“You don’t know much about today’s socialism.
You are recalling what you were taught in high school.
Governments and countries evolve…”
That’s a portion of a full-throated defense of socialism on social media. The poster was joined by a disturbing number of others.
He’s right though. High schools are teaching something entirely different today.
They certainly aren’t teaching that a powerful central government without a separation of powers and an expressed guarantee of individual liberties has led to tyranny and often genocide throughout history. They aren’t teaching what has happened to Venezuela or that socialism in Sweden failed decades ago.
Others defended socialism as the best way to “take care of the needy.”
Only those who desperately want to amass power are to take it away from others. They will do anything to convince the supremely naive that socialism is the better and more humane way. Everything will be fine. No one will go hungry and the “needy” will be taken care of when they’re in charge. Of course, they get to decide who’s needy and who’s not.
The wicked queen always wraps the poison apples in a pretty package. She speaks kindly to the trusting and the innocent. She must hide her true intent and she does it well.
Prosperity in a free economy is not the zero-sum game the left would have you believe, but Liberty itself just might be.
Those who love Liberty know that they must protect it not only for themselves but for those too naive to know that it is in grave danger. Our freedom depends on others to refrain from using government as their proxy to take it away.
That’s what’s on the ballot on November 3.
photo credit: DavidHilton1 left right Marxism via photopin (license)