Capitalism vs Socialism

History can be a great teacher if we listen to it. Author, orator, political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke said, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”.

Socialism rewards failure and encourages laziness and apathy. Every American should understand socialism’s false promises and that, every time it is tried, socialism fails and always will and that is without exception.

Socialism began in the mid-1800s and was moved forward by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin in Russia and Mao Zedong in China. According to Marx, socialism cannot be achieved without suppressing the annoying tendency of individuals to prefer making choices. Socialism despises individuality. Under socialism, the “all-knowing” and “wonderful” government dictates terms of life, education, well-being, travel, associations, and political dialogue.

The former Soviet Union, Communist East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, The People’s Republic of China, Laos, North Vietnam, Cuba, Afghanistan, Benin, Cambodia, North Korea, Somalia,, and South Yemen are all examples of socialist “utopias”. They all delivered depravity, poverty, pain and despair without any freedom. Some of these countries still exist today and they remain the most impoverished in the world, war-torn, repressive, and they imprison political critics. Venezuela is a prime example.

Professor and historian Rudolph Joseph Rummel coined the term “democide” for “murder by government”. He argues the totalitarian governments of the 20th century killed more people than warfare. 110 million people were killed by their own socialist governments between 1900 and 1987.

By its very nature, socialism can only expedite misery, repression, and the death of liberty.

Capitalism provides free choice. All individuals make decisions for themselves. People will make the best decisions because they must live with the consequences of their actions. Freedom of choice allows consumers to drive the economy. A free market produces the best economic outcome for society. The government should not pick winners and losers. Capitalism also provides freedom of religion.

The modern world economy operates largely according to the principles of capitalism.

The ideas of trade, buying, selling, and such have been around since civilization. Free-market, or lasseiz-faire capitalism was brought to the world during the 18th century by John Locke and Adam Smith, aiming for an alternative to feudalism.

Human nature drives us to compete for success. Capitalism incentivizes hard work and innovation. The United States was built upon values of individual freedom, limited government, and private property – these are values worth protecting.

In the end, freedom outperforms socialism every time.