"The common error is to think that socialism helps the poor and disenfranchised. As Pope Leo XIII pointed out as long ago as 1891 in his Encyclical “Rerum Novarum”, socialism does not help the poor. Rather, it reduces everyone to the same lowest common denominator of poverty and misery, while at the same time drying up the very sources of capital." Let's not forget this also applies to Communism which is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of production and property in general. A major reason why Communism failed as a social experiment is it provides NO incentives for advancement & excellence, but only complacency & mediocrity. Unfortunately, some on the left want to return to these failed ideologies...
Plus Communism is an excellent way to keep the ruling party in power regardless of the concerns of the people.
Democracy passes into despotism. Democracy... is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike. Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.
We're again talking about the concepts of Socialism and Communism because today (as seen in recent news) some on the left think that a system of free markets is evil and promotes inequality. Some liberals would have us believe Socialism is a more fair and equitable solution to the problems of economic recession, poverty, lack of healthcare, lack of education, etc. A growing number on left believes a socialist approach ensures an equal spread of wealth ("spread the wealth!!"). In reality, Capitalism and free markets has existed since a caveman made a loin cloth to wear for himself, and then made another to trade for a bone to stick in his nose. There will always be the "have" and "have-nots". There will always be those who work hard and are ambitious, and those who prefer not to work, slack, see themselves as only victims, and wait for a government hand out. Therefore to force everyone to conform and 'share the wealth' is ridiculous. Those who work harder, refuse to be a victim, and produce more should earn more money and have the opportunity to be wealthy. Inequality is a good thing! I'm glad I'm NOT equal to everyone else and I do NOT want to share the wealth. I work hard and therefore I have a lot to show for it... "The free market and the free price system make goods from around the world available to consumers. The free market also gives the largest possible scope to entrepreneurs, who risk capital to allocate resources so as to satisfy the future desires of the mass of consumers as efficiently as possible. SAVING and INVESTMENT can then develop capital goods and increase the PRODUCTIVITY and wages of workers, thereby increasing their standard of living. The free competitive market also rewards and stimulates technological INNOVATION that allows the innovator to get a head start in satisfying consumer wants in new and creative ways… The ultimate in government coercion is SOCIALISM. Under socialist central planning the socialist planning board lacks a price system for land or capital goods." http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/FreeMarket.html
To be completely accurate, every modern country in the world today has some form of socialism. Without socialism you would not have infrastructure. Who would build the bridges and highways, who would construct the drinking water and sewage systems and sewage treatment plants without a form of socialism. How would your mail get delivered without the government subsidizing the mail delivery system. The argument here to me seems to be saying that universal healthcare is evil because it is a form of socialism. I would disagree completely. We have universal healthcare here in Canada and the implied evils of socialism have not been borne out. We do not have some burueacrat deciding over the telephone if an operation or medical procedure is necessary or not. I do not have to go into my Dr. or to the emergency room of the local hospital and have to worry if I can afford to be here or not. Two years ago I went to Emergency and was kept in the hospital for 6 days based on the clinical diagnosis of the attending physician, a man I had never met before or since. After many tests as well as a procedure requiring anastetic and a constant intavaneous drip I was let out. This did not cost me or my family a cent and I did not lose any wages from work. Canada on a per capita basis is just as successful as anyone in the US whether we are talking individual wealth, corporate success, entrepreneurialship or any other methods used to determine if a society as a whole is successful and functioning. Yes, a percentage of our taxes goes to pay these bills, as does a percentage of our taxes pay for bridges, road repairs, mail delivery, the miltary (oh but not bank bailouts). Some countries have lots of socialism, Sweden pays almost 2/3rds of their income to taxes, they have more socialsim than anyone else. Some countries have less than the US. I would not say that a country such as Haiti is more successful than the US even though they pay less of their income to taxes. It appears that with this most recent pandemic scare, part of the fault lies with Mexico not having the medical infrastructure to correlate and isolate the beginning of the flu. There was a lag time in sending samples to the CDC (which by the way is government supported), oh and to our labs up here in Canada as well. This lag time created some panic and media hysteria that has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars into the Mexican economy. All because some corporations (CNN, NBC, ABC, etc.,) are chasing the all mighty dollar in an attempt to have more advertising dollars come their way. If more viewers tune in, salespeople have figures to produce to company's that will spend their dollars on advertising where they believe they will get more profile. So, screw the truth and the facts, get the story out there and we'll worry about the consequences later. Socialism is not evil, we all live under it to various degrees. Democracy is not evil, Communism has been shown not to work. But, Socialism does not equal communism.
