What is Socialism?

Iraq Currency Watch started off by evaluating and analyzing the Iraqi dinar as an investment. From there we started to look at other currencies. That led to a study on how currencies work, and that led to a four-year study on global economics. We have been writing about economics since 2010. When ever you discuss and research these topics you will eventually compare economic models that nations have used in the past with current economic models. Today, Iraq Currency Watch covers false doctrines associated with global economics. These doctrines are used to push fraud and investment scams. With this background in mind I would like to cover and define the economic model of socialism and its impact on our society and culture today. In this next series we will define what true socialism is and uncover its past. It seems that this topic is misrepresented in universities around the world.

I was always baffled with the amount of supporters Bernie Sanders has. I could never understand why so many young people believed in the promises of socialism so passionately. Then I encountered some of these people and it became apparent that they don’t really know what socialism is. Their definition is skewed. Eventually, I had nieces and nephews that were enrolled at various universities. Soon after their first few classes they began preaching socialist concepts. They explained to me that we already have socialism and that it has been very successful. They claimed that the fire department is socialism. The police department is socialism. Government making public roads is socialism. In fact, these new socialists believe that almost every public government function is some form of socialism.

Today’s socialists have no understanding of real history or economics in general. They seem to have the misunderstanding that anything that has the word “social” in it is socialism. It would not surprise me if they believed social media is some new form of socialism. They believe that socialism in Europe has been extremely successful. They are so brained-washed that they even believe capitalism made most Americans poor while socialism made everyone in Europe rich. Don’t believe me, Look at their propaganda.

https://eand.co/how-capitalism-made-americans-poor-and-socialism-made-europeans-rich-6eb7b52353a

The article above claims that capitalism has made Americans poor while socialism has made Europeans rich. This author acts like the middle class is under great oppression in America today. Can this guy be more out of touch? He even ignores history in his ill-informed opinion on socialism and he redefines it into something entirely different. But this is a good example of what most Bernie Sanders followers believe today.

Today, liberals have changed the very meaning of socialism to be anything where a social good or service is provided by some form of government; be it local, state, or federal. To them that is socialism, but that modern definition coined by liberal think tanks to be inserted into talking points is not the standard socialism that many of us historically refer to. This would mean that every form of government is socialist, and that is certainly not the case. When I say “socialism” I am referring to Marxian Socialism. In this model, the path to socialism proceeds not through the establishment of model communities that set examples of harmonious cooperation to the world in a utopian society, but through the clash and struggle of social classes. This concept of socialism is defined according to the writings of Karl Marx and Frederich Engels.

In essence, socialism and capitalism are economic models that concern themselves primarily with what’s done with the surplus product created by profitable industries. Capitalism says that the profits belong to the owner of the business and it is up to them to determine pretty much every aspect of running their business. Socialism, either through state-control regulatory bodies or workers’ councils, carries out the will of the workers to equitably redistribute all the wealth created by state-controlled industries. All the wealth and production of industries is controlled by the state in this model.

With that in mind, the fire department does not generate a profit, the police do not participate in manufacturing goods, students do not receive wages for their “work” and libraries do not typically sell products in order to become wealthy. Collecting taxes to pay for public services and welfare programs is not the socialism Karl Marx is speaking of. This is not his true model and definition. Every modern country has roads, public schools, and police officers.  That does not make them inherently socialist. Ancient Rome even built public roads, public bath houses, and public aqueducts, but this doesn’t mean they invented socialism. How much net profit did the fire department make last year? How much production and gross revenue did the police department generate? We are talking about a Marxist economic model for government. How is it that liberals can’t differentiate between basic civic services and nationalizing private industries? The socialism I am talking about failed in many countries, and Venezuela is the latest example. Changing the meaning of socialism to “government social services” has confused many Bernie Sanders supporters. It really is a disservice to all the millions of people who died by the hand of Marxian Socialism.

Socialism Limits Freedom

Socialism by its very existence denies freedom to its citizens. One of the biggest problems with real Marxian Socialism is the loss of freedom. Political freedom, as defined by Milton Friedman, includes the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the right to vote. Government ownership of the means of production means you loose private property rights. Copyrights, patents, and trademarks no longer apply. All assets can be redistributed by the government. This is why socialists put great faith in bigger government. While they make the argument that capitalism is greedy, they seem to ignore the fact that greed is found in socialism too. It’s not the corporations that are greedy in this model; it is the very governments that rule the people and have total control of industry that becomes greedy. As the state becomes more powerful personal freedoms are stripped away. Greed is found in communism as well. History is full of examples.

Freedom is the hallmark of the American market economy. Its underlying institutional foundations are individual rights, private property, and freedom of association and exchange in a political setting of limited government under the impartial rule of law. These are the things that are guaranteed by our constitution. This is what has been handed to us by our founding fathers because they understood oppression under British rule. It is the American constitution that limits the role of government. It is the very thing that guarantees real freedom.

When judges believe they should present decisions based on the original intent of our founding fathers our freedoms are preserved. Some Judges believe that the constitution is a living document and that it should be interpreted through the lens of our modern-day society. The only problem is this belief gives an abundance of power to supreme court judges to legislate from the bench and change the very document that guarantees  freedom for all. Liberal socialists know that the only way they can get socialism in America today is to change the constitution. They can’t vote it in and they can’t create laws to bring about socialist policies without being challenged by the court system. Their only hope is to fill the supreme court with judges that will introduce socialist policies through their rulings and uphold liberal laws that congress creates. This explains the hidden motives behind the brutal attacks to supreme court nominees from the liberals today.

Under socialism, one person’s freedom becomes another person’s obligation. past examples show that poverty actually increases in socialism because the middle class is pulled down to a lower class in this great struggle of classes. Because of this climate people tend to be confused about material abundance and cultural comfort in Western nations. Many socialists have forgotten that this is not man’s “natural state of affairs.” It is only the result of America’s unique constitution and institutions that have enabled prosperity to replace poverty. This is why many have come to the United States in search of a better life. The opportunity in America can be maintained and improved upon only to the extent that the very same ideas and institutions protect, nurture and foster a future better than today,

Yet, Karl Marx believed the only “free” man is one who does not have to work, save, and produce to have food, clothing, housing, education, and medical care, or any other everyday necessities required for life. That is precisely what  Bernie Sanders regurgitates  now, “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. Necessitous men are not free men. ” To have to work for what you want by definition makes you not free.”

The Marxist view of freedom is freedom as emancipation or freedom from exploitation.  Later  in his life , Marx emphasized more on structural factors thus  his idea of freedom evolved to be freedom from structures of exploitations.  Labor was  often viewed as explotaion. To put it another way, any human activity that is an economical means to a desired end or goal is a manifestation of a lack of “real’ freedom. Anything lacking a life of playful enjoyment with all the related means and material possessions to that enjoyment being effortlessly available represents man as a slave to his circumstances and environment. All Industry only serves to exploit him. A socialist’s view of freedom is simply out of touch with reality. They limit the freedom of others while trying to implement their own twisted idea of liberty.

Stefan Molyneux

I thought Stefan Molyneux had an interesting point of view. He was once a socialist and now his beliefs changed. While I don’t agree with everything he says, he does have some valid points.