I have never subscribed to the oft repeated view of a growing number people that socialism, or 'progressivism' as they now call it, is a mental disease. As a reformed socialist myself I always used immaturity as the excuse for my misspent youth , probably as a self defence mechanism to save face.
Judging by the behavior of socialists today it is becoming increasingly difficult to blame immaturity for their total inability to analyse irrefutable facts and then carry on promoting a failed ideology with such unquestioning religious zeal.
Two posts that were recommended to me not only proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that those who use the mentally ill description are correct in their opinion and that finding a universal cure for socialists is going to prove difficult if not impossible.
The first is an excellent article titled Why Socialism and Wealth Redistribution Don't Work and Causes MORE Poverty, Inequality and Injustice. The article, which is barely two pages long, is laid out in such a way that even the most dumbed down reader cannot fail to agree with the authors unarguable logic. I would suggest that everyone, even socialists/progressives, read this and pass it on.
Without giving too much away, the author begins with a brief introduction into socialist logic and how it can cause further damage to the very people it is supposed to help.
The author then lists the 'Unintended Consequences of Socialist Policies', for example:
"Social programmes create more demand for those very programmes in a self perpetuating cycle because given government handouts, people come to expect and rely on them. And therefore, you can never spend enough, because the more you do, the greater the need to do so".
"Social programmes are a disincentive to work and act responsibly. After all, if some or all of your needs are taken care of, and if someone else picks up the tab whenever something goes wrong, why would you worry about such minor details as work ethic, productivity, financial responsibility and family obligations? Consequently, when productivity takes a downturn, leading to a shrinking economy, guess who suffers...everybody! Oh and as always, the rich suffer the least".
'The Road to Poverty, Inequality and Injustice' describes how socialism causes poverty by slowing economic growth and progress, it causes inequality by misallocating taxpayers money into the hands of the rich and well connected and also causes injustice by the inequality it promotes.
'The Price of Socialism' illuminates the unintended consequences of socialism and likens the politicians panacea for poverty as "touting a miracle cure for cancer, yet failing to mention it causes blindness, brain damage and eventual cardiac arrest".
In Conclusion, the author states in part that "the government can completely help a small number of people, or slightly help a large number of people. What it absolutely can not do is completely help a large number of people. It's just impossible to expect a small minority, i.e. the rich, to support the rest of the population. It cannot happen".
I have personally spent donkey's years arguing about how socialism always ends in poverty and tears wherever it has been imposed. This sums it up concisely in one article and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
The second article titled Guns in America - A Statistical Perspective was another concise explanation of the facts which cannot be refuted and should not be ignored. As in the first article the facts are laid out in such a simple manner even dumbest of students cannot fail to come to a logical conclusion that gun ownership decreases crime.
As with the first one, I highly recommend this article so I won't give too much away other than a few bullet points:
Every year, guns are used over 80 times more often to protect a life than to take one.
200,000 times a year- Women use a gun to defend against sexual abuse.
3 out of five polled felons say they won't mess with an armed prospective victim.
Highest Intentional Homicide Rate per 100,000 residents:
No 1 - Honduras: 91.6
No 2 - El Salvador: 69.2
No 3 - Cote D'Ivoire: 56.9
USA is at No 103 at 4.8 per 100,000 residents and is No 1 in gun ownership at 88.8% per 100 residents.
In Great Britain where the possession of firearms is banned, there are 2,034 violent crimes per 100,000 people. In the USA the figure is 466.
In the decade following the Labour Party's election in '97 and their banning of handguns, the number of recorded violent attacks soared by 77% to 1.2 million.
In the USA an analysis of crime statistics by the FBI revealed that states that had adopted 'conceal carry laws' reduced:
Murders by 8.5%
Rapes by 5%
Aggravated assaults by 7%
Robberies by 3%
And so it goes on, sourced statistic after sourced statistic all proving that firearm ownership reduces crime significantly. Even the police cannot match the armed citizen:
Police = 606 criminals killed each year
Armed citizen = 1,527 criminals killed each year.
The only reason people ignore the overwhelming truth confirmed by irrefutable facts is their mindless adherence to their ideology.
The author concludes this piece with a Final Word:
"The Democrats and their willing sycophants in the Left Leaning Mainstream Media will not engage in a debate on guns concerning the truths about safety and crime statistics mentioned above. This is because:
Gun Control Is Not About Guns.
Gun Control Is About Control.
Thanks to: Capitalist In Chief
Sean Linnane
Sorry Daniel, but one reasonable definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome.
ReplyDeleteYou were insane, but are now completely cured.
Paris Claims
I got cured after the miners strike in '84. I've been thinking for myself ever since. I can recommend it to any wavering socialist.
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