatest confluences
of brilliant minds in the history of mankind, understood the basic
nature of human beings. They accordingly set forth a form of government
and a written Constitution to greatly limit those who seek hegemony over
the people, especially those seeking unlimited security from a central
government. They recognized that only the individual free to pursue
economic happiness would result in a society wherein all would benefit
on a sustained basis.
The
voters of the United States made a grave error in judgment in 2008; but
unlike in many other countries in Europe and elsewhere, this mistake
can be reversed, as the citizens of the United States do have the
governmental structure to allow the country to step back from the
precipice that this nation and many others are presently staring into.
But will the general public understand that the socialist path the
nation is on is preordained to fail? Will the citizenry change the
government before it is too late?
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