Socialism Is a Deal with the Devil

America was founded on the principles of capitalism.  But there are those who think communism is the solution for every problem, from bad weather to old Joe’s dementia.  In their book, In Their Own Words, Terry Turchie and Donagh Bracken document that organizations such as the Weather Underground, the Black Panther Party, Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and The Democratic Socialists of American have been agitating for communism for decades.  We’ve even got one senator who spent his honeymoon in the Soviet Union and a whole squad of congresswomen who openly support it now.  They don’t use the word “communism” very often, but their manifestos and stated goals are 100 percent aligned with that ideology.  Instead, they use seductive terms like “social justice,” “guaranteed income,” and “equality.”

Capitalism vests ownership of property (along with the means of production) with the private sector.  Members of the community are allowed to operate for their own individual interests — and those individuals get to keep the profits from their work.  Hence, hard work is rewarded.  With hard work and initiative, anyone can succeed.  So people tend to work hard.  Domestic product (the total production of the community) is maximized.

But the rewards are unevenly distributed.  The portion of the domestic product that each person receives is a function of his contribution, not his membership in the community.  The end result is that members of a capitalist community earn unequal portions of a very large pie.

Communism vests ownership of property (and the means of production) with the commune — otherwise known as the state.  Members of the commune are expected to work for the benefit of the commune — not themselves.  Each is to contribute according to his ability and receive according to his needs.  It sounds like perfect harmony — until observed in practice.

When all share equally in the rewards, hard work is irrelevant to the portion of the commune’s production that each person receives.  Everyone’s portion of the domestic product is a result of his membership in the commune, not his contribution to it.  Since hard work is not rewarded, people tend to not work hard.  Total domestic product rarely exceeds sustainment levels.  But equality of outcomes is maximized.  Commune members earn equal portions of a small pie.

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