If you would like to listen to an audio reading of this column click here.
"The piece, originally issued in January '07 has come to pass.
Please read or re-read it since it was evidently a good primer for those who voted for a 'spread the wealth around' Democrat. Then tell me where he fits on the political spectrum."
Succinctly Put
Succinctly put, socialism equates to government control of the means of production and distribution. As its activists advance the cause, socialism is manifest by increasing the role of government in all aspects of life. Communism is socialism taken a step further, it is totalitarian, or as Lenin put it "the dictatorship of the proletariat." The proletariat, or working class people, assuming they can agree, supposedly dictate how things are to be and eventually it is to evolve to a totally classless and anarchistic society. In the interim, enroute to that utopian state, the proletariat carries out its will through representatives who in turn have leaders to carry out the dicta of the "proletariat." Simplified, this hierarchy constitutes the Government of working class people, by working class people and for working class people and owns all property on behalf of working class people. Everyone works for the proletarian government and that government in turn regulates all aspects of life. Karl Marx, the father of Communism, put forth the notion that socialism is an intermediate step between capitalism and communism; and, Fabianism is an incremental approach to socialism.
Theoretically, in a socialist "utopia" everyone is on an "even playing field," everyone is treated equally, and there is no competition except with the the remnant of the bourgeoisie, who, like Muslim jihadists solve their problems by killing their opponents. It is a social system where everyone works for the good of all and all work for the good of each. Those who have been there, or have more than a moments experience in life, realize that the more government controls, the less freedom there is, and at the end of the day government becomes totalitarian. Just take a look at the "green" movement, a euphemism for the socialist movement in the U.S. and think about its, PETA's, the ACLU's and other instruments of the Democrat Party's agenda. In a totalitarian state, government becomes a replacement for God and thus religion is abolished and the people are effectively reduced to state worship. With that it becomes crystal clear why there is so much anti-Christian cacophony in the media (the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party) and among Democrats and certain so called Republicans. It also explains just how far the nation has been torn from its roots.
In a socialist state, in order for the proletariat to carry out its will, a hierarchy develops and special privileges are conferred, or more properly put, are usurped by those at any rung on the ladder above the working class. The farther up the hierarchical ladder a proletarian progresses, the more status becomes an expectation and proletarian bureaucrats become less responsive or accountable to the proletariat from which they came. Those anywhere on the ladder above the bottom rung become elitist with trappings of any elitist class appropriate to their place on the ladder. Take a retro look at the former Soviet Union and present day China, North Korea and Cuba for a view of how it works. In the final analysis, the everyone becomes slaves of the state and the vaunted dictatorship of the proletariat becomes a sham, an empty promise at best and more practically, the dictatorship of the powerful elite. Like Castro, Chavez, or Putin and most any other dictator they then seek permanent power. When the dictatorship of the proletariat has run its course, people are left with no spiritual hope and are reduced to being slaves of the very state that they thought they were escaping.
On the other hand, and also succinctly put, capitalism involves private control of enterprise and property where individuals are free to engage in economic activity with minimum government controls and politically, there is minimum government intrusion into every day life. This latter model is made possible by the U.S. Constitution along with rights that are explicitly spelled out therein. Under the capitalist economic model, government's role is to create and foster an environment where all people can pursue their dreams and where economic activity is unlimited. It is a fact that under such a system, given that people are not endowed with the same innate intellect, vigor or physical capacity, some will advance while others lag and in theory. It is this disparity that liberals and their socialist/communist cohorts seek to erase. Historically, unfettered greed driven capitalism has resulted in worker abuses, monopolies and enormous wealth accumulation while ordinary citizens (the proletariat) are crushed into seeking refuge, indeed survival in collective action against those who used them to advance their own interests and wealth. And thus, capitalism becomes its own enemy when workers who should benefit therefrom arise to suppress it for abuses foisted upon them. Think Enron.
In the contemporary U.S. the dichotomy between the rich and super rich, and ordinary Americans is vast and increasing. Corporate barons use investors money to advance their personal interests as evidenced by golden compensation packages awarded by corporate boards. In publicly held corporations, investors frequently receive no capital gains distribution while too many corporate executives receive compensation comprised of obscene salary and stock options. Workers in those same corporations, are frequently limited to inflation or none-at-all raises, while at the same time corporate executives receive bonuses, even as a company loses money. The excuse for such bonuses most often is that loses would have been worse absent "skillful management" by the corporate executives. What a crock! The most offensive action by corporate boards, which incidentally are frequently comprised of adjacent corporate leaders, is to award stock options to corporate executives, not out of the public stream, but out of the aggregate authorized stock issue. The net effect is to dilute the value of stock purchased by ordinary investors.
Executives' efforts are thus directed not so much to managing the company as to increasing the value of company stock, value which is too often is entirely imaginary, that is, overinflated in relation to any measure of real worth so that the value of their own stock will increase. Therefore, when sold it potentially provides a significant source of unearned income. Where the increased value of the stock also benefits investors seeking capital gains, it does pathetic little or nothing for the "little lady" who has invested for regular income. In short it is a facade, a farce and investing becomes a form of gambling. Additionally, the contemporary stock market is not true investment where the investor can expect a return, but most often, the only compensation derives from changes in stock valuation assuming the investor is constantly alert to those changes. The stock market has numerous ways of money exchange, that includes "short sales," "puts and calls" and other methods of "making money," when in fact money is not made in those instances, stock, the medium of exchange changes value through incident to manipulation and money moves from one stock owner to another with no change in real value. It is referred to as trading, and trading has no inherent value anymore so than pulling the lever on a slot machine in a casino.
Today, U.S. citizen workers are being squeezed by both Republican and Democrat inaction on illegal immigration. Democrats and Republicans alike see them as a source of cheap labor for domestic businesses that cannot be exported, for example farming, hotel, restaurant, construction, tourism and numerous other businesses that do not lend themselves to exportation. But Democrats have a more sinister agenda, that is, to curry favor with illegal immigrants for strictly partisan purposes and that purpose is to advance their socialist agenda. The Congressional Progressive Political Caucus has a lengthy list of objectives, listed as "promises" that they are committed to fulfill. At their core their promises manifest the Fabian in nature intended to incrementally march toward socialism.
Most politicians, especially Democrats, but including many RINOs (that is, Republican In Name Only) believe that it is government's responsibility to heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe and provide shelter for the poor. Actually, those are both the purview and responsibility of the church. But the Christian Church has largely abrogated its responsibility to government, a government that, thanks to the Supreme Court and ACLU has removed Christian religious motivation and influence from mainstream America so effectively that the mission of the Church is no longer to carry out those functions set forth in Matthew, but rather rely on government to do so. A writer in the Fort Lauderdale based Sun Sentinel wrote a number of years ago, "The Government is a Lousy Parent;" truer words were never penned. Yet, despite her own "liberal" leanings, she condemned the very system that as a good liberal, she otherwise advocated, that is, government intervention in family matters.
If one is not happy with government intrusion in personal life, if one is not happy with overreaching government, if one is not happy with the way people are treated when they apply for "government" benefits, one has not a clue how it would be under the "socialist" dream being advanced by the Democrats and RINOs. Reflect for a moment on Hillary's Christmas Presents. Believe me when I tell you that contained in those packages are not benefits, but unbearable burdens, in particular the loss of personal freedom that is inexorably squelched by socialism.
To make matters worse, there are too many sleazebag, and I do mean sleazebag, careerists politicians on both sides of the isle in Congress who seen to grant some form of amnesty to illegal immigrants who "come here to improve their lives and make a living." They may well come here for that, but like drugs, if there were no demand there would be no drug smuggling. With unemployment anywhere above zero, there is simply no excuse for the open doors policy for illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants come here because builders, restaurant operators, assembly line businesses, in fact all the trades that once upon a time were the purview of legal American citizens are now increasingly being filled by illegal immigrants to keep costs down and increase revenues for businesses or individuals. The net result is that there are variously between 10 and 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.. Suppose we round them up and send them home, what would happen? Democrats would never win an another election, and Republicans would be forced to pay living wages to U.S. workers, not forced by government, but by competition.
The solution to all of this is to work together to build a bridge across the economic divide that will grow jobs in the U.S. while compensating executives and investors fairly. To that end the nation is in disparate need of nationalist to lead this nation; one who believes we should make every effort to get along with our neighbors; he should be one whose economic vision is to foster industrial growth and achieve a fair balance between management objectives and labor compensation to the end that the U.S. will continue to enjoy its preeminent economic role among the world's nations. He should also be one whose first and foremost interest is to secure the nation against all manner of invasions; to provide the best possible environment for the people of the United States...backed by the best equipped and trained Armed Forces in the world, not as an instruments of intimidation, but of peace through strength. Teddy Roosevelt said it best, "Walk softly and carry a big stick."
Semper Fidelis
No comments:
Post a Comment