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Why Conservatives Hate Socialism
Political Realities ^ | 11/13/12 | LD Jackson

Posted on 11/13/2012 4:55:24 PM PST by LD Jackson

I was prompted to write this post because of a comment that was left on one of my posts on Facebook. The author shall remain nameless, unless he decides to comment on this post. Point blank, he said he did not understand the hatred of socialism in this country. In response to that, I said if he didn't understand why conservatives hate socialism, then he didn't truly understand what socialism is all about.

SocialismSocialism can be defined in many ways, as it has many facets. Economic socialism requires social ownership of the means of production. In other words, companies that produce or manufacture goods or services are owned and operated by cooperative management. Supposedly, it is designed to meet the needs of the people and not for private profit. It is the complete and total antipathy of capitalism and the system of government the Constitution of the United States is designed to outline and govern.

America was founded on the principles of individual freedom. America was also founded to give states the freedom to choose their own direction. The federal government was a limited government, with limited enumerated powers. All power not specifically given to the federal government is left to the states. Our country has thrived for over two hundred years because our system works. I believe the reason we see such trouble and division in our country is because the system has stopped working. In other words, we have moved from a society where individuals can excel to a society where individual exceptionalism is frowned upon. We have moved from a limited federal government to a leviathan that is slow-moving, slow to respond, and currently locked in gridlock. If you require proof of that, turn your attention to the federal response in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. And yet, we have far too many people in this country who believe the federal government needs to grow even more, to spend even more of our money.

You may ask, what does big government have to do with socialism? While they are not necessarily the same thing, I would contend the following. Socialism is usually defined as government ownership of capital and the means of production. Big government doesn't require said ownership, as such, but it does lead to confiscation of wealth by the government, in the form of higher taxes on those who are successful in whatever endeavor they have engaged in. Because the proponents of big government believe the federal government can do all things better, they justify these higher taxes by saying the government needs to redistribute the wealth they are confiscating. As if the federal government can do anything better than individuals or private groups. But, I digress.

President Barack Obama is just such a proponent. He tries to keep it hidden, but he has let it slip a couple of times. There is ample evidence that he believes the federal government should be able to raise taxes on the wealthy, almost at will. Most of the liberal Democrats seem to hold that same opinion. It is a form of creeping socialism and because of that, it is a dangerous thing to have present in our society. Little by little it has taken over our country, until we can no longer recognize the America we grew up in.

The young man who made the comments that prompted this post also tried to make another point. He said a lot of people his age were moderate and progressive, but couldn't do anything to make changes because the older generations were so entrenched in our views. In light of that, this is one of the older generation that intends to remain entrenched in his views. Socialism is not the answer to the ills of America. Socialism will not get us out of debt. Socialism will not improve our education system. Socialism will not improve our roads. Socialism will not improve our standing in the world.

Socialism has never been a success story. What makes us believe America would fare any different?


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: barackobama; socialism

1 posted on 11/13/2012 4:55:28 PM PST by LD Jackson
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To: LD Jackson

I’ve found the easiest way to defeat pro-Socialism arguments is by pointing out the Economic Calculation Problem inherent to it, as elucidated by the Austrian School economists (Mises, Hayek, et al).


2 posted on 11/13/2012 5:01:02 PM PST by Utmost Certainty (Our Enemy, the State)
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To: LD Jackson

Ask a liberal/socialist this question (I NEVER get a straight answer):

At what point between 0% and 100% taxation does a person become a slave?


3 posted on 11/13/2012 5:04:17 PM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: LD Jackson

bookmark


4 posted on 11/13/2012 5:04:26 PM PST by patriot08 (Native Texas girl)
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To: Utmost Certainty

http://mises.org/pdf/econcalc.pdf


5 posted on 11/13/2012 5:07:37 PM PST by Utmost Certainty (Our Enemy, the State)
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To: LD Jackson
The only reason I ever needed to Hate Socialists and Socialism in this country is remember A.

NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN WORKERS PARTY!

B.

The UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS.

My Hate for them knows no bounds.

6 posted on 11/13/2012 5:27:23 PM PST by KC_Lion (Build the America you want to live in at your address, and keep looking up.-Sarah Palin)
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To: Utmost Certainty
I’ve found the easiest way to defeat pro-Socialism arguments is by pointing out the Economic Calculation Problem inherent to it...

Does that break through Liberal Mind Fog, or merely serve to convince you that you're right (which you already know)?

I think a good approach might be to liken government intervention in the economy to opiate medications; they can at times be beneficial to a patient, but when applied in excess they can be harmful. If a patient who is receiving treatment with opiates is becoming increasingly lethargic, that may be a sign not of too little treatment, but of too much. A doctor whose reaction to a lethargic patient was always to increase dosage, even a slightly higher-than-optimal dosage, which should be easily recoverable, would spiral into a fatal overdose.

7 posted on 11/13/2012 5:28:00 PM PST by supercat (Renounce Covetousness.)
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To: 2banana

That’s a good question.


8 posted on 11/13/2012 5:39:13 PM PST by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: LD Jackson

bump


9 posted on 11/13/2012 5:40:00 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: LD Jackson

As you may have figured out by now, there is a demand and supply of socialism, similar to the demand and supply of crime. With the socialism comes the lack of constructive employment, which is the root of the demand for crime.


10 posted on 11/13/2012 5:45:38 PM PST by CIDKauf (No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.)
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To: Utmost Certainty

“I’ve found the easiest way to defeat pro-Socialism arguments is by pointing out the Economic Calculation Problem inherent to it, as elucidated by the Austrian School economists (Mises, Hayek, et al).”

I just ridicule them. Alinsky says that is a liberals biggest fear. Why let Alinsky down. He knows liberals.


11 posted on 11/13/2012 5:47:18 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz (The goal is to equalize outcomes based on race without regard for performance or merit.)
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To: supercat

Yes, this tends to break through better.

IMO, where a lot of people go wrong in debating Socialism vs. Capitalism with liberals, is they try arguing that capitalism is morally superior—because property rights, incentives, voluntary choice, meritocracy, entrepreneurship, etc.

These arguments aren’t wrong of course, but they typically fall on deaf ears when talking to liberals—their minds are already entrenched in a moral outlook which disdains capitalism as an unethical system of exploitative profiteering.

So, if you can get them to stop thinking about the subject in an ethical context, and have them start analyzing it from a viewpoint of pragmatic causality, then you can usually bypass their emotionally-loaded prejudices towards capitalism. Hence why the Economic Calculation argument works well—it doesn’t make moral claims, it simply explains why socialism doesn’t work and cannot work.


12 posted on 11/13/2012 5:59:59 PM PST by Utmost Certainty (Our Enemy, the State)
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To: supercat; Utmost Certainty

I’ve found the easiest way to defeat pro-Socialism arguments is by pointing out the Economic Calculation Problem inherent to it...

Does that break through Liberal Mind Fog, or merely serve to convince you that you’re right (which you already know)?


I’ve been tempted to stomp the crap out of them, take their wallet and distribute their wealth to bystanders. I haven’t done it but it would be fun to hear their protests.


13 posted on 11/13/2012 6:09:13 PM PST by Rides_A_Red_Horse (If there is a war on women, the Kennedys are the Spec Ops troops.)
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To: LD Jackson
I only have to reflect a moment to know why I personally hate socialism. I mean after all, it sounds sooo fair, so wonderful, the rising tide raises all boats, together, forward, etc. etc.

Yeah, that all sounds great but... It simply does not work. It turns into shared misery. Socialism has a 100% failure rate at creating happy prosperous societies. 100%, for you lib lurkers, means it has never worked. Not only that, a few minutes consideration of human nature shows that it will never work. So yeah, socialism sounds great, so does a pixie that takes teeth and leaves money under your pillow, so does a fat man that slips down your chimney and leaves presents... But they are not real. None of them.

You know, right after the election I was pissed, really pissed (please excuse the language). I even considered an overseas job opportunity - just cut and run, wash my hands of this mess. But no. I have spent literally my entire adult life fighting for this Country, fighting socialism in the cold war, dictators, Muslim extremism, etc. For over 25 years I have worked and sacrificed, shed blood sweat and tears. I am not going to give up on the United States of America. I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I meant it. Win or lose, I'm here, and I'm not going to stop fighting for the American ideal.

14 posted on 11/13/2012 6:32:38 PM PST by ThunderSleeps (Stop obama now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
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To: ThunderSleeps
It simply does not work. It turns into shared misery. Socialism has a 100% failure rate at creating happy prosperous societies. 100%, for you lib lurkers, means it has never worked.

Yeah, but the tard circus of "social justice" exerts such a captivating lull over them, they readily bamboozle themselves into the earnest belief that somehow, this time, they're really going to make socialism work.
15 posted on 11/13/2012 7:53:04 PM PST by Utmost Certainty (Our Enemy, the State)
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To: LD Jackson
he said he did not understand the hatred of socialism in this country

Socialism is an assault on
1) political liberty
2) price system
3) profit motive
4) rationality
5) private property rights
6) ownership rights
7) freedom
8) freedom of competition

Socialism leads to:

1) economic chaos:
1.1) character of universal price and wage controls
1.2) character, of the states, of universal monopoly employer
1.3) exploiter of labor
1.4) impotence of consumer
1.5) anarchy of production
1.6) shortages of some consumer goods
1.7) total lack of other consumer goods
1.8) black market activity
1.9) overwhelming inefficiencies
1.10) impossibility of capital accumulation
1.11) impossibility of economic planning in the long run
1.12) progressive impoverishment of the masses
1.13) destruction of the division of labor
1.14) collapse into and reversion to feudalism
1.15) lack of normal incentives such as profit motive and rational self interest
1.16) lack of incentives to care about industrial safety
1.17) presence of military type of incentives
2) tyranny:
2.1) necessity of forced labor
2.2) necessity of mass murder
2.3) necessity of terrorism
2.4) necessity of purges
2.5) incompatibility of socialism with freedom of the press
2.6) incompatibility of socialism with freedom of speech
2.7) incompatibility of socialism with freedom of travel
2.8) incompatibility of socialism with freedom of employment
2.9) absolute power of rulers
2.10) supremacy of rulers’ values
2.11) powerlessness of plain citizens
3) a system of social and political inequality:
3.1) aristocratic privilege
3.2) caste system
3.3) court society

16 posted on 11/13/2012 8:01:12 PM PST by mjp ((pro-{God, reality, reason, egoism, individualism, natural rights, limited government, capitalism}))
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To: Utmost Certainty

later


17 posted on 11/13/2012 8:55:43 PM PST by patriot08 (Native Texas girl)
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To: LD Jackson

What about a simple tale for simple minds? What did the story of the Little Red Hen supposedly teach us? Little Red Hen has the ambition, the work ethic and the fortitude to achieve her goal of planting and harvesting her crop and then the creativity to use the crop to feed herself. No one was available to help in any of the processes but when meal time came, all her “friends” were there to share!

Surprise Surprise. Now what? Next year will the Little Red Hen make all that effort if she doesn’t get to reap all the benefits? How much will she be willing to share with the lazy pig folks now that she knows their attitude? How resentful will his year? Will everyone go hungry now?


18 posted on 11/13/2012 11:13:45 PM PST by tinamina
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