Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is a socialist. That means he is against market economies, private property rights, and the profit motive for businesses. It’s a pretty simple definition — one he has never been afraid to clarify since before he honeymooned in the Soviet Union before it collapsed…because of socialism.
What Bernie doesn’t seem to understand is how unnatural the system that he’s calling for really is. Consider this: you’re an elementary school student, and it’s lunch time. You open up your lunch, and you got a red apple instead of a green one. Coincidentally, your friend sitting next to you is in the same pinch — he got a green apple when he wanted a red one. The solution here is magically simple: you trade. That’s capitalism.
This hypothetical exchange only worked because you valued your friend’s apple more than your own, and your friend felt the same way. There was no force or coercion to make this happen. It happened because two parties agreed on a mutually beneficial outcome. This is the antithesis of socialism.
Socialism requires force to operate. It nets resources only by pooling what it can take from others. Under socialism, you may not want the particular resources your getting — or at the very least, you may not need the heavy hand of the state to get them, and you can secure your own resources more effectively simply through voluntary exchange. But that doesn’t matter, because now you don’t even have enough money for a hot dog.
~ Facts Not Memes
