He is a pundit
and champion of free speech against all
forms of authoritarianism and
totalitarianism, including
socialism-communism, "social justice,"
fascism, and political correctness.
Like
most leftist notions, this idea represents almost the
exact opposite of the truth...
The
system they refer to is anything but socialism for the
rich and capitalism for the poor.
Capitalists do not want socialism for themselves and
capitalism for the rest.
Capitalists seek profit, which can only come under a
capitalist system.
Of
course, the phrase "socialism for the rich and
capitalism for the poor" is premised on the leftist
belief that,
socialism is obviously beneficial for those
living under it, a veritable land of milk and honey,
while capitalism is a nefarious, dog-eat-dog,
every-man-for-himself "anarchy," where the dogs fight
each other for the scraps and many necessarily starve...
Socialism is to be sought and capitalism to be avoided,
at all costs.
But the
truth of the matter is that,
capitalism is the productive
system that creates wealth and rightfully distributes
it, while socialism is the consumptive system that
restricts the creation of wealth and wrongfully devours
it.
Why is
this the case?
In
socializing the means of production, socialism
disincentivizes personal, private investment in capital
formation, including capital in oneself.
Under
socialism, private investment in capital resources,
including in oneself, is discouraged (or disallowed).
Socialism thus favors the noninvestor, the nonproducer,
and the nonuser of the means of production and disfavors
(or disallows) the private investor, the producer, and
the user of the means of production.
Therefore, fewer people will undertake these roles, and
capital formation will decline; less appropriation of
natural resources, less development of new factors of
production, and less upkeep of old factors of production
will occur. 1
Additionally, since investment in productive factors is
discouraged (or disallowed), socialism disincentivizes
saving and encourages consumption.
Since
one cannot become a capitalist, there is less reason to
save and more reason to spend.
The
result will be,
less production of consumer goods, and
likewise, a lower standard of living for everyone...
Socialism also results in a wasteful use of the means of
production because it does not respond to changes in
demand.
Without
entrepreneurs to reallocate capital resources to
changing demand and improved means, socialist planning
cannot adjust to changes in demand and production.
This
means that at least the production of less wanted goods
and services and possibly even the nonproduction of
needed goods and services will result.
It
should almost be unnecessary to point out how socialism
changes the character of society and even the
personalities of those living under it.
People under
socialism become less adept at producing, innovating,
and responding to the changing demands of their fellows.
They
become less able to adapt...
As time
under socialism accumulates, they become more and more
present oriented and less prudential.
Contrary to the claims of its advocates, it is socialist
- not capitalist production - that is irrational. Its
irrationality is due to the elimination of the essential
indices for determining rational production and
distribution - namely, prices.
prices represent the
incredibly thick and vital data sets required for
allocating resources to production and calibrating these
to demand...
Socialism is irrational because by beginning without
prices for the factors of production, no rational
criteria can ever emerge for allocating resources to
specific production processes.
Eliminating prices, the socialist economy cannot provide
the feedback loops required for determining what to
produce, how much of it to produce, or how to produce
it.
Cancerous, oversized productive capacities in one sector
of the economy are paralleled by relatively anemic
productive capacities in another, and so on.
This
means that socialism fails not only at resource
allocation but also at the economic representation of
the people it claims to champion.
Absent
price mechanisms, economic "voters," or consumers, have
no way to voice their needs and wants. Production and
distribution must be based on the nondemocratic
decision-making of centralized authorities...
Furthermore, without any way of having their needs
reflected in production, socialism represents anything
but,
"economic democracy"...
Those
who really care about the working masses must reject
socialism for its incapacity to establish economic
democracy, its most fundamental reason for being.
Capitalism is the ethical system that respects property
rights, beginning with the property in people's bodies.
While socialism is the unethical aggression against
property rights, including aggression against ownership
in people's bodies.
Without
property in one's body, one is a slave.
Based
on "the private ownership of the means of production,"
capitalism simply entails the following:
persons own their
own bodies and can do whatever they want with
their bodies, as long as they do not trespass
against another's bodily or other property
whatever persons
create with otherwise unclaimed resources or
resources for which they have contracted,
whenever such action does not entail aggression
against another person's property, becomes their
property
the protection of
property rights and unfettered exchange, an
increasing division of labor, increasing wealth
production, and overall improved social welfare...
In
short, everything that is taught about capitalism and
socialism, like most everything else that is taught in
general, is the inverse of the truth...
What is
true of political capitalists, however - that
is, those who curry favor with the state - is that they
seek profit while reducing or eliminating risk, and they
pursue state favoritism to gain it.
But make no mistake,
capitalists of whatever stripe undertake their
activities in search of profits...
Why then would
political capitalists want socialism for themselves and
capitalism for others?
The short answer is that they
don't.
They want capitalism for themselves and socialism
for others.
That is, they want to monopolize for-profit
production by eliminating the property of others while
reducing or eliminating their own risk.
In
fact, the whole objective of what has been called the
Great Reset is the exact inverse of the formula,
"socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor."
The Great Reset represents an attempt on the part of
a
protected class of elite capitalists to form cartels and
seek state favoritism to establish capitalism for
themselves while effectively consigning the vast
majority to socialism.
This explains why capitalist
corporations, in conjunction with propagandists at the
World Economic Forum, are,
spouting social democratic
socialist rhetoric and ideology and pushing a social
democratic socialist agenda...
References
In this and the
following two paragraphs, I am paraphrasing the
discussion of "Russian socialism" in
Hans-Hermann Hoppe's 'A Theory of Socialism
and Capitalism' (Auburn, AL: Ludwig von
Mises Institute, 2010), pp. 40-47.
Michael Rectenwald
Is the author of eleven books, including,
Thought Criminal (2020)
Beyond Woke (2020)
Google Archipelago (2019)
Springtime for Snowflakes (2018)
Nineteenth-Century British Secularism (2016),
and others.
He was a professor at NYU from 2008 to 2019.
He is a pundit and champion of free speech against all forms of authoritarianism and totalitarianism, including socialism-communism, "social justice," fascism, and political correctness.
The standard leftist refrain about "advanced capitalism" is that it amounts to "socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor."
The system they refer to is anything but socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.
Of course, the phrase "socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor" is premised on the leftist belief that,
Socialism is to be sought and capitalism to be avoided, at all costs.
But the truth of the matter is that,
Why is this the case?
Therefore, fewer people will undertake these roles, and capital formation will decline; less appropriation of natural resources, less development of new factors of production, and less upkeep of old factors of production will occur. 1
Additionally, since investment in productive factors is discouraged (or disallowed), socialism disincentivizes saving and encourages consumption.
Since one cannot become a capitalist, there is less reason to save and more reason to spend.
The result will be,
Socialism also results in a wasteful use of the means of production because it does not respond to changes in demand.
Without entrepreneurs to reallocate capital resources to changing demand and improved means, socialist planning cannot adjust to changes in demand and production.
This means that at least the production of less wanted goods and services and possibly even the nonproduction of needed goods and services will result.
It should almost be unnecessary to point out how socialism changes the character of society and even the personalities of those living under it.
Contrary to the claims of its advocates, it is socialist - not capitalist production - that is irrational. Its irrationality is due to the elimination of the essential indices for determining rational production and distribution - namely, prices.
Ludwig von Mises showed that,
Socialism is irrational because by beginning without prices for the factors of production, no rational criteria can ever emerge for allocating resources to specific production processes.
Eliminating prices, the socialist economy cannot provide the feedback loops required for determining what to produce, how much of it to produce, or how to produce it.
Cancerous, oversized productive capacities in one sector of the economy are paralleled by relatively anemic productive capacities in another, and so on.
This means that socialism fails not only at resource allocation but also at the economic representation of the people it claims to champion.
Absent price mechanisms, economic "voters," or consumers, have no way to voice their needs and wants. Production and distribution must be based on the nondemocratic decision-making of centralized authorities...
Furthermore, without any way of having their needs reflected in production, socialism represents anything but,
Those who really care about the working masses must reject socialism for its incapacity to establish economic democracy, its most fundamental reason for being.
Without property in one's body, one is a slave.
Based on "the private ownership of the means of production," capitalism simply entails the following:
In short, everything that is taught about capitalism and socialism, like most everything else that is taught in general, is the inverse of the truth...
What is true of political capitalists, however - that is, those who curry favor with the state - is that they seek profit while reducing or eliminating risk, and they pursue state favoritism to gain it.
But make no mistake, capitalists of whatever stripe undertake their activities in search of profits...
Why then would political capitalists want socialism for themselves and capitalism for others?
In fact, the whole objective of what has been called the Great Reset is the exact inverse of the formula,
The Great Reset represents an attempt on the part of a protected class of elite capitalists to form cartels and seek state favoritism to establish capitalism for themselves while effectively consigning the vast majority to socialism.
This explains why capitalist corporations, in conjunction with propagandists at the World Economic Forum, are,
References