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Socialist "Justice"
Townhall.com ^ | June 3, 2015 | John Stossel

Posted on 06/03/2015 4:21:56 AM PDT by Kaslin

Protesters demand "social justice." I hate their chant. If I oppose their cause, then I'm for social "injustice"? Nonsense.

The protesters usually want to punish capitalism. "Spread those resources," says Hillary Clinton.

Even capitalists often make the mistake of talking about "social justice" as if it's the opposite of free markets or a reason to rein in markets with more regulations or redistribution of wealth. But there's nothing "just" about the leftist protesters' claimed solution: more big government.

Oliver Stone, Sean Penn and Harry Belafonte praised Venezuela's Hugo Chavez for his socialist revolution. Chavez then proceeded to destroy much of his country.

Even after his death, his portrait remains on walls everywhere and his policies live on. They haven't produced social justice, unless your idea of "justice" is privileges for government officials and shortages of basics like food and toilet paper for ordinary people.

Only socialism could take an oil-rich nation and turn it into one where people wait in line for hours for survival rations.

The left-wing Guardian newspaper quotes a Venezuelan farmer saying that Chavez's policies left Venezuela with "no one to explain why a rich country has no food."

Not many people in Venezuela give such explanations -- the government censors its critics -- but free-market economists can explain.

Goods don't get matched to consumer needs by anyone's burning desire for justice. The amazing coordination of the marketplace happens because sellers and buyers are free. Sellers can sell whatever they choose at prices they choose. Buyers decide whether to pay. That flexibility -- and chance to make a profit -- is what persuades people to create what customers want and risk their own money and safety to stock it in a store.

Without the free market setting prices and allocating resources, all the cries of "justice" in the world don't help anyone. You can't eat justice. You can't use it as toilet paper.

Intellectuals, activists and government alike love it when politicians take "tough," decisive action -- usually meaning sudden interference in the marketplace. A year and a half ago, Venezuelan government used the military to seize control of Daka, one of the country's largest retailers, in order to force the chain to charge "fair" prices. Punish those rich, greedy store-owners!

Surprise! That didn't work. The chain is now collapsing as looters take what they want.

Socialists say capitalists just want to make a quick buck, but it's government that can't plan for the long haul.

Instead of thinking in terms of returns on investment and sustainable business models, socialists think only of today: They see people who need stuff and stores full of stuff. Take the stuff and give it to people, and then tomorrow -- well, those capitalists will always bring in more stuff, I guess.

Calling it "social justice" doesn't make it work.

Sometimes activists admit they aren't very interested in economics. What they really want is a more "tolerant" world with less sexism and racism. They act as if capitalism is an obstacle to that.

But it isn't. Capitalist societies are less racist and less sexist than non-capitalist ones.

In America, white people often take for granted the advantages that being white sometimes provides. But compare America to China, where one ethnic group, the Han, dominates politics and openly looks down on minorities -- and where even scientists have tried to show that the Han are a distinctive race that does not trace its ancestry to Africa like the rest of us.

The autocratic nation of Saudi Arabia doesn't let women drive cars or open their own bank accounts.

Markets, in which individuals, not just rulers, have property rights, give people options. Businesses have an incentive to serve as many people as possible, regardless of gender or ethnic group. They also have an incentive to be nice -- customers are more likely to trade with people who treat them fairly. Everyone gets to choose his own path. That's what I call justice.

Injustice is telling people that they must wait to see what their rulers decide is fair.


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1 posted on 06/03/2015 4:21:56 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Social Justice=Mob rule


2 posted on 06/03/2015 4:35:34 AM PDT by EBH (And the angel poured out his cup...)
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To: Kaslin

Socialist justice.


3 posted on 06/03/2015 4:54:16 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (The media must be defeated any way it can be done.)
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To: Kaslin

Social justice to me is putting killers to death regardless of race or gender.


4 posted on 06/03/2015 4:54:36 AM PDT by GailA (IF you fail to keep your promises to the Military, you won't keep them to Citizens!)
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To: Kaslin

redistribution of wealth.

No, they never call for that. They call for redistribution of INCOME. This is to prevent the accumulation of wealth and keep us out of the clubs of the ruling class.

Redistribution of WEALTH would hurt the ruling class and they would never support it.


5 posted on 06/03/2015 4:59:38 AM PDT by logic101.net (If libs believe in Darwin and natural selection why do they get hacked off when it happens?)
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To: Kaslin

“Social Justice” out of the mouth of a leftist protestor is much the same thing as “Its not Fair” out of the mouth of a 4 year old having a tantrum. It is a call based on feelings and perception that generally lacks facts to support the claim.

FYI: It is interesting to me as a prescriptive for identifying the politics of a speaker to hear the number of times said speaker uses the term ‘FAIR’ or synonyms. Almost invariably the greater the use the further the speaker is to the left in the political spectrum.


6 posted on 06/03/2015 5:27:23 AM PDT by SES1066 (Quality, Speed or Economical - Any 2 of 3 except in government - 1 at best but never #3!)
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To: Kaslin

7 posted on 06/03/2015 5:55:58 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: Kaslin

Social Justice sounds great and the churches are pushing it, but who decides what is just?

Pray America is waking


8 posted on 06/03/2015 6:10:42 AM PDT by bray (Cruz to the WH)
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To: Kaslin

LIBTARD DOUBLETALK
take the opposite of what they say
and you are close to the truth or what they really mean...

obamacare lower costs, more covered, keep your policy and your dr.

REALITY HIGHER COSTS, LESS COVERED, PEOPLE LOSING COVERAGE AND DOCTORS NOT AVAILABLE OR QUITTING...

unicorns and fairy dust ... it all SOUNDS NICE
and the BOBBLEHEADS BELIEVE IT
this time it will work because we graduated from harvard...and we aer so ooooo much smarter and nuanced than YOU .... you just do as we tell you
FUNNY HOW UNDER COMMUNISM THE TOP 1% LIVE LIKE THE FREE TOP 1%
the difference being one group stole it and the other earned it
FUNNY HOW OBOZO HASN’T IMPROVED THE ECONOMY OR EMPLOYMENT AND HOW ROMNEY CREATED JOBS AND EMPLOYED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS


9 posted on 06/03/2015 7:35:05 AM PDT by zzwhale
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To: Kaslin

Good summation of socialism


10 posted on 06/03/2015 10:10:59 AM PDT by Luigi Vasellini (End the political class.......TERM LIMITS NOW!!!!!!!!!!)
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