Socialism is bad.

Whatever the specifics of the case in question, socialism always means overriding the free decisions of individuals and replacing that capacity for decision making with an overarching plan by the state. Taken far enough, this mode of thought won't just spell an end to opulent lunches. It will mean the end of what we all know as civilization itself. It would plunge us back to a primitive state of existence, living off hunting and gathering in a world with little art, music, leisure, or charity. Nor is any form of socialism capable of providing for the needs of the world's six billion people, so the population would shrink dramatically and quickly and in a manner that would make every human horror ever known seem mild by comparison. Nor is it possible to divorce socialism from totalitarianism, because if you are serious about ending private ownership of the means of production, you have to be serious about ending freedom and creativity too. You will have to make the whole of society, or what is left of it, into a prison. In short, the wish for socialism is a wish for unparalleled human evil. If we really understood this, no one would express casual support for it in polite company. It would be like saying, you know, there is really something to be said for malaria and typhoid and dropping atom bombs on millions of innocents. Everything You Love You Owe to Capitalism Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. - Mises Institute I hereby stand in the Con position that Socialism in not a better means of achieving economic security than Capitalism. I offer the following definitions for the round: Economic security: the condition of having stable income or other resources to support a standard of living now and in the foreseeable future. It includes - probable continued solvency - predictability of the future cash flow of a person or other economic entity, such as a country - employment security or job security Economic security tends to include the broader effect of a society's production levels and monetary support for non-working citizens (http://en.wikipedia.org......) 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 (http://www.merriam-webster.com......) Socialism: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done (http://www.merriam-webster.com......) ===================================================== Capitalism means Freedom Many Americans are confused about what "capitalism" means. They think it means "what's going on in America today." The government takes your money and gives it to a big business like Halliburton; that's "capitalism" in the eyes of many people. Capitalism means freedom. It means you get to decide what to do with what you earn and own. If you want to go into business and produce widgets and sell them to consumers, you're free to do so under capitalism. Under socialism, the government tells you what you will produce. Under capitalism, your neighbor is also free to make widgets and compete with you. As a consumer, I am free to buy from you or from your neighbor. You must compete with your neighbor to get my business. If your widgets are the highest quality and lowest price, you'll get my business. If your widgets are not as good as those made by your competitor, or cost more, you won't get my business. Under socialism, consumers have to buy everything from the government. If you're a great American, you'll work harder and more efficiently, and eventually get my business. If you're a lousy American -- if you're a whiner -- you'll ask the government to force me to buy your widgets rather than your competitor's, or you'll ask the government to impose a tariff, making your competitor's widgets more expensive and less competitive, or you'll ask the government to require your competitor to get a license to make widgets. Whiners are not capitalists, as that word is used on this website. Perhaps you're a "fascist," or some form of "socialist." But you're not a capitalist, no matter how big your business becomes. A true capitalist believes in free competition and free markets, and does not seek to succeed by using government force or coercion. ===================================================== Worldwide success can be attributed to Capitalism Millions are alive, and living longer, because of medicine developed under capitalism. Without our enormous psychic energy, productivity and inventions, oil would still be lying under Saudi Arabia, undiscovered, unpumped and useless. Coffee, bananas, tin, sugar and other items of trade would have no markets. Capitalism has made the world rich, inventing riches other populations didn't know they had. ===================================================== History has proven its past that socialism does not work. In the case of extreme socialism with Joseph Stalin, he would put his farmers in a ditch, if they didn't give up their crops to be distrubuted evenly throughout Soviet Russia. Socialism does not fit the needs of people, Capitalism does. History has proven it's past, and Socialism without a doubt, does not work. As Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous saying goes: "Capitalism is unequally divided riches while socialism is equally divided poverty." ===================================================== Private property is essential to the human race. The right to own property is central to man's existence. Private ownership of property (including land, businesses and goods) gives individuals security and a means to control their own affairs. Ownership brings responsibility and allows individuals to plan for the future so as to provide for themselves and their families. For example, owning a house, a business or some land makes it possible to borrow against that property so that individuals can invest for the future. The lack of private property rights in much of Africa makes such borrowing and investment impossible, and is one reason for the continent's lack of economic growth. ===================================================== Socialism is bad because it is condescending, inefficient, and immoral. ===================================================== While appealing to many people, socialism is wrong. As famed French economist Frederic Bastiat put it, "The [socialist] state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else." To begin, socialism is bad because it is condescending. Socialism takes away the liberty to decide how you wish to spend your money; it presupposes you are not smart enough to decide what you need. Your income was yours, now it is the government's and it will provide for you what it thinks you need. Further, socialism is inefficient because it makes economic calculation impossible. This fact is really common sense (thanks to an economist named Ludwig von Mises). With a central government owning all (or any) means of production and distribution there can be no competition, profits, losses, market prices, or market, for that matter Finally, socialism is bad because it is immoral. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime." This amounts to nothing more than compulsory servitude. (Source Sterling T. Terrell)