What's a Good Alternative to Socialism?

Last week, I wrote about socialism and all the things that are wrong with it. This week, I hope to write about some practical things that stand a much better chance of doing something better—some things that might even work. However, don’t look for easy answers from me. The evils of capitalism and the inequalities it produces will never be remedied by easy answers. Socialism’s outlandish popular ideas just won’t work miracles. Today’s current politicians would have us believe that society’s ills can all be countered by throwing money at them—and the more money the better. Free college tuition, free housing for everyone, a basic financial income for all citizens supplied by the government, more social security disability payments, and a single payer health care system that pays for all that ails the public, etc., etc. All that stuff is just so much nonsense. Throwing money at the problems will not solve America’s difficulties.  

Subsidizing single moms, as it was done in the Great Society programs of the 1960’s drove fathers out of the home and gave mothers excuses to demand more welfare payments and quit their education prematurely. TANF (Temporary Assistance For Needy Families), AFDC (Aid For Dependent Children), WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid, etc., etc., all helped human distress temporarily, but they all produced welfare dependency and substituted money for responsible fatherhood and impaired the establishment of healthy homes for children. These welfare programs all contributed to the breakdown of responsible, two parent households. America’s current politicians have included in their ideas about socialism ideas of outlandish give-away programs, e.g., free college tuition, a basic financial income for all citizens, even free housing for everyone. The American families were damaged by these welfare programs.  

Now, we are hearing about the latest fad in government give-away programs, e.g., reparations for evils endured over 100 years ago by the institution of slavery. The slaves are long gone; the slave holders are long gone. However, with the enactment of Civil Rights laws of the 1960’s more opportunities for social advancement and economic security are present in our society.  

I have some personal experience with government give-away programs from the days when we lived in Detroit in the late 1980’s. At the time, Michigan had a welfare program called General Assistance. That program aimed at helping the poor, especially in Detroit, by funding any and all the poor and unemployed people by giving them a government check every month. There were no strings attached to the give-aways. Anyone could get money just for the simple reason that he did not have a job. Thousands of people took full advantage of the program; and unemployment understandably soared.  

There was a man in our church who was receiving General Assistance. The church people prayed long and hard for him to get a job and become more productive and gain a better standard of living for himself. Our prayers seemed to have no effect—he was firmly on the dole without a job or any sign of taking care of himself.  

Finally, Nancy and I decided we should add to our prayers some concrete action for him.  We decided that we all three should search for a job so he could better himself. We went to the city unemployment office, and there we found that he was making significantly more money on General Assistance than he could earn at any job we might find for him. So…understandably, he did not get a job. He wouldn’t even try! 

Finally, a Republican was elected to the governor’s desk in Lansing; and the first thing he did was to discontinue General Assistance. Our friend promptly found a job; and when he earned his first paycheck, he proudly brought it to church to show it to us. We all rejoiced with him. Getting a worthwhile job was possible but only practical when the government assistance was discontinued.  

Social mobility up and out of poverty is possible, as our friend found out, but only after he became more productive. Productivity can and should be increased in our society, but it never will be until the poor become more productive. That can only will happen when the level of human capital increases, and, therefore, the poor become more valuable to businesses that make money. 

Human capital is the stock of habits, knowledge, social and personality attributes (including creativity) embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It includes the moral attributes of a society that allow a large radius of trust among its participants. Human capital can be built only by the training of young people from the cradle to the grave in a love for learning and the value of considered risk taking. For purposes of the U.S., human capital also includes the ability to communicate in English. 

Needless to say, human capitol needs to be nurtured by good home training beginning in early childhood. It requires the loving attention of two caring parents who are willing to give of themselves to teach good habits to their children. Our current generation of “welfare experts” claim that government wealth transfer programs will give the poor among us a “hand up rather than a handout.” That is a myth that has been proven wrong over and over, again. 

Thomas Sowell pointed out in the pages of Newsmax in July 2019 the give-away principle was proven wrong in the 15^th Century when wealth was confiscated from the Jews in Europe in order to give the wealth to a population of people who were lagging behind them economically. It was again proven wrong in the 1970’s when wealth was confiscated from Asians in Uganda in order to enrich another lagging population. In both of these social/economic experiments, only disaster resulted; nothing   of lasting worth came of it. It has proven wrong again and again in other contexts. He pointed out that like anything else, wealth gets used up. And when it’s gone, and there’s nobody there to replenish it, you’re worse off than before. The only thing that will prevent unearned give-away wealth from disappearing is if the recipients have enough human capitol to replenish the loss.  

As I mentioned above, there is no easy answer to the problem of unequal distribution of wealth. But…I would point out my opinion that a good starting point would be if our society would do something constructive about repairing the problem of broken homes where there is no productive father in the home. More government give-away programs including reparations will never help the situation.

Socialism

Socialism

America has ceased to be a country characterized by Democrat vs. Republican or liberal vs. conservative.  More and more our country has become a nation of the rich vs. the poor.  In 1970, well over 60% of American adults ranked as middle class in economic terms. That year middle class wage earners took home 62% of America’s wealth. By 2015, middle class homes collected only 43% of the national income, while the share for the rich had surged from 29% to almost 50%!

In 2015 fewer than half of adults lived in middle income homes. A majority of households qualified as either low-income or high-income. America was becoming a country of rich and poor, and the rich are richer than ever.

Winston Churchill pointed out years ago that capitalism produces inequality in wealth, and socialism produces equality in poverty.  

Many are claiming these days that wealth inequality should be compensated for by the institution of socialism. But, we in these days have two glaring examples before us of socialism in action, e.g., the USSR (Union of Soviet SOCIALISTIC Republics) and Venezuela. Both of these nations have tried socialism and have wound up in nothing but disaster.

Ignoring these blatant examples before us, we hear some of our politicians on the left (specifically Bernie Sanders) strongly recommending to us the adoption of what they call Scandinavian socialism.

A friend of mine, Dr. Karl Heller, a man with personal experience in Scandinavian culture and politics has commented on these ideas coming from our colleagues on the left.  He has made observations below that I think are helpful in evaluating the nature of this claim that socialism is the best wave of the future.  

“Socialism has a long history and numerous proponents and variations. But they all have in common the notion that some type of socialism, or government control over the life of its citizens, is the answer to a better life for all. Although this fantasy has been shown to be historically incorrect by the collapse of socialist systems in various countries, some of our fanatic politicians still cling to the idea that the Marxist utopian vision of creating the ‘perfect society’ is the ultimate answer to social inequality and economic injustice. Unfortunately, it has miserably failed wherever it has been attempted.

“More recently some prominent politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders have touted Scandinavian countries as an example of ‘successful socialism.’ There is no doubt that he sincerely believes in this grand              illusion in spite of the evidence against it, but one has to admit that some of his ideas, like the need for health care reform, have some validity. However, the need should be for reforming and improving the capitalist system, not replacing it. The fact is that socialism has never worked anywhere for anybody, not even in Scandinavia where, contrary to Sanders’ ignorant assertion, it actually does not exist.

 “Scandinavia, located in Northern Europe, includes the countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark with a total population of about 27 million people which is roughly the same as the State of Texas. Unlike the United States, these countries are not the ‘melting pot of nations’ but have maintained a unique ethnic identity with some differences. Each country has its distinct language, and while differences in the overall character of the population are not easily discerned by visitors, they do exist and have for centuries. Recently Muslim migrations into these countries has upset the relative equilibrium of demographics in these countries.”

Despite the cheery opinion of leftists in the U.S., if one probes beyond the essence of their ideas, one will find that “the Nordic welfare state is developing many problems that are in its structure. The rise of the "Sweden Democrats" (seen by some as "Neo-Nazis") and other radical parties is symptomatic of widespread dissatisfaction with the welfare state, although the governments seem to have struck a workable balance between high taxes and high benefits--at least for now. Scandinavians are finding that, it is not so easy to opt out of work and then collect social benefits. There are strict guidelines about who should benefit from government handouts. 

 “But there is another, even greater threat to the welfare state, especially in Sweden. It has recently experienced  severe stress because the country unwisely opened its doors to virtually uncontrolled Muslim immigration, without first setting up an infrastructure to take care of it. At around 200,000 migrants+ they now represent more than 2% of Sweden's 9 million people, the highest rate of immigration in all of Europe.

 ”Further complicating the situation, Malmo, Sweden's third largest city on the Baltic Sea across from Denmark, has seen a huge increase in crime due to its population being 50% foreign-born. Unless the government sets up strict limits on these migrations, some people argue that their country will be eventually lost to another civilization - an argument not as unreasonable as it sounds.

 ”My personal view of all this is: Scandinavia, but Sweden especially, used to be a bulwark of Protestantism and successfully incorporated its ideals of honest hard work, faith in God and respect for others into their social values. With a largely untouched ethnic base of people sharing the same philosophy, they were successful in setting up an enviable (and arguably too generous) model of welfare. However, with the erosion of the Protestant ethic the social conscience illuminated by divine truth has dissipated, if not disappeared. I am predicting that it will not take long before a welfare state build only on humanitarian values will decline further and collapse. Unfortunately, radical forces on both the left and right are standing by to take advantage of the ensuing chaos.”

Dr. Heller goes on to say, “I was born in Northern Germany about 100 miles from the Danish border, I have had the opportunity of travelling in all Scandinavian countries except Finland. As a race I found that Scandinavians are down-to-earth, practical, tolerant and caring people, and I am sure that their character contributed much to the creation of what I call ‘Welfare Capitalism’ in their countries. However, let me repeat in one sentence that none of the Scandinavian countries have Marxist-Socialist governments. The means of production and natural resources are in private hands, there are no wage and price controls, and all countries have prospered from a free market economy. There is, however, one factor that seems to be a source of confusion to people like Sanders: All Scandinavian countries have very high taxes in order to pay for their generous welfare system which protects their citizens literally ‘from the cradle to the grave.’ It is this government control of fiscal resources and the generous social welfare benefits offered to all citizens that make ignorant ideologues like Bernie Sanders think--or pretend--that these countries are ‘socialist’ when in fact they are not. In any case, the Scandinavian social model of ‘Welfare Capitalism’ or what some loosely call ‘Social Democracy’ would hardly be workable in the United States on neither the federal nor state level. There is some truth in the argument that it is one thing to practice the Scandinavian model in countries with relatively small populations, and quite another to do so in a country of 350 million inhabitants.

 “If the fantasies of liberal politicians and others about socialism stem from their ignorance of historical facts, there is another, equally powerful argument against this hoax from the field of moral theology.

Even atheists agree that the human race is not perfect. Our historical record is flawed beyond comprehension, and man’s determination to make war and kill his fellow human beings dominates the pages of history. Only someone oblivious to reality could deny that humans are afflicted with a universal malaise the Bible calls ‘sin.’ But one does not have to believe in the Bible, God’s Word to man, that the human race is morally impaired and under divine judgment. Humanity’s endless conflict of death and destruction speaks for itself.

 “It was Karl Marx himself, the founder of modern socialism, who said ‘original sin is everywhere at work.’ This raises a compelling question: How does one create a ‘perfect’ society with ‘imperfect’ people? Imagine a builder boasting that he can construct a house with degraded materials like broken timber, cracked bricks and damaged shingles? Or a baker who boasts that he can bake a cake with stale flour, rancid butter and rotten eggs? The logic is compelling: The ‘perfect’ society is a Utopian dream belonging to another world, and the historical record sustains that argument: Every attempt by ignorant fools to build a ‘Socialist Paradise’ has failed miserably’, caused intense suffering, and has been an affront to human dignity.

“Finally, tying into the foregoing comments, there is the often mentioned ‘human incentive.’ Before man is a ‘social animal’ he is an individual and characterized by his need for freedom. Given the independence to exercise his imagination, taking initiatives and confronting risks without the controls of government inevitably leads to creativity and achievement. That is why entrepreneurship works so well in capitalism. The human genius must be released from the fetters and economic constraints of political authorities in order to flourish. That does not mean that any human system, including capitalism, is perfect. The phrase ‘predatory capitalism’ says a lot about its abuses, and we sadly know that the best of intentions are often compromised by selfishness, greed and the lust for power. The nature of man is morally imperfect, and so is anything he tries to achieve. But it is difficult to envision a more workable economic system than benign and restrained capitalism this side of eternity. Those who think they have a better solution should take a few courses in history and study God’s Word to find out what life is all about.”

We Americans need to think very clearly before we fall into the trap of socialism. It sounds good on the outside…but in the long haul, it is a dangerous experiment for us to use.