Part I: The systems
Communism Defined: Communism is a political and economic ideology that positions itself in opposition to liberal democracy and capitalism, advocating instead a classless system in which the means of production are owned communally and private property is nonexistent or severely curtailed.
Capitalism Defined: Definition of capitalism: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.
Socialism is just an intermediate step to move towards Communism. Socialism in its simplest form occurs by increasing taxation to grow the size of government until in effect everyone really is a servant of the state. At what percentage of taxation does an individual cease to work for himself? Is it 50%? 60%? 70%? I would submit to you that at 100% you’ve achieved communism and true slavery. Socialism is merely the path from Capitalism to Communism.
Under a communist system, everyone gets the same thing no matter how hard you work, or your level of talent. Everything an individual owns is really owned by the state. (In the old days this was called “slavery”)
Under a capitalist system everyone owns their own property, including their labor. (in the old days, this was called “freedom”)
Since the government owns all property, the government also dictates who will work where, and how often. It dictates what goods and services will be distributed to whom, where, and how often.
Communism assumes that a super smart class of people can better manage an economy and a society than people can do for themselves.
And therein lies the central attraction of communism for its adherents. (I’ll circle back to this later)
Under a Capitalist system, individuals own their own property, and are responsible for how they choose to use their labor. The government simply functions as a referee to settle disputes. The government does not get involved at all in how goods and services are distributed.
Capitalism assumes that individuals acting on their own can better manage an economy and a society than can a group of “super smart” academics.
Part II: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Two Systems
A) Communism
The principle weakness of the Communist system is that there is no way that a group of super smart people can know everything that needs to be known to make decisions for a large nation. How can a “czar” in Washington DC know how many rolls of toilet paper need to be produced for the citizens of Syracuse, NY? Or, how many bolts will be consumed in Detroit, MI? How about how many pairs of pants will be needed in Bend, OR? It is an impossibly complex task and no one, no matter how smart can effectively make those decisions.
Another weakness associated with the Communist system is that the only way it can work is by force. Human beings intrinsically don’t like being told what to do. The only way this system can work is by telling you how you will spend your time, and on what tasks. You will be mandated to attend this school, and major in this discipline because that is what the state needs. You are mandated to make this many pairs of socks because that is what the government requires. They don’t call it a “command economy” for nothing. You must do as you’re commanded to to. So let’s say you’re a socks manufacturer in Omaha, NE. You can see that people don’t have any socks in your city. But the Czar in Washington DC demands that you make pants. But people in Omaha have plenty of pants, but no socks. This doesn’t matter. You will produce pants or face a firing squad. That is how it works.
This is why in every country that has implemented a communist system have had infamous shortages of every product imaginable. Long lines are a part of the daily fabric. These countries will overproduce in some goods, and underproduce in other areas. You’ll see long lines for bread, and stores stocked to overflowing with sewing machines.
At bottom here is the central problem with communism: Let’s say you have Joe and Bill. Joe works really hard, and Bill is a slacker. Let’s say they work at a factory producing widgets. At the end of the week, both of them get the same paycheck. Joe makes 20 widgets, and Bill makes 10 widgets. Together they make 30 widgets.
Here is what happens: Joe stops working hard because he is getting the same paycheck no matter how many widgets he produces. He reduces this widget output to match Bill’s output of 10 widgets. He is demotivated. He has no positive incentive to make more.
Bill keeps merrily working at low capacity making 10 widgets. He has no negative incentive to produce more.
Now, the entire economy only gets 20 widgets instead of 30 widgets, because the incentives are perverse. We are incentivizing Joe to work less hard, and we are rewarding Bill to keep not working hard. As a result, all of society suffers by getting less widgets.
But it’s actually worse than that. Because all that creative energy that Joe has is being wasted. We have no idea how much creative effort he could have brought to the table to increase his widget production further because he has “checked out” his brain power.
Finally, the biggest problem with communism is that it is antithetical to human nature. People simply will not give their best effort unless there is something in it for them. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. But that’s why they’re exceptional. (not everyone is Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi. In general, there just aren’t many of those!)
So for it to work, it requires brute force. Because it is NOT what humans would normally do for themselves.
And this is why the countries that have put it into play have had the most gruesome statistics in all of recorded human history.
Over 100 million people were either shot, hanged, or perished in famines under communist rule in the 20th century.
In short, there are several reasons communism can’t work:
a) It can’t deliver economically because it violates the human nature. People simply won’t put forth their best efforts for a common good.b) It can’t work economically because it is impossible for a “czar” to understand and know ALL of the needs for an entire nation. Hence it always results in massive shortages and or oversupply of items the people do not want.c) It always results in shoddy workmanship because there is no incentive for doing something well, and no penalty for doing something poorly.d) It will result in tyranny because it is antithetical to human nature. Therefore, the only way to implement it is by force. e) Those that do the implementing are always tyrants. Because under this system, you have to be willing to do things to make it work that only a tyrant will do. (like murdering those who oppose you) So this system breeds the worst type of people for leadership. (It’s not an accident that it produced leaders like Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Nicolae Ceausescu, and the like)f) It creates lawbreakers out of law abiding human beings because the only way to get what you want is via the black market.g) It will result in a massive reduction in production because the producers in society will stop producing because they won’t personally benefit from their efforts. The non producers in society will produce even less because there is no disincentive to not producing. (they keep their jobs whether they perform poorly or well)h) It thinks of a human being only in his/her capacity for production. The most important things in life have nothing to do with money. Communism is 100% focused on what you have vs. the other guy. As Walt Whitman said: “there is more to a man than resides between his hat and his boots”. Communism is destructive to the human soul/spirit principally for this reason. And hence its historic animosity to religion.
Given all that has been set forth above, the question of the day is this: Why is it that people are attracted to a system that has so many flaws and that has failed miserably everywhere it’s been tried?
There are three types of people to whom communism is appealing.
The first of these is the regular Joe, because it appeals to his sense of fairness. Shouldn’t everyone get the same as everyone else?
That is appealing on the surface. But even a superficial analysis causes this reasoning to crumble. Is it fair that Joe who produces 3 widgets a day should get paid the same as Sam who produces 10 widgets a day? Obviously not. It’s better not just for Sam to get paid based on his efforts, but it’s better for society because if Sam gets the same as Joe, eventually he reduces his productivity to match Joe. Then society gets 6 widgets instead of 16. Then GNP goes down and all of society is worse off because of it.
The second type of person that finds it appealing are the moochers. These are the people who are simply lazy or lack talent. They know this and they are very envious of those who are industrious or have talent or both. They feel unappreciated because they are “smart”. And it really bothers them that some junkyard owner walking around in overalls with no college degree is a millionaire while the hyper educated moocher has to get by on a state salary. (think of your average college professor)
The third type of person who finds communism appealing is the most sinister of them all. These are the people that I’ll call the strategists. They KNOW that communism can’t work. They are too smart to believe that communism can work. They are not pro-communism because it’s in the best interest of the people. They are pro-communist because it centralizes power and they believe they will be the ones pulling the levers. They share with the moocher the belief that they are better than everyone else, and therefore should be able to dictate to other people how to live. They truly hate freedom for everyone but for themselves. These are the most dangerous of the three because they will do anything to rule.
This is why people in leadership positions are pro-communism/socialism. They are too smart to really believe it can work. These people are not dummies. They know the history of the 20th century.
They want communism so they can rule. (Yeah kids, it’s a moo-haa moment!!) At the end of the day it’s about power and money.
In a communist system all the power is centralized to a small group of people who are therefore positioned to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else. The members of the Politburo in the Soviet Union lived in special dachas and drove special cars. The common person never had a shot at achieving the lifestyle of this ruling class.
The selling point for communism is that everyone has the same outcome. In practice, this is true. Everyone lives a very diminished life, except for the ruling class. (George Orwell’s Animal Farm: “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”)
This is not theory. It’s been tried many, many times in the 20th century with invariably the same result: poverty, starvation, massive crime, and a huge police state to make people do what they ordinarily would not do.
A) Capitalism
Capitalism has many, many advantages over communism, and one glaring weakness which the communists exploit ad nauseum.
Let me start with the strengths:
The principle strength is that it works!! The massive improvement in the quality of life and the quantity of life have all coincided with the rise of the United States as the world’s hegemony. Her inventions, science, and productivity have enhanced the quality of life even in countryies run by the very tyrants that have been her worst enemies. (see how did we get here Part 1 for a list of USA Accomplishments over the past 50 years)
Capitalism also has the strength of being compatible with freedom. Only when freedom is present combined with a rule of law can capitalism flourish. And flourish it has in the United States and other countries blessed with this combination.
In a capitalist economy no one forces the citizen into a certain profession. The state doesn’t tell the citizen what he must do. He does what is in his best interest to do. That’s freedom!
Capitalism is also compatible with human nature. It recognizes that people have different talents, desires, and motivations. Some people are going to produce more than other people because people are motivated differently.
And herein lies the principle weakness associated with capitalism.
It admits that different people are going to get different results. It admits that some people will get rich, and some will have less.
But the principle selling point with capitalism is that the people at the economic bottom will have more than they will have in any other system.
In other words, although you will have massive income differences, everyone is better off in this system than in a system where theoretically everyone gets the same thing.
Now capitalism has flaws. But it has proven to be the best known solution to poverty ever devised by man. It incentivizes behavior that is good for the community.
Generally speaking, the only way to function in a capitalist system is to provide a good or service to your neighbor that he or she needs or wants. Thus, by pursuing your own self interest, the worker is helping someone else to get what’s in their own self interest.
You’ll notice there is no force of need for government coercion.
It is in alignment with human nature, thus, no beheadings, hangings, or firing squads.
People act in their own best interest and therefore serve society as a whole.
It is this principle combined with rule of law and the adoption of a moral code that has let to American Exceptionalism.
More on the moral code in the next message.
For more insight, watch the three short links below: (Jordan Peterson)
We’ve Never Seen Real Communism
What Keeps Communism Going
Why Marxism/Communism/Socialism will Always Fail