Socialism or Capitalism - Where Are We Going

EDITORS NOTE:  APRIL 15TH IS FAST APPROACHING AND HUNDREDS OF CITIES WILL BE HOSTING TEA PARTIES TO PROTEST WHERE WE ARE GOING.  NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE A STAND.  GO TO THE TAX DAY TEA PARTY COALITION WEBSITE AND FIND A TEA PARTY NEAR YOU.  TAKE A STAND FOR THE CONSTITUTION.

Are we turning into a socialist nation?

On April 9th the pollster Scott Rasmussen reported that only 53% of Americans polled believe capitalism is better than socialism.  Of those polled, 20% believed socialism was better and 27% weren’t sure which was better.  These are grim numbers.  The numbers are even worse for those under thirty.  Among this group 37% support capitalism, 33% socialism and 30% are undecided.  This shows the effect of education.  When our colleges are dominated by socialists, especially in the liberal arts colleges and the colleges of education, turning out educators indoctrinated with left wing dogma, who do you think is teaching the young?  My daughter comes home from public school completely and thoroughly taught the dangers of “global warming”.  The situation only gets worse when we send our kids off to college.

Our institutions of higher learning have become hot beds of anti-American, and anti-capitalist ferver, with professors who spend lecture after lecture spewing their hate-filled, anti-American garbage.  Parents spend thousands of dollars to have their kids indoctrinated with this nonsense and this is the result, a generation of young Americans with no knowledge of their history, their principles or their heritage.  They have, instead, been taught that America is the problem, that greed and American Imperialism is ruining the world.  Is it any surprise then they are ready to throw away their birthright of liberty and that of the future generations for a promise of “security” that socialism has always failed to deliver?

Rasmussen’s poll (see all the results here) shows over thirty and over forty get progressively more supportive of capitalism.  Perhaps their earlier education was less indoctrinated in socialist principles or, and I think more likely, the real world begins to show them the error of the nonsense they were taught in school.  The more you live in the real world and pay attention, the less patience you have for socialist claptrap.

We must make sure we teaching the young people that education is important, but not everything they hear in a classroom is true.  Show them the real world and let them see why government, which is what socialism comes down to, can’t run very much, effectively, compared to the free enterprise system.  Examples abound and can be found everywhere you look.

One good example of this comes from CNN.com.  The residents of Hawaii’s Kauai island needed help.  A road had been damaged by severe flooding in Polihale State Park and the area businesses were in danger of closing because the tourists couldn’t get to them.  Turning to the state to help, they were told it would cost $4 million dollars, which the state didn’t have, and take up to 2 years to fix the road.  By then the local businesses would be out of business.  They decided to take matters into their own hands.

Unable to wait 2 years for the state to get around to them the local business banded together.  They pulled together the equipment, manpower and materials and started repairs on their own on March 23rd.  They finished the repairs and had the road open in 8 days.  You read that right.  What government wanted 2 years and $4 million to do, they did themselves in 8 days.  Let one overly-educated but functionally stupid college professor look at that and tell me socialism is better than capitalism.  Mind you, only someone who spent years and years in college could accumulate the stupidity to believe that in the first place.

Socialism, no matter where it has been tried or in what variation, has never once succeeded.  Not one time.  Capitalism, despite some excesses, has never failed to produce more prosperity when tried.  There is absolutely no way to rationally argue those historical facts.  But there is another even more important reason we need to educate our fellow Americans about the difference between capitalism and socialism.

Socialism always, ALWAYS, leads to some reduction in personal liberty.  Depending on the variation that is tried and the length of time socialist principles have been in place, the loss of liberty may vary, but personal liberty, the freedom of the individual, is always sacrificed in the name of the greater good.  Indeed, more than 100 million lives were sacrifed during the 20th century by those seeking to promote socialism.  Capitalism, on the other hand, is most successfully driven by the same principles of enlightened self-interest that expand personal liberty.  The more personal liberty, the more the individual has freedom, the more successful capitalism is.  Where socialism unleashes the forces of oppression, capitalism can be a powerful force for freedom.

If we are to insure Americans continue to have the freedom we have for many generations to come, we must make sure all Americans understand what is at stake.  We owe at least that much to those that gave liberty to us.  If you have other examples of govenment nonsense, let me know about them.  Click on comments below and comment.  If you don’t want to share publicly, send me an email to editor@rightviewpoint.com.

EDITORS NOTE:  For more information on capitalism and socialism read my five-part series Commune to Capitalism.  You can find it under Categories-Series on the left sidebar.