Earlier this year a Rasmussen poll found that only 37 of adults under 30 prefer capitalism to socialism while 33 prefer socialism and 30 were undecided. Wow!
Such findings although scary have very little potential impact on my generation. What about the quality-of-life for the next couple of generations?
Will such thinking lead to political decisions which have the effect of leveling down living standards of future generations of Americans?
Has history taught us absolutely nothing? Is this not unbelievable?
Socialism was tried and rejected by the Colonist in early American. Is this failure not taught in our schools today?
Have we forgotten so soon how vastly different were the economies of a divided Germany? The Berlin Wall provided historys best economic laboratory.
The stark contrast between the success of markets in the West and the failures of the socialist structure in the East should leave little doubt in any reasonable mind.
Compare Cuba with free market countries in South America.
Compare the financial success of the USA with the failure of the USSR which was the greatest experiment with socialism the world has ever known.
Compare living standard and economic growth of the USA with those parts of Europe which have flirted with more and more socialism.
Contrast Hong Kong prior to inclusion into Mainland China with China itself during the Cold War.
Or look at the success of China today with the greater move towards markets with China of the past.
Unfortunately the Communist Chinese leaders of today seem to have more faith in free markets than our current American leaders.
Nowhere in the world has any experiment with socialism worked as well as free market capitalism. Living standards individual freedom as well as economic freedom and prosperity all suffer with higher degrees of socialism.
Only a decade after Bill Clinton declared that the era of big government is over" it is hard to believe that Americans might be flirting with the idea that socialism might be better than capitalism.
To each according to his needs from each according to his ability." What a noble intent. We should all be concerned with doing what is best for mankind. However should we be more concerned with intent or actual effect?
Karl Marx had the best of intentions with his vision of a socialist society but the effect has been devastating to all societies which have tried his solution.
That failure is due to one simple reason. Failure to recognize the basic instinct of mankind: Self interest.
A high school teacher explained socialism to us in class one day in a very personal way.
After grading our homework he said some of us had done well and others had done badly however he was going to give us all the same grade. Then he asked if he were going to continue to grade us in that manner; who among us was going to work hard on his homework for tomorrows grade?
We immediately realized how self interest contributed to our work ethic.
The intent would be to equalize the effect would be to reduce overall productivity.
The overall academic success of our class our campus and our school profited by each of us doing our best. The effect of rewarding each of us based on our individual effort would encourage us to individually and collectively do our best.
Recognition of how self interest impacts motivation was expressed vividly in 1776:
He generally indeed neither intends to promote the public interest nor knows how much he is promoting it. . . . A person who intends only his own gain and he is in this as in many other cases led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention." (Adam Smith Wealth of Nations 1776)
History has indeed proven that entire societies are better off allowing free markets to work. The great laboratory of history has proven that Adam Smiths vision of free markets was right on target.
Markets by allowing each individual the freedom to pursue his or her own self interest have the effect of promoting the overall good of society providing for vast economic success for both individuals and nations providing higher standards of living for all classes of society and enhancing individual freedom.
Marx said of history: History repeats itself first as tragedy second as farce."
Looking at the vast global experimentation with socialism during the 20th century and its dismal failure I wonder if Marx were alive today would he be promoting capitalism as the best way of achieving his greater goals for society.
After all: History repeats itself as a tragedy!
Earlier this year a Rasmussen poll found that only 37 of adults under 30 prefer capitalism to socialism while 33 prefer socialism and 30 were undecided. Wow!
Such findings although scary have very little potential impact on my generation. What about the quality-of-life for the next couple of generations?
Will such thinking lead to political decisions which have the effect of leveling down living standards of future generations of Americans?
Has history taught us absolutely nothing? Is this not unbelievable?
Socialism was tried and rejected by the Colonist in early American. Is this failure not taught in our schools today?
Have we forgotten so soon how vastly different were the economies of a divided Germany? The Berlin Wall provided historys best economic laboratory.
The stark contrast between the success of markets in the West and the failures of the socialist structure in the East should leave little doubt in any reasonable mind.
Compare Cuba with free market countries in South America.
Compare the financial success of the USA with the failure of the USSR which was the greatest experiment with socialism the world has ever known.
Compare living standard and economic growth of the USA with those parts of Europe which have flirted with more and more socialism.
Contrast Hong Kong prior to inclusion into Mainland China with China itself during the Cold War.
Or look at the success of China today with the greater move towards markets with China of the past.
Unfortunately the Communist Chinese leaders of today seem to have more faith in free markets than our current American leaders.
Nowhere in the world has any experiment with socialism worked as well as free market capitalism. Living standards individual freedom as well as economic freedom and prosperity all suffer with higher degrees of socialism.
Only a decade after Bill Clinton declared that the era of big government is over" it is hard to believe that Americans might be flirting with the idea that socialism might be better than capitalism.
To each according to his needs from each according to his ability." What a noble intent. We should all be concerned with doing what is best for mankind. However should we be more concerned with intent or actual effect?
Karl Marx had the best of intentions with his vision of a socialist society but the effect has been devastating to all societies which have tried his solution.
That failure is due to one simple reason. Failure to recognize the basic instinct of mankind: Self interest.
A high school teacher explained socialism to us in class one day in a very personal way.
After grading our homework he said some of us had done well and others had done badly however he was going to give us all the same grade. Then he asked if he were going to continue to grade us in that manner; who among us was going to work hard on his homework for tomorrows grade?
We immediately realized how self interest contributed to our work ethic.
The intent would be to equalize the effect would be to reduce overall productivity.
The overall academic success of our class our campus and our school profited by each of us doing our best. The effect of rewarding each of us based on our individual effort would encourage us to individually and collectively do our best.
Recognition of how self interest impacts motivation was expressed vividly in 1776:
He generally indeed neither intends to promote the public interest nor knows how much he is promoting it. . . . A person who intends only his own gain and he is in this as in many other cases led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention." (Adam Smith Wealth of Nations 1776)
History has indeed proven that entire societies are better off allowing free markets to work. The great laboratory of history has proven that Adam Smiths vision of free markets was right on target.
Markets by allowing each individual the freedom to pursue his or her own self interest have the effect of promoting the overall good of society providing for vast economic success for both individuals and nations providing higher standards of living for all classes of society and enhancing individual freedom.
Marx said of history: History repeats itself first as tragedy second as farce."
Looking at the vast global experimentation with socialism during the 20th century and its dismal failure I wonder if Marx were alive today would he be promoting capitalism as the best way of achieving his greater goals for society.
After all: History repeats itself as a tragedy!
