In this previous post, there is a video of David Asman, interviewing three guests, which included Congressman Ron Paul; they are discussing a recent poll of 1000 American voters, who were asked, is President Obama a Socialist? 55% of those polled, answered yes…
Politically speaking, this is, of course, very good news for The Republican Party, with the upcoming midterm elections in November; however, to have a President, or anyone in our Federal Government that advocates such policies, is never a good thing. It is certainly one thing to be in a political science class, or on a college campus, discussing different political systems; and theorizing why certain systems may have succeeded or failed; it is quite a different story when people are elected to high office and attempt to put such policies in place; especially without an overwhelming consensus from the people who elected them to office!
And regardless of ones motivation to advocate such policies, Socialism has a proven record of failure, and makes no real sense, economically-speaking; it generally requires a top down, authoritarian type of government, which, inherently, makes it a very dangerous system to a free nation.
Certainly, most Americans are not opposed to some short-term, transitional, social programs, to help fellow citizens get back on their feet; but The American people also realize, this great country was built on hard work; and most people in society, one way or the other, can be a useful and productive member of society.
Most of The American people have an intrinsic desire to be productive, and believe in freedom, and our free-market system of commerce and enterprise. And, because of our history, most Americans realize, the free-markets are a great contributor to what has made our country free and prosperous since the days of our founding.
Certainly, the free-markets and Capitalism are not perfect; but irrefutably, they not only have a proven record of prosperity in this country, but in several other countries as well. And, most would agree, if something is in need of repair, then we need to fix it and move on. Conversely, most Americans will not likely sit back and allow their country to be “fundamentally transformed” by a long string of social experiments, that could, economically, bring this great country to it’s knees.
One of the greatest concepts that our founders put in place, along with our Republican system of government, was to create a federation of states; which allowed the states to maintain their own sovereignty, and their own legislative bodies. Therefore, each state is free, by consensus of their voters, to create their own laws and social programs.
Our history, as a country, now shows, that all of these big social (socialistic) programs that our Federal Government has instituted over the years, and forced on the states, have negatively effected our overall economy, and to a large extent, eroded our national character. Such long-term policies and programs are simply, and utterly, unsustainable.
I am not implying, in the above post, that people in Socialist systems, or in any other country, can not be productive or hard-working. I am simply drawing a distinction between Capitalism and Socialism:
In true Capitalism, at least in theory, people are able to keep most of the fruits of their own labors. In America, most of us believe, all charity should be voluntary; and most, if not all charity should come from private donations and faith-based organizations.
With Capitalism, in my opinion, people are more motivated, and more inclined to be productive, when there is a greater opportunity to earn more and “be in control of your own financial destiny.”
The American people, in general, have an intrinsic desire to be free; and to not have an over-bearing, over-taxing, and over-regulating central government, micro-managing our lives, and telling us when and how to be charitable.
And, despite what some may say, The American people, as a whole, are extremely charitable, and have proven this over and over throughout our 234 year history.