Capitalism vs. Socialism

Townhall.com ^ | May 30, 2018 | Walter E. Williams

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

A few weeks ago, my pastor said God didn’t care about economic systems, socialism vs capitalism. Humans argue about such things, but God is above all this.

SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him, out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others. - Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776)

Cynicism towards society - and towards God - is a necessary and sufficient condition for socialist ideology. Cynicism is the opposite of faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God.

[poconopundit]

Very interesting statistics. Our output of large ships (6,771) is absolutely incredible. And at that time they were made with good ‘ol American steel...

[M Kehoe]

Bttt.

5.56mm

[ealgeone]

Very interesting statistics. Our output of large ships (6,771) is absolutely incredible. And at that time they were made with good ‘ol American steel...

Yep...it is very impressive.

Question is.....could we mobilize industry today and repeat if we had to.

[Gay State Conservative]

This is a debate that's far simpler to resolve than many claim.

Capitalism=West Germany....Socialism=East Germany

Capitalism=South Korea.....Socialism=North Korea

[SMARTY]

Most of them are Liberal. Our priest is certainly and so was the one before him.

I like sending him articles about how Christians are treated outside the US

[central_va]

Global capitalism is a disastrous race to the bottom. We need tariffs and we need them now.

[AlaskaErik]

Capitalism is a business model. It exists everywhere to some extent. Socialism is a form of government. Red China, for example, may have a socialist (aka communist) form of government, but its economy is very capitalist, which should have Karl Marx spinning in his grave.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“Only the historically ignorant can believe Socialism is a good thing.”

I believe it was PJ O’Rourke that said, “Socialism is Communism one drink at a time.”

[JimRed]

The problem is that the vast majority of Americans are socialists to one degree or another. And, to a very large extent, the ________(?)

Seem to be some missing words here.

[JimRed]

I haven’t seen millionaire and billionaire advocates for Socialism (think Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and Bernie Sanders) and explicitly named Communism (think Jane Fonda) give up their wealth or status or move to a Socialist or Communist nation.

They've got theirs; they know socialism will prevent others from doing the same, maintaining their own status as the elite. If everybody else was rich, they'd be unremarkable.

[sargon]

I believe it was PJ O’Rourke that said, “Socialism is Communism one drink at a time.”

"The problem with socialimsm is that you eventually run out of other people's money."—British PM Margaret Thatcher

"The goal of socialism is communism."—Vladimir Lenin

[sargon]

"Several recent polls, plus the popularity of Sen. Bernie Sanders, demonstrate that young people [who have been educated in the US Public School system] prefer socialism to free market capitalism are as dense as a neutron star when it comes to understanding how to maximize individual opportunity and wealth."

[JimRed]

...this socialist indoctrination causes the vast majority of Americans to believe all sorts of nonsense about the benevolence and wisdom of government and its public servants.

Regrettably, the servants have morphed into masters. That must change.

[Sergio]

bookmark

[upchuck]

Where/when does this start? Tag.

[Ohioan]

As always, Dr. Williams is right & to the point.

Our own piece on Socialism: Lies Of Socialism.

[sparklite2]

I am my private property

---

The corollary to this is, “I own myself,”
which is a surprisingly controversial statement
on conservative forums.

[foreverfree]

bump

[SauronOfMordor]

People in the US like the idea of taking from the rich, until you point out to them that, in the view of the majority of the population of the Earth, even the “poor” of the US are rich.