Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
‘Socialism Destroys’: The Tenth Commandment
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” — The Tenth Commandment
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” — John Adams
“Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.” — Winston Churchill
“I believe in returning the nation’s wealth to its rightful owners.” — Barack Obama
“When the people find that then can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” — Benjamin Franklin
The idea that socialism will destroy a society is not new. God himself warned people about this, in the 10th commandment. Which is probably one reason that socialists often abandon conventional religion, creating a sort of religion of their own, which is based on taking from the unpopular and giving to the popular. Or, put more succinctly, their religion is based on coveting their neighbors’ stuff. As Winston Churchill put it, “…the gospel of envy.”
When President Obama said, “I believe in returning the nation’s wealth to its rightful owners,” that is exactly and precisely what he meant. The rightful owners of wealth are not those who earned that wealth – no, the rightful owners of wealth are those who voted for Barack Obama.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. The “rightful owners.” My heavens. That should send chills down your spine.
Taking things from people we don’t like, and giving it to people we do like. Using the power of government to not just rationalize, but enforce widespread theft, extortion, bribery, and blackmail. President Obama, and most modern American Democrats, worship “…the gospel of envy.” And because we’ve trained our children that such behavior is actually virtuous, they worship this gospel openly and proudly. They run for office on the platform of “…the gospel of envy.” And they win.
There are some who wonder how all this will turn out.
Benjamin Franklin knew. Perhaps he’d read the 10th Commandment.
Published in General
He almost certainly did. He read everything else that he could get his hands on.
Yeah, I was being facetious.
My point was that you don’t have to get a PhD in Economics at Harvard and study to the esoteric minutia of economic theory to figure out that socialism destroys.
No, you should have learned that in Sunday School, at the age of six.
Which Ben Franklin probably did.
” At least I care about others ”
A retort of a coworker ( Tommy the Commie) just recently.
@jameslileks had an interesting story about this too, in the very first “Flagship” Ricochet Podcast where he was becoming a regular, July 8 of 2010.
https://www.adrive.com/public/J5jzxs/Ricochet%20Podcast%2007-08-10%20Jabba%20the%20Fed.mp3
There you go.
Dr. Bastiat: I believe in returning the nation’s wealth to its rightful owners. — Barack Obama
This is the essential error/lie or Marxism … That all value arises from labor. But Marx’s Labor Theory is just plain wrong. And all of the rest of Marx … all of it… depends on LTV. Without it, Marx is fiction.
A quick examination of sport’s star’s earnings will prove that LTV is erroneous. Consider ARod vs Michael Phelps. ARod was one of the highest paid people in sport. Phelps won multiple Olympic Gold Medals, but earned many times less than ARod. Because ARod works more? No. Because love him or hate him, lots of people were willing to pay money to watch ARod do his thing. Phelps? Not so much. Supply and demand really works. Marx doesn’t.
That’s one aspect, but I suspect that ARod would have continued doing what he did even if nobody was willing to pay him more than Phelps was paid. Which is where competition among the media etc comes in, but still.
Grew up Catholic Dr. B so it looks to me like you lumped the 9th and 10th commandments we learned together. Since I have not been to Mass recently will check it out. Good stuff as usual. Just one question: are they coming after my wife too? She is also 75 but still looks great. The money part I get.
Leftists often fetishize youth so I think you are good there.
Thanks Henry. Will tell her she is safe. Even though she still votes for Democrats. But hesitating on Gov. French Laundry and our Communist DA recall elections. Maybe this thread will get her over to the right side.
They may not want his wife, but they want him – and her – to get out of the way of their utopia. i.e., die.
We will get there KE, probably sooner rather than later. So will likely not wind up in a Facebook gulag (see the Bee). But not very optomistic about the next generation.
People like to bring up Sweden as “good socialism” but that’s not what they want. In Sweden, everyone pays a lot in taxes and then everyone gets t a lot of government benefits. In America we are told that other people will pay so you can get free stuff.
Plus there’s the Index of Economic Freedom to consider. Sweden ain’t exactly a whole lot further left than the USA.
Socialism in Sweden essentially collapsed after the death of Olaf Palme. Now it’s a capitalist state with very generous welfare programs. Which worked ok. Until they imported a million poor Muslims from the Middle East.
Which is Milton Friedman’s maxim – you can have open borders OR a welfare state … but not both.
Much better.
😂😂😂
Maybe Tommy knows my coworker The Socialist Grandma.
I agree that LTV is incorrect, and that it was part of the foundation of Marxism, but Marx did not invent it. Adam Smith was an advocate of LTV. So much for the Scottish so-called Enlightenment.
It takes awhile to figure out everything. I’ve barely begun myself. If I only I could get half as far as Smith.
So put your hand in your pocket and help someone (my retort to a sister who was a little appalled at JY and his boss’ efforts to clear up the homeless encampment around their building)
Maybe this illustration would help:
Hold on. Smith didn’t write too much about innovation or entrepreneurship (though I would argue that he hinted about it when he talked about the manufacturing of pins).
As I understand it, the value of labor theory suggest that the value of the labor is more than what the laborer gets for the his value. This is because the employer takes the product of the employees and sells the products of his labor for more money than he pays the workers. (Except for when things go wrong.) However, Marx goes off the rails when he blames capitalists for not contributing anything because some beneficent dictator could order around everything more effectively.
How would you define the Labor Theory of Value?
You talking to me or to Jerry?
I’m not at all sure myself. I thought it was the idea that the value of a product is determined entirely by the cost of labor.
I’m not at all sure what are Marx’ precise views on the topic. (As I recall, he is associated with the Labor Theory of Value because he does seem to tout it, but @JamesOfEngland said once that it’s not that simple. I don’t know.)
No, they cheat.
#8
Ricardo didn’t buy that did he? He was a trade guy so he knew a pound of sugar was different in Jamaica than a port city in England than in rural England.
Probably, if you say so. I believe he understood . . . never mind, let me copy from my notes. It’s literally all I know.
III. David Ricardo