Science of Socialism

Posted: November 17, 2011 in Uncategorized

First, an introduction. My name is Jim. I was born in the early 60’s, married in the late 80’s, raised 3 daughters, and divorced in the early 2010’s. I am a proud constitutional conservative. I believe in the power of the individual. I was schooled by Rush Limbaugh, Jan Mickelson(a local talk show host), Glenn Beck, and several others. Probably a better education than most universities. Call me a Limbaugh mind numbed robot or a Beck zombie. I’ll wear it as a badge of honor.

I am also a classic geek. I love comics, science, and sci-fi. My thoughts on right and wrong were developed by reading Superman, Batman, Spider-man, X-men, Daredevil, etc. Do what’s right because it’s the right thing to do. My sci-fi addictions include Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Farscape, Firefly, etc, etc, etc. My guilty pleasures are the dancing shows, So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars. The way those people move their bodies absolutely amazes me.

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with my brother discussing politics and political systems. The conversation turned to socialism and pushed ALL my buttons. My brother is blind. He lost his sight gradually after high school due to retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease of the retina. He is intelligent, independent, and well read. He also collects a government check and is medically covered under Title 19. He caught me off guard with a statement, “Socialism could work in America.” I understand he has a vested interest in this, but I really thought he was smarter than that. Let me try to explain why he’s wrong.

Sir Isaac Newton was a physicist in the 17th century. He is best know for his discovery of the 3 laws of motion for matter. I believe these laws also apply to politics and social systems.

The 1st law, “An object will maintain it’s state of motion unless acted on by an outside force.” For over 100 years the prevailing system in America was rugged individualism. Take care of yourself and your family. Keep the fruits of your labors. Don’t make your neighbors or your kids pay for your lifestyle. Government, with a few small exceptions, held to constitutional limitations. America thrived.

But then an outside “force” began to be applied. Progressive polices were gradually implemented. An attitude of, “we need to help people who can’t help themselves” started to develop. All well intentioned of course. Who would have a problem with providing assistance for the handicapped, the mentally disabled, the old? The problem? It doesn’t stop there. The definition of who needs help keeps changing. Who would deny a family left destitute by a financial depression? Or a mother abandoned by her irresponsible husband. With each addition, the next one becomes easier.

The 2nd law, “Force equals Mass times Acceleration or F=MA.” In this case we’re not talking about a physical object but a metaphorical one. The changes happened gradually in incremental steps. Imagine in the 1950’s and 1960’s telling people there’s no smoking allowed in a open air ball park. You’d be called insane. So instead, you tell them you just want a small section of a restaurant or an airplane that’s smoke free. That’s not unreasonable. But once that is in place, you progress to the whole restaurant, then entire airlines, then bars, etc, etc. A little at a time until smoking isn’t allowed anywhere.

The 3rd law, “For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.” How do they pay for all this “help” they’re providing. In order to redistribute wealth they first must take it from those who produce it. This is done through taxation. I’m not talking about taxes used for the legitimate functions of government. I’m talking about taxing producers in order to provide welfare for non-producers. I call this theft through taxation.

The action is stealing wealth. The reaction is hide that wealth. When your income is stolen, you limit your income. Business owners take little or no salary, reinvest profits back into the company and hire accountants and tax lawyers to find loopholes and shelters.

It becomes clear very soon that there isn’t enough money for all the people who “need” help. The language starts to change. We hear calls for wealth redistribution. It’s not “fair” that some are very rich while others are very poor. This is the beginnings of socialism.

The progression from there is an avalanche. With more takers, more money will be needed. Income tax won’t be enough so assets will be taxed. Takers will become addicted to the handout and will demand more. Taxes won’t be enough so they will progress to confiscation. That will be the end of private property. If I have one dollar more than you, you will be entitled to half of.

Business owners will react by closing theirs doors and joining the ranks of the takers. When producers are punished they will stop producing. The limited resources will require rationing. It then becomes a game of who has a greater need. Who’s more in need? A blind man? A deaf man? A wheelchair bound man? Who decides? Ayn Rand described this eloquently in the story of Starnesville in Atlas Shrugged.

What’s the solution? The only successful system that is sustainable is principled capitalism and constitutionally limited government. Each individual competing in the open market and being allowed to keep the fruits of his labors. With low taxes and severely limited regulations some will get wealthy. Some will get VERY wealthy. Many will fail but in failure discover what went wrong and try again. Some will be unable, for whatever reason, mental illness, handicap, disability, to survive on their own. That’s where the principled part comes in. Churches and local charities are best able to distribute voluntarily donated assistance to those who really need it and deny those who don’t. As a last resort, state funded assistance should be available for extreme emergencies, but never from the Federal government.

I don’t really believe my brother is a socialist. I think he just has a vested interest in an unsustainable system. We’re heading down the wrong path. It’s fixable but we have to move now. Look back at Newton’s 2nd law. The bigger it gets the harder it will be to stop. When people get addicted to their welfare checks, they will fight violently to keep getting them. They will elect the politicians who promise the biggest benefits and will riot in the streets when the money inevitably runs out. It’s not too late, but it soon will be.

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