Why Socialism Sucks

Everyone in United States (U.S) has likely heard of the term socialism. It’s a political theory which supposedly advocates for equality and fair treatment while also abolishing any unfairness in the system for everyone, but as Dr. Ben Powell described, it actually “… abolish[es] private property and the major factors of production and replace[s] it with some form of collective ownership or control.” Dr. Powell is saying here that socialism destroys the means of productions that the U.S. requires to maintain life as Americans know it now. Nevertheless, much of the youth in the U.S. believe life would be perfect if the country switched from capitalism to socialism. These people are highly influenced by simpler terms in the “description” of socialism. Most people would stand for these simple terms regardless of their political positions; Some of the terms being fairness and equality, creating a better quality of life better for everyone, and removing the stricken from poverty. Sadly, socialism is not the happily-ever-after the world deserves, and here’s why.

Rights and Blights

There have been many examples of socialism from many different countries, and every single example is a worse way of life than what the U.S. is currently experiencing. Far worse than the beautiful lives many take for granted here. Every form of socialism the world has seen as also taken away their population’s rights and powers. That would mean no right to bear arms (which many socialists already support), no freedom of speech, and the more rights U.S. citizens bear and utilize every day. Without our rights, life in our country would be worse. Rights are a privilege the citizens of the U.S. have been granted. Not every country in the world gives their citizens rights, and socialists countries take their citizens’ rights to give more power to whoever was in charge. Nearly every socialist country becomes a dictatorship, some good examples being Venezuela and Cuba. These countries took the brunt of socialism and are still experiencing downfalls. Nearly all the citizens in these countries can barely afford to live life. Affording things is a huge part of the American lifestyle. Most U.S. citizens dream of owning something someday and work hard to save up the money to purchase their desired item. This is the capitalist dream, and while many socialists may want to eradicate capitalism, they do not seem to realize they will be removing their comfortable way of life. If you remove capitalism from the U.S., most people will lose their incentives to work. They may no longer be able to get what they want, thus resulting in no reason to pursue any type of work. This is another major problem, as when your population has no incentive to work then the country and economy will immediately begin failing. Not to mention that the economy might already be failing, as the government will take control of most forms of production, resulting in no chance of competition and no true market. The government being the sole provider of products will determine how most people live their lives, and obviously the government being the sole provider in socialism will soon turn into the government controlling everything. While grand ideas of making healthcare free and finding a way to eradicate poverty would be very beneficial to the U.S. and truly do sound like amazing goals, socialism will not bring them. Socialism will only bring demise and would be a blight to the current way of life. Why then, after all these cons, do so many young U.S. citizens see value in socialism? A very simple answer is social media.

Socialist Media

Social media is widely known as a tool for misinformation and for manipulating the minds of the masses. Social media is also vastly made up of many young individuals who access it to remain credible or keep in contact with their friends. It has a tight grip on the lives of the young and will likely remain with a vice grip until the end of their lives. With so many young and influential minds on the internet, it’s easy to sweeten up much more controversial and political topics and make them sound like the best option. Most people in the U.S. who believe in socialism have a fictional view of what socialism is. They only see the “pros” of socialism, the equality and fairness in the market it could bring, the free healthcare, the eradication of poverty, etc. There are so many appetizing promises socialism claims to make, while nobody enlightens these believers of the cons that follow socialism. It also does not help that the people who do try to explain the situation to the younger generations typically sound like older, condescending in-laws making the individuals feel attacked. There’s are few feelings in the mind of a young individual that feel worse than being wrong. Social media outlets can take this vulnerability and innocence and twist it around to make socialism an ideal future and capitalism a terrible one. Social media typically works against the viewers it supplies, not for them. Sadly, many young, vulnerable minds have been trained to think in a certain manner, and while it’s completely within their right to have their own beliefs it may benefit them to explore the cons of their beliefs and investigate the benefits of capitalism. Both forms have their issues, but the best way to fight for one’s belief is to understand what the opposition is fighting for too. This process of investigation may also bring some clarity into the fray. Alas, social media still has it’s grasp on many young minds.

Conclusion

Socialism sucks. There’s no need to go around it. It doesn’t achieve what it supposedly sets out to do, and usually results in more pain and turmoil than any good it “may” do. Capitalism may be unfair in some circumstances, but it’s a system of innovation that furthers advancement in society. While it may not benefit everyone, everyone does have a chance to prove themselves and make something of their life. Socialism only allows those who had powerful positions or higher statuses to reap any benefits, and the rest of their society suffers equally. Capitalism will likely never give the lazy a handout, and socialism will give the ones in control whatever they want. Socialism is also a tried and tested system, with many examples of failure. Capitalism in the U.S. is still running strong, even with a few downfalls. With the history of socialism, it’s easy to see as to why it has failed consistently. While it may be much harder to work for goals, capitalism will provide a chance for those who desire it, whereas socialism won’t. This is why socialism sucks.