Perhaps one of the best-turned phrases of recent memory comes from a 2019 Wall Street Journal article. In it, political scholar Joshua Muravchik opined that “Socialism has failed everywhere it’s been tried—even where it succeeded.”
Since about 1900, the United States has flirted with socialism. Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and Barack Obama led the nation ever nearer. However, the voters pulled back each time America danced too close to the flame. Wilson gave way to Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower stalled Roosevelt’s march, Ronald Reagan derailed Johnson’s legacy, and Obama met his nemesis in Donald Trump.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tried, but failed, to revive Obamaism. Even though Kamala Harris’s supporters insist that she is not a socialist, it is hard to escape the sense that the United States would have taken another sharp left turn had she been elected.
Flirting with Disaster
Harris made smooth, professionally managed and staged appearances. Carefully selected supporters, paid actors and liberal celebrities joined her. Throughout the campaign, rumors were that her crowds were recruited and bussed in to create a veneer of grassroots popularity. This “manufactured” activity only served to underscore the disconnect between her socialist assumptions and reality. All the while, the Biden policies constantly pointed to their inability to meet basic needs like food, water and electricity.
Throughout the political season, the media were very friendly to Harris. Most “journalists” shared her far-left credentials. A damning study from the Media Research Center showed that 78 percent of the Harris coverage was positive. In stunning contrast, coverage of Donald Trump was 85 percent negative.
Harris had other supporters as well. Academics throughout the nation rallied to her banner. Federal, state, local and public education bureaucracies knew they would prosper under her leadership. She promised voters who do not understand economics a portion of other people’s wealth. Those who learned a stilted “1619 Project” view of American History saw Trump as dangerously racist, sexist and homophobic. She proudly declared that she would fight inflation by introducing price controls, a Marxist theoretical economic approach that history has shown to be an abysmal failure.
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Nonetheless, the far-left relishes demonizing the West’s robust economy with accusations of “greedflation” (whatever that is). Kamala Harris’s solution to America’s economic problems was to revise and extend the socialistic-leaning policies that caused them.
The Verdict of History
However, socialism never overcame one massive hurdle—its own failures. Despite the occasional political endorsement of socialist policies, the widespread understanding is that they have consistently failed to deliver prosperity while micromanaging people’s lives.
History proves that only free-market economies can improve ordinary people’s lives. Prosperity cannot germinate by stealing from those who work hard and save. Only free markets reward the entrepreneurial spirit, initiative and hard work. Socialist interventions always disincentivize capital investments and innovation.
During the past century, countries as diverse as the U.S.S.R., Cuba, China, Somalia and Venezuela have tried every variety of socialist experiment. Most have resulted in unprecedented levels of tyranny, starvation and mass murder. Despots such as Stalin, Mao, Castro, Idi Amin and, most recently, Nicolás Maduro have wrecked their economies and societies.
A Dangerous Idea that Will Not Die
Yet, despite its despicable track record, socialism remains popular among those ignorant of history, even in America. A 2019 Gallup poll found that 49 percent of millennials and Gen Zs favored socialism. Some argue that past failures were due to “authoritarians” who betrayed lofty socialist ideals. They erroneously believe a genuinely democratic socialist government would succeed where all others failed.
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Yet, it is evident that socialism is defective, not only because of its leadership but primarily because of its flawed principles.
Socialism assumes that a government-controlled economy will manage the nation’s resources much better than private businesses. It assumes that all people are equal in their talents and abilities and imposes egalitarian ideals upon all society by distributing the earnings of others. Socialist leaders attempt to play God by ignoring God’s plan and the organic development of society
Concentrating power in a central government often leads to inefficiency, mismanagement, discouragement of innovation and obstruction of enterprise. When the state overregulates the production and distribution of goods and services, it suppresses the market dynamics that govern the balance between supply and demand.
Thus, without competition, economies stagnate and become unresponsive to new opportunities and challenges. Although proponents tout equality of outcome, the actual result is widespread poverty.
A Case Study in Failure
Only a few years ago, the late Hugo Chávez, the driving force behind the Venezuelan socialist disaster, was hailed by scholars such as Cornel West, Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky for his “vision.” Even President Carter foolishly believed Chávez was committed to improving the lives of Venezuelans.
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However, socialism transformed Venezuela into a totalitarian state. Chavez subsequently destroyed its economy, unjustly managed minute details of people’s lives and plunged it into enduring poverty and chaos that continues today. What was once the wealthiest country in South America is now suffering hyperinflation, tyrannical oppression and widespread hunger. Nearly a fifth of its population fled the country since 2014.
Interestingly, many of the same “intellectuals” backing Chávez supported Kamala Harris.
An Incomplete Outcome
Fortunately, the American people have spoken with their votes. The American public understands the failures of socialism and voted against implementing them here. The recent presidential election indicates a substantial move to the right, as Americans sent a message of rejection of the Democratic party’s socialist agenda.
Indeed, the recent presidential vote provided a mandate—albeit a narrow one—to Mr. Trump. The voters instructed him to revive the economy, close the border, stop the woke homosexual agenda and support millions of working-class Americans. It was a call to address immigration, control crime and reduce global chaos by getting tough with our enemies.
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This referendum brings to light the voices of everyday working-class Americans, who have felt mischaracterized, maligned, unrepresented and underappreciated. They are not “garbage” or “Nazis,” just hardworking people trying to do better for their families. They are tired of being ignored and their concerns not being addressed. They want sincerity, not empty promises from disconnected, false elite demagogues.
Finishing the Task
However, rejecting socialism for personal inconvenience or a temperamental antipathy will not work. The fight must be principled; otherwise, it will not stem the advance of liberal socialistic policies. To succeed in this battle, Americans must understand the sound principles socialism violates and fight its errors in the realm of ideals, not emotion.
Freedom to practice virtue, the restraint of sinful activity, a free-market economy and limited government have proven to be the best ways to lift societies out of poverty and improve individuals’ well-being. This plan is fulfilled by each individual’s correspondence with grace and private initiative.
The solution to socialism is to reject this unnatural, immoral and anti-Christian system of governance. Socialism must be exposed as a flawed ideology. America must reclaim its culture and return to Christian civilization, where people freely and joyfully put into practice the virtues they need to grow and prosper.
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