The Real Explanation
We are hearing so much about Socialism vs Capitalism these days. Seems so many of the presidential hopefuls are pushing the idea of Socialism. Free college tuition. Free healthcare. A guaranteed income just for the virtue of being born. Free sounds pretty good to most people. The problem is, no one explains exactly what that means. They are not being completely honest with you. Some even distort it. Getting something free doesn’t infer that we need to give anything in return. It’s free, right? So that denotes that it doesn’t cost us anything. Hmmmm. Remember the old adage ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’
No one tells you the difference between the two. And there is a stark difference. Capitalism is when the means or profits of production, industry, is in the hands of the people. Meaning, What you work hard for every day, is yours. It’s controlled by you. Conversely, Socialism is when it is in the hands of the government. Think about that for just a minute. Let it sink in.
Socialism requires Capitalism in order to work. The freedom we enjoy in this country, is that we control our destiny. We determine what is best for us and our family. We decide what type of work we do for a living and we get to enjoy the fruits of that labor and distribute it as we choose. We do not relinquish that liberty to the government to decide who profits from our work. When you attempt to confiscate wealth and redistribute it, you actually take away the incentive to succeed. The desire to excel, to produce. The pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.
Free markets generate ingenuity and motivation. Socialism, (otherwise known as government managed economy) generates complacency. Socialism funnels all the money to the top central committee, which then becomes corrupted, largely due to special interest groups, before it comes down to the people. And there is very little left for the bottom of that heap, the people. And it’s very interesting how the people pushing Socialism are actually taking advantage of a capitalist system for a power grab. They reach out to donors, special interest groups to fund their campaign in order to win to become the top tier. The ones in charge. The central committee. The confiscation or reclaiming of wealth is no different than the government grabbing your wallet, taking your money and leaving you with the loose change at the bottom.
In a capitalist society, companies encourage growth and give incentives. They give bonuses. In Socialism there are no bonuses. You’re not going to get any more than your neighbor next door who isn’t working at all. Who is not motivated to work. Why would you if you don’t have to? If you get the same amount as your neighbor who is working? When people have more of their own money they tend to do certain things. They are more inclined to be philanthropic, they give more to charities, churches etc. If they have a business, they re-invest in that business and hire more people, which creates opportunity for others. Or they take the leap and start their own business. A socialist society has never created wealth. As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it (paraphrasing here), ‘the trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples money’
As you can see, the only people who benefit from Socialism are the people at the top. The people in charge. The government. The remaining crumbs are distributed evenly to the people. Take a look at North and South Korea, especially at night. Which place would you rather live in that picture? The one all lite up, or the one in darkness.?
So just to do a quick recap. The people in power, the ones asking for your vote to put them in office, will become the central committee. They get the Lion’s share. They get to take the money first, and keep what they want. The remainder, what they determine is left over, is to be distributed equally to the rest of us at the bottom of the food chain. They and they alone get to determine how much each of us is entitled to. No longer do we have the freedom and liberty to be in charge of our destiny and choices. No longer do we reap the benefits of our hard work. And whatever we do get, we have to share that with people who have zero motivation to work. Thats a rather steep price to pay. Is that really a FREE society? Next time someone starts pushing Socialism, ask them how much is it really going to cost you. And not just monetarily, but at what cost to your freedoms and liberties.
So, are you ready to give up your freedom to do and get what you want? To give up your liberties and hand them over to the government? Are you ready to give away your motivation, your dreams of success, your ambitions and self respect. Your freedom to excel to any level. Your pursuit of happiness? Or do you believe you should reap the benefits of your toil? After all, you worked for it. Shouldn’t you get to have a say about it? Do you believe that you should receive the Lion’s share?