Words are important. Imagine a world
without words. How would we communicate with each other? For one
thing you wouldn’t be reading this column. Okay, so maybe there
would be some benefits from not having words.
Merely having words isn’t enough.
What if I urged you to buy a gzajoxx? (Do you have any idea how
difficult it is to create a word that doesn’t exist? The first two
words I tried, Google found more than 6,000 times. Even “gzajoxx”
appeared on three web pages, mainly as a license plate.).
Unless “gzajoxx”, or any other
word, means the same thing to you and me, the word is useless for
communication between us. How much of the conflict in the world
exists because recipients of words don’t interpret them to mean
what the senders intended?
Today I will consider an old word that
is experiencing a rebirth: socialism. After the collapse of the
Union of Soviet Socialists Republics few, if any, rose to defend
socialism, let alone advocate heading down the socialist road.
Socialism that had endlessly produced
nothing but poverty, misery and servitude seemed to be dead and
buried forever. Someone is bound to claim socialism has succeeded in
the Scandinavian countries. Before considering that claim let us
consider the definition of socialism.
The American Heritage Dictionary
defines socialism as: “Any of various theories or systems of social
organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods
is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans
and controls the economy.”
Thus, the Scandinavian countries are
no more socialist than the USA. Private businesses own and control
most of the production in Scandinavia. These businesses are taxed
less severely than US businesses and subject to regulations no more
severe than those endured by US businesses.
If Scandinavia is socialist so is the
USA. The socialists can declare victory, shut up and have a party.
Interestingly today’s self
proclaimed socialists make little if any mention of government
seizure of all businesses. Thus, whatever they are, they are not
socialists. What are they?
The ones I have noticed simply call
out for expansion of the welfare state. They want more free stuff
from government. They demand “free” college and medical services
for everyone. They want a huge increase in the minimum wage. There
is nothing new about any of this. It is the same old drum beat with
a new name for the band.
There is one thing the neosocialists
don’t care to talk about. How will a government which is already
out spending it income by a trillion dollars a year pay for more free
stuff? That is right. Free stuff isn’t free. Someone has to pay
for it.
The only answer I have heard is tax
businesses and tax the rich. I haven’t heard any numbers mentioned
about how much money can be collected this way, or what the
consequences will be.
Perhaps they should check with
Scandinavia on this. The Scandinavians have learned that it isn’t
a good idea kill or drive away the geese that lay the golden eggs.
Over tax a business and it will leave or fail. Either way the golden
eggs that pay for the welfare state are gone.
Tax the rich and they too will find a
way to leave. Thus, countries such as Sweden and Denmark pile the
taxes onto the middle class and poor. Most of them don't have the
option of leaving. So, they stay and pay for their”free” stuff.
It is easy to understand why the neosocialists don't want to talk
about paying for the “free” goodies.
When someone claims to be a socialist,
check out what they really want, and how they will pay for it. The
new socialism appears to be the redistributionist welfare state on
steroids.
aldmccallum@gmail.com
*
* * * *
*
* * *
*
* *
*
*
*
Copyright
2018
Albert
D. McCallum
No comments:
Post a Comment