Socialism, finally exposed

by Ed Sperry, Col USAF (ret), Stevensville

How refreshing. Mary Fahnestock Thomas’s article extolling the wonders of Socialism was a real eye opener. Her article in the February 15th Bitterroot Star painted such an unreal view of Socialism that it dictates some response.

Let’s start with a test. Stop reading right now. Ponder a minute and name the Socialist governed nation you would be willing to move your family to and become a resident. Such nations exist, so pick one you want to live in. Betcha you couldn’t come up with a suitably attractive place to go. How can that be so if Socialism is so desirable? The answer of course is that Socialism has failed whenever tried and has led to the loss of countless lives. Just recall the killing fields of Pol Pot. The 8 million Russians killed when they were put into communes. The miserable lives of folks in Venezuela. The history books and present day media are full of examples of the outcome of Socialism.

Why does it fail? Actually there is a fairly simple explanation, but we insist on getting lost in the weeds. The magic words are CONTROL OF PRODUCTION. How can that be bad? In fact, if one is to control production, one must control consumption. That means you must control education. You can’t really control anyone that has private property, so personal ownership must go before you are successful in control. Hey, stop and consider, successful Socialism requires the control of every facet of our lives. Yep, it is the road to serfdom!

Ultimately, Socialism is either recognized and avoided as has been the Swedish experience in the past quarter century; or, it will evolve into its extreme continence such as Fascism or Communism. These are usually cast as far right or far left. This really doesn’t matter as they are just alike as far as you and I are concerned. Both are curses on mankind. Was Hitler a better or worse guy than Stalin? Both were evil. But, what matters is they were both Socialists. Remember the USSR (UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS)?  How about NAZI (NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN WORKERS PARTY)? Note they both were Socialists!

I’m only trying to say that the lessons of history loudly proclaim that Socialism is a loser. Common man gets the lot of being a serf of the state. When, God help us, that day comes, the naive who advocated mild, democratic Socialism will be, as always, the first to the wall. 

Perhaps there is room here for a bit of humor. I recall a wonderful saying attributed to the workers under Communism. “They pretend to pay us—-we pretend to work.” Go figure.