LibertyEagle
03-16-2009, 04:37 PM
The Welfare State Is Really Socialism in Disguise
Written by Brian Farmer
Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:11
ConstitutionThis topic reminds me of the story about the national politician who campaigned on a party platform promoting the Welfare State. His stump speech was filled with promises of all the government services that he would fight for, if the voters would just elect him to Congress. He promised to meet all of the people’s needs relating to childcare, education, nutrition, housing, transportation, healthcare, pensions, and good-paying jobs for every citizen. Finally, at one town hall meeting, a boy raised his hand and asked, “Why would we need jobs?”
Yes, just as when we were children, everyone wants to ride in the wagon, but nobody wants to pull the wagon! It’s a principle which is so simple that even a child can understand it.
I would like to set the stage for this discussion by talking a bit about the political spectrum. The left-right political spectrum is a common way of classifying political positions, political ideologies, and political parties. The general consensus seems to be that, as one moves from the center to the left, the political spectrum is occupied by Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, Socialists, and Communists. And as one moves from the center to the right, one encounters Republicans, Conservatives, Libertarians, Fascists, and Nazis.
However, when one ponders the situation a bit, it becomes apparent that much of this placement has nothing to do with the true relationship among political beliefs. As with other spectrums, the political spectrum must be measured from one extreme to the other. One way to do this is by constructing a horizontal line with no government, or anarchy, on the extreme right and total government, or totalitarianism, on the extreme left. Totalitarian systems include Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and Socialism.
The extreme on the right, anarchy, where no government prevails, historically has resulted in totalitarians rushing in to fill the vacuum. Because the leap from no government on the extreme right to total government on the extreme left has been shown to be so easy to make, the political spectrum might best be portrayed as a horseshoe, so that the extremes are close together and the system of limited self-government is furthest from both. In either case, line or horseshoe, the traditional American position of a limited federal government, a free market, and private property bears no relationship to the systems of the left. Nazism, Fascism, Communism, and Socialism all share a common belief in government control of one type or another, with more and more government-financed programs leading to government regulation of every facet of life.
From this understanding, we can see that the basic issue is between two principles, the first being Individualism and the second being Collectivism. Individualism holds that human beings have inalienable rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, that only on the basis of these rights can people have a society of freedom and justice, and that governments are instituted to secure those rights. Sound familiar? One could call it Americanism, because the United States of America is an example of a social system based on the principle of Individualism, or at least it was originally set up that way (except for the institution of slavery in the South, of course, which was later done away with). Collectivism, on the other hand, holds that human beings do not have such rights and any rights that they do have are granted by the State. Each person exists not for his own sake, but for the sake of the group.
That raises the obvious question, in view of this discussion: where does the Welfare State fit into that scheme? To answer that, we first have to define what the Welfare State is. Strictly speaking, a Welfare State is a government that completely provides for the welfare, or the well-being, of its citizens. Such a government is involved in citizens’ lives at every level. It provides for physical, material, and social needs, rather than the people providing for their own needs. The purpose of the Welfare State is to create economic equality or to assure equitable standards of living for all. It redistributes wealth by heavily taxing the middle and upper classes, in order to provide goods and services for those seen as underprivileged. The redistribution of wealth is a socialist concept: from each according to his ability; to each according to his need. But try to imagine an involuntary transfer of income or wealth, from one person to another, which is not a violation of the right to property, the right to keep the fruits of one’s labor! Hence, the Welfare State is the antithesis of personal liberty, which is why the U.S. Constitution grants no such power of wealth redistribution to the federal government.
For the rest:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/683
Written by Brian Farmer
Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:11
ConstitutionThis topic reminds me of the story about the national politician who campaigned on a party platform promoting the Welfare State. His stump speech was filled with promises of all the government services that he would fight for, if the voters would just elect him to Congress. He promised to meet all of the people’s needs relating to childcare, education, nutrition, housing, transportation, healthcare, pensions, and good-paying jobs for every citizen. Finally, at one town hall meeting, a boy raised his hand and asked, “Why would we need jobs?”
Yes, just as when we were children, everyone wants to ride in the wagon, but nobody wants to pull the wagon! It’s a principle which is so simple that even a child can understand it.
I would like to set the stage for this discussion by talking a bit about the political spectrum. The left-right political spectrum is a common way of classifying political positions, political ideologies, and political parties. The general consensus seems to be that, as one moves from the center to the left, the political spectrum is occupied by Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, Socialists, and Communists. And as one moves from the center to the right, one encounters Republicans, Conservatives, Libertarians, Fascists, and Nazis.
However, when one ponders the situation a bit, it becomes apparent that much of this placement has nothing to do with the true relationship among political beliefs. As with other spectrums, the political spectrum must be measured from one extreme to the other. One way to do this is by constructing a horizontal line with no government, or anarchy, on the extreme right and total government, or totalitarianism, on the extreme left. Totalitarian systems include Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and Socialism.
The extreme on the right, anarchy, where no government prevails, historically has resulted in totalitarians rushing in to fill the vacuum. Because the leap from no government on the extreme right to total government on the extreme left has been shown to be so easy to make, the political spectrum might best be portrayed as a horseshoe, so that the extremes are close together and the system of limited self-government is furthest from both. In either case, line or horseshoe, the traditional American position of a limited federal government, a free market, and private property bears no relationship to the systems of the left. Nazism, Fascism, Communism, and Socialism all share a common belief in government control of one type or another, with more and more government-financed programs leading to government regulation of every facet of life.
From this understanding, we can see that the basic issue is between two principles, the first being Individualism and the second being Collectivism. Individualism holds that human beings have inalienable rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, that only on the basis of these rights can people have a society of freedom and justice, and that governments are instituted to secure those rights. Sound familiar? One could call it Americanism, because the United States of America is an example of a social system based on the principle of Individualism, or at least it was originally set up that way (except for the institution of slavery in the South, of course, which was later done away with). Collectivism, on the other hand, holds that human beings do not have such rights and any rights that they do have are granted by the State. Each person exists not for his own sake, but for the sake of the group.
That raises the obvious question, in view of this discussion: where does the Welfare State fit into that scheme? To answer that, we first have to define what the Welfare State is. Strictly speaking, a Welfare State is a government that completely provides for the welfare, or the well-being, of its citizens. Such a government is involved in citizens’ lives at every level. It provides for physical, material, and social needs, rather than the people providing for their own needs. The purpose of the Welfare State is to create economic equality or to assure equitable standards of living for all. It redistributes wealth by heavily taxing the middle and upper classes, in order to provide goods and services for those seen as underprivileged. The redistribution of wealth is a socialist concept: from each according to his ability; to each according to his need. But try to imagine an involuntary transfer of income or wealth, from one person to another, which is not a violation of the right to property, the right to keep the fruits of one’s labor! Hence, the Welfare State is the antithesis of personal liberty, which is why the U.S. Constitution grants no such power of wealth redistribution to the federal government.
For the rest:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/683