Socialism: One Size Fits All
To plunder is described as to rob of goods or valuables by force, to despoil, or fleece. Fredrick Bastiat a French economist who lived from 1801 to 1850 wrote, “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”
He also wrote these complimentary words regarding America in his time, “Look at the United States. There is no country in the world where the law is kept more within its proper domain: the protection of every person’s liberty and property.”
He then got down to the basic nitty and fundamental gritty and offered a warning regarding plundering saying, “See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefit one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.” He then notes the government of some countries do what no citizen can do. He is describing the government taking from one by taxes and giving to another as an entitlement. The only way our government can give any citizen a single dollar is to take it from another citizen. The fact socialism promises to give away so many free things is they take so much from the people.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher noted, “The trouble with socialism is you soon run out of other people’s money.”
Charity, generous charity is to be commended. Those who are legitimately needy deserve help. Over 35 million Americans gave to charitable causes in the latest year for which there is data. The amount given to charity in 2018 was over 410 billion dollars. The amount usually goes up about five percent a year. Individuals voluntarily giving to people and causes they support is to be encouraged. This is individual generosity, not plunder.
Our free enterprise system allows for such largess. Socialism would plunder this generosity. Charities would suffer. Under socialism the government would collect the money and distribute it as they will, not necessarily according to the desire of the provider.
Ronald Reagan is reputed to have said, “Socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don’t need it and hell where they already have it.”
Whether he said it is questionable, but the fact of its truth is beyond question.
Consider the competency of the potential voters in future elections. A broad base of voters is uninformed regarding the foundation of our republic. The following statistics are from 2012. There is little chance the populace has become more informed: 70% did not know the Constitution was the law of the land, 62% of the voters could not name the three branches of the government, 65% did not know the purpose of the judicial branch. These are the people will be voting on the course of our nation.
America is faced with the potential these unenlightened people will elect people who will “…create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it (socialism) and a moral code that glorifies it.”
Bastiat provides this succinct definition of socialism: The (socialist) state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.”