: I'd like to ask a couple questions of all you budding socialists and communists out there in never-never land. Do you really think that bigger government will really magically solve all the problems around in the world? Do you think that the people placed in power of a socialist "utopia" won't try to keep all the power to themselves?
Nation-states have a funny habit of concentrating power at the top,
regardless of whether they call themselves "socialist" or "capitalist".
How does this confer superiority on capitalist regimes? Economic
justice is not impossible--the Israeli kibbutz and Native American
cultures are two examples--but it won't happen under a traditional
government hierarchy.
If so, then boy do you have some interesting experiences in store for you. That's right, folks!!! Step right up, you're the first one to win a wonderful trip to Cuba, socialist utopia extrarodinaire! Look around at the brilliant architecture used to create all of the wooden shacks which abound the landscape... Gape at the pollution (not to mention the large rodents) all around. And be the first to be personally shot by Mr. Castro himself. Yippee!
Ever seen a maquiladora village in (capitalist) Mexico, or any
urban area in America which has been abandoned by companies seeking
cheap labor elsewhere? Plenty of rodents, pollution, and deteriorated
housing there, too. One could suppose that Cuba, under a perpetual
trade embargo and military harassment from the good old USA, would at
least have a reason for poor living conditions. What excuse does the
richest nation on earth offer its own people who are struggling under
similar circumstances?
: If you think that I'm just acting silly, take a cold hard look at yourselves. Caught up in pointless utopian excursions. Tsk, tsk. Ah well, perhaps someday you will savor freedom and not welcome the prospect of jack-booted thugs with the ability to raid your property (oops... I forgot! No property exists in socialist utopia! That's right! My mistake!). Well, having jack-booted thugs with the ability to rough you up a bit, anyway.
Yes of course, we here in the World's Capitalist Paradise certainly
don't have any thugs, jackbooted or otherwise. Just lots of friendly,
gentle souls with acronyms like FBI, CIA, and BATF. They certainly
won't rough you up--as long as you do as you're told.
: Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is: why would you want to legislate your freedom away? I mean, really: the only true basic human right is to do what you damn well please (with the responsibility to face the consequences attached to it, of course), and since freedom is granted intrinsically at birth, it seems silly to just give it away. But for the greater good, you say? Well, hell, that seems like treading on the rights of the "minority" to me, as if socialists were in the majority anyway.
Our freedoms have been eroded by socialist legislation, it's true. For
example, the freedom to eat poisoned meat--abolished by socialist
government-mandated meat inspections. The freedom of nonsmokers to
breathe secondhand cigarette smoke--abolished by socialist-inspired
ordinances. The freedom to labor in a hazardous environment--abolished
by the jackbooted thugs of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (although the good news is that brave capitalists in
Washington are in the process of dismantling OSHA).
: So there you have it. Take a swing at my questions if you like. Take a swing at my "amazing lack of ignorance" if you like. But never take a swing at my freedom.
: One last thing: many socialists, as I've noticed, are socialists not because they eat up Marx's theory as if it were a type of chocolate pudding, but because they want to be different, rebellious perhaps. That explains why so many "socialists" I know (I know a lot of socialists, because hey, I do live in Massachusetts after all) also say that they prescribe to the basic tenets of libertarianism. Interesting that anybody could believe in totalitarianism and personal liberty at the same time.
Even more interesting that anybody could confuse socialism with
totalitarianism.
: Anyway, before all of you socialist guys and girls out there call for my head and rant about "killing all of the capitalists", let me tell you that I myself am very tolerant in discussions about political theory (my being here proves that). Let me also tell you that I have studied a bit of socialist theory and found it to be most utopian in nature and most impractical in practice. If any of you out there can spout something a little more intelligent than "kill all of the capitalists", then I welcome you to answer my questions to best of your ability. You guys are expert central planners, after all, eh?
Probably not as good as most corporate CEOs, but we're trying.
