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Socialism Violates the 10 Commandments
“Socialism violates at least three of the Ten Commandments: It turns government into God, it legalizes thievery and it elevates covetousness. Discussions of income inequality, after all, aren’t about prosperity but about petty spite. Why should you care how much money I make, so long as you are happy?” — Ben Shapiro
I’ve never heard socialism described this way, and it makes sense: anyone who is supposedly religious can’t subscribe to both socialism and religion. Well, of course, they can, but it must be difficult to ignore the cognitive dissonance.
How often have you heard Progressivism described as just another religion? Since Progressivists adhere to socialism (whether they admit it or not), they can’t legitimately engage in a religion, certainly not a theistic one.
Shapiro’s comment about socialism approving of thievery is also true; anyone who believes that you can take others’ money and give it to others who have less money violates religion, too. Everyone is entitled to have as much wealth as they desire — but they must earn it themselves. And covetousness is a precise description, too; isn’t socialism truly about desiring what others have and insisting you are entitled to have as much as the people who have actually worked to earn their wealth?
No matter how they try to justify it, socialists are violating the Ten Commandments, the moral foundation of our Judeo-Christian system, when they insist that socialism would be good for this country; it is neither moral nor ethical. Yet these folks expect us to join them in their efforts to steal from us and they are angry when we don’t.
When they can’t get what they demand, socialists/Progressives are unhappy people.
And those of us who work for a living — their unhappiness is our fault.
Do you see other violations of the Ten Commandments by people who believe in socialism?
Published in Politics
He’ not wrong.
I think many times socialists are not the basic poor who desire support from others and scheme for government to re-distribute it. They hear of this from proponents who advocate it and go along. The real socialists are not that often materially needy. Theirs is a different offense although I’m not sure exactly which commandment it violates. They have heard the Judeo-Christian call to charity and rather than put their hand in their own pockets to satisfy that demand by direct example, they want to go through the indirect method of having the government do the taking and the redistribution. It is dishonest, cowardly and arrogant. It doesn’t improve human generosity, it stirs up division & resistance (not to mention sloth), and it underestimates the ability of people to do private good. I guess I’d call it false self-righteousness. Since they are the “leaders with the great ideas,” they don’t have to hold themselves up to any standards at all, and they get to define whoever disagrees with them as deplorables.
“Forced charity” is just a rationalization for theft. The quote from Shapiro is brilliant and should give pause to thoughtful “progressivespherians” (people who are not full-blown committed progressives but who simply buy into the high sounding goals that progressives claim for their religion).
“Honor thy mother and they father” can also be a reference to acknowledging the debt you owe to history — to the lessons learned by those who form your DNA. Progressivism is a rejection and/or distortion of history for the purpose of justifying current conduct that dishonors that history and tradition. When you knowingly distort history, you dishonor those that have gone before.
Yes.
The 8th Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
When the Socialists retort that “it works, but it hasn’t been properly managed yet,” they dismiss the 200+ years of misery and millions killed.
Part of the 1st: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
Look at the traditional Socialist images:
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Well put. For false witness, I’d include the fake news MSM, as well as the Dems in both impeachment committees.
But the image thing is scary. I’d add the one of Obama with the sneer . . .
I completely agree, @eridemus. The people who actually receive the money are not ideologues. Whether they come around to accepting the idea that they are entitled to the funds is hard to know.
Right again! It is wrong at multiple levels, especially disempowering the people who can come to believe they can’t take care of themselves and don’t need to feel obligated to do so.
I agree. And from a philosophical viewpoint, not just our parents but all of those who have come before us. I think we’ve just begun to see the losses we will experience in the distortions and disregard of history.
Excellent points. The lying that must be accepted to comply with socialist beliefs is abhorrent. And I so appreciate your referral to “Socialist images.” We only need to see the statues in Red Square, too, to confirm that idol worship.
The tenth commandment is the hardest to keep.
All of it, Richard? Or just coveting your neighbor’s donkey? ;-)
I think one of the socialists’ biggest violation is the first commandment–You shall have no other gods before me. Isn’t that what socialism has become and all its tenets?
I would think the most difficult is the fifth commandment
The most evil thing about socialism is the destruction of charity. It is a horrible thing to remove gratitude from a society.
Would you like to elaborate? Do you mean in general, @aardovozz, or in terms of socialism?
I so agree, @omegapaladin! This loss affects those who steal from others to give the money to those they believe are more deserving, and to those who think they are entitled to receive those funds. Both sides lose the ability to enjoy the blessings that come from giving to others. In Judaism (as you may know), even the poorest person is expected to give charity, however little it might be. Thanks.
I mean in general, @susanquinn. With respect to socialism, I’m not sure a fifth commandment would even exist: after all, if the state provides one with everything, what good are one’s parents for?
It’s a great moral argument, which conservatives don’t usually make. I think they should.
If I earn five times what you earn, I should pay five times what you pay in taxes. Not twelve times. All of these leftist redistribution policies are grounded in spite and envy.
It is unlike Ben Shapiro to be so intellectually lazy.
Judaism is fundamentally racist, intolerant, and socialist. That is, they believe they are a special people chosen by their god. That’s pretty racist. They are one of the first non-henotheistic religions, making them intolerant of others’ beliefs. And usually in their history they have lived in communes, most recently and outrageously in the kibbutzes.
To further illustrate intolerance of at least some Jews, Shapiro would seem to say that these kibbutzing Jews are not really proper Jews. That is nonsense. They certainly were, and who is he to say otherwise?
Edit: I’m not saying all Jews have those traits. My point is that it’s certainly possible to be a devout Jew and not be a nice person.
Why? Why shouldn’t you and I pay exactly the same amount? Are we not both free citizens of a Republic? Should we not share the burden evenly?
So often where you start determines where you’ll end up. When you start with an ideology based on envy you can (will) end up in some pretty ugly places.
When your ideology dictates that the ends justify the means, bearing false witness would probably seem gentle, when the next phases of the plan starts – riots, bombings and assassinations.
I’m not really opposed to that. But if we view taxation as a necessary evil, a flat amount would disproportionately affect the poor. Would that be morally just, or fair? I also don’t think the progressive system we have is fair because you should not be punished for success. Hence, tax everyone the same percentage. The very nature of taxation makes it difficult to justify a moral argument either way. I don’t have a perfect answer.
This is the only part of your comment I agree with. Everything else that you’ve written is simply not true. All of it. There’s a label for people like you, but I won’t go there. I’m so sorry that you are so uneducated and naive. You must have met some pretty terrible Jews.
@skyler, I’m curious–we have many Jews on Ricochet. The ones whom I know are some of the most principled, generous people I know. Do you have a problem with those folks, too–including me?
Are you saying that Judaism did not originate, and is not still non-henotheistic? How can you possibly disagree with that?
Are you saying that there are not Jews that live in Kibbutzes, or that Kibbutzes are not micro-communist?
Are you saying that Judaism did not originate with the idea that the Jews are a special people chosen by god?
So what part of what I said are you saying is not true?
I have no problem with Jews. Heck, if I were to believe in god I think I’d probably be a Jew. But for Ben Shapiro to suggest that socialism is incompatible with a belief in god is absurd.
Don’t go calling me insulting names just because I notice the King has no clothes on.
And the only reason I talked about Jews is because Shapiro is Jewish. There are plenty of socialist and communist christians too. If Shapiro were Christian I’d have pointed that out.
So, please put your nose back into its socket from where it got out of joint and read what I wrote without feeling like you’re being insulted. You weren’t. Unless you’re someone who lives on a kibbutz and thinks you’re not a communist.
About 100 million people in the 1900’s were violated by that pesky “Shall not murder” commandment.
G-d chose the Jews as his own special people “to be a light unto all the nations.”Judaism did not originate with that idea, it came about at the near the end of Moses’ life. They were to obey the commandments and be an example to all other nations. Your snarky way of talking about the Jews and your scolding of Susan, is really very shabby. And since Israel is one of the smallest of nations and the Jews are one of the smallest of peoples, they win most of the Nobel prizes.
Going beyond the Ten Commandments and looking at the Seven Deadly Sins, C S Lewis had some interesting thoughts on gluttony:
Link
Defined in this way, gluttony seems very common among the Progs.
Did I say anything about Israel?
If Susan wants to call me unsavory and uncalled-for epithets, and I respond to that, then I’m the shabby one?
You just now confirmed what I said, though my recollection is that the covenant was Abrahamic. I confess I don’t much care enough to split that hair. The Jews believe, rightly or wrongly, that their people are more special than other people. That is definitionally racist. You can object, but you can’t change the truth. It may be benign, but it’s still what it is.
I have no idea what Nobel Prizes have to do with anything. I never said Jewish people were bad or stupid or not deserving of Nobel Prizes. I merely pointed out that Shapiro was not his normal sharp thinker. What he claims is ridiculous and completely untrue. Frankly, it was beneath him to make such a ludicrous claim. His claim needed to be debunked.