What Does Socialism Actually Deliver?

Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times,

If we examine the history of alleged “democratic” socialism around the globe, it’s not difficult to flesh out the contradictions within its entire framework.

However, for someone who hasn’t studied history or been grounded in the timeless principles of hard work and individual responsibility, socialism might tug at their heartstrings with its utopian claims. They fail to realize that the words “democratic” and “socialism” don’t mix well.

Buzzwords such as affordability, equality, and social justice sound appealing to almost anyone, especially those facing life challenges. However, if you dig deeper, the path toward those ideals involves seizing from those who pull their own weight and handing it over to those who want the easy way out in life. This forced collectivism lies at the root of socialism’s dysfunction, as it generates resentment.

Marxist socialism promises the moon and stars in the form of free this and free that. What the purveyors of this ideology don’t tell the masses is that nothing in life is free and someone has to fork over the money for all the “free” stuff. Folks in the middle- and upper-income strata are coerced into surrendering greater amounts of their hard-won earnings to a centralized government that, in turn, redistributes funds or services to the indigent.

Moreover, socialists demand that everyone practice a minimalist lifestyle while political ideologues enjoy the blessings of a free-market economy. There’s nothing wrong with embracing minimalism if it’s a voluntary decision, but that’s not how socialism operates.

Coercion is the key element in socialism’s playbook, and it tends to hurt the lower-income folks that it claims to fight for in society.

Instead of encouraging poor folks to utilize initiative to succeed, socialists encourage dependency on a bureaucratic state that plays favorites in the battle for resources. This often runs counter to the human drive to freely choose between competing goods, ideas, and services.

Socialism stifles intellectual diversity and is anti-spiritual, since it believes that humans possess all the answers and a divine presence doesn’t play a role in human affairs.

What many young folks fail to realize when they listen to socialist narratives is that socialism is based on emotions and class envy rather than well-reasoned arguments and solutions. The arbitrary nature of socialism can turn any human being into a target of scorn, depending on the mood of those who run the circus. In unfree societies, socialism is kept on life support despite its colossal failures and millions of victims since Russia’s 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Socialist apologists often repeat the mantra that socialism hasn’t been applied the “correct” way and that is why it continues to fall short. So they triple down on their internal contradictions and hypocrisy, and are doomed to repeat the same dystopian slogans over and over again despite shortages in goods, opportunities, and services.

In a free society, socialists attempt to apply coercion with a gentler demeanor that hides a relentless ambition to dismantle democratic institutions.

In their zeal for permanent revolution, socialists don’t have time to take a breath and actually produce anything of substance. Indeed, they are great at lecturing us and taking from others, but very weak on producing quality products and services that consumers want.

Indeed, socialist leaders exacerbate the cycle of poverty by distorting the free market with price controls and a fixation with victimhood. Socialists ignore the reality that in a free society, victimhood is a choice, as there are countless opportunities to succeed.

Most socialist gatherings and protests involve educated middle- and upper-class folks who have time on their hands to clamor for Marxist ideas they don’t even practice in their daily lives. They benefit from the free market, yet they want the poor to be enslaved to ineffective government programs instead of pursuing the American Dream. Indeed, socialist rabblerousers aren’t fighting the oligarchy because they are the oligarchy.

Another fatal flaw in the socialist edifice is the opposition to charter schools. Why do they oppose alternatives to so many failing public schools? Charters more often than not outperform their public school counterparts in educational outcomes. This can help students succeed more in higher education and the workforce.

What does socialism deliver to society? It plays the zero-sum game by falsely believing that if one person succeeds, someone else fails. How about the possibility that if one person succeeds, it inspires others to work hard in attaining a worthy goal? The road to success can be uneven for anyone, but the persevering effort is what counts.

The primary objective of socialism is power over others by initiating anarchy and class warfare. It stifles natural competition, inherent liberty, and social relations. Socialist activists are adept at pulling the victim card in order to become victimizers of folks they envy, such as the wealthy who already create countless jobs and pay heavy taxes.

To sum up, socialism is a criminal enterprise that utilizes propaganda to convince us that it cares for the poor. In truth, socialists crave power, while their policies only serve to keep lower-income folks in misery. The antidote is equal human rights, free market exchanges, and limited government.