Even Socialists Get Greedy.

6/4/2010

The US is truly a unique country. I can honestly say that without the freedoms accorded to the people here, the freedom the inventions and profit from their inventions, the whole world would be a poorer place. One only needs to look overseas to see whole groups of people starving because a dictator spends the country’s money overseas for luxuries not available in his own country. Relief ships sent to some African countries were refused docking privileges and food for the starving citizens rotted in the holds. Not only was America flourishing without the boot of the government on business’s neck, but charity flourished. Americans looked around, grateful for their riches and wanted to share. We wanted everyone in the world to have our freedom to prosper. Charities went overseas with improved grain and farming methods that reduced erosion. We gave items of technology away or sold at low prices, taught less technological countries how to manufacture for themselves.

We frequently were praised and welcomed by grateful peoples. But often we got kicked in the teeth. Authorities in those countries feared loss of power. They feared the democracy that limited powers and kept it in the hands of the people. And so they stirred up their people, accusing America of arrogance and of trying to impose our culture on them. Such ignorance. When cultures meet whether for trade or war (The US was the first to send overseas aid to another country), they tend to mingle, exchange styles and technologies. If other cultures adopted styles of dress and eating from the US, it’s because they found these things attractive. It’s because they found freedom attractive. And authorities in these countries found it threatening. They were forced to adopt some semblance of allowing people freedom as time went on and that, they found terrifying.

And it didn’t take much to make oppressed people happy. Some ability to work and keep what you make, some freedom to speak, some freedom from unfair police arrests. Look at China. After decades of government mismanagement of business and agriculture co-ops, they finally allowed some limited private enterprise. The standard of living immediately went up. Think about what might have been had they totally disbanded government ownership, even never became socialist inf the first place. Lot’s of people would be alive now that aren’t.

All of this doesn’t apply to communism and most dictators. Communism is a way to gather power by promising some kind of utopia to the common people. Everyone should share and share alike. Give me the power, and I promise such prosperity. All will work and all will have enough to live on. No one will be rich and no one will be poor. We’ll all be alike. Take from those who have and give it to those who have not. Trouble is, this doesn’t fit with human nature. In this system, money must be stored somewhere. Someone must be in charge of giving it out. Several someones. And each of these have friends. And so it goes.
Socialism and Communism as ideals will never work because of human greed. Capitalism doesn’t have the options on greed. EVERYBODY who handles disbursement of money can be greedy and, as prisoners prove time and time again in finding ways to gain weapons, greedy people find a way to divert money to themselves and their pals. Sociopaths naturally gravitate to positions of power and money and if they can’t earn it mostly legally, they’ll take it illegally. At least, in capitalism, these guys create jobs and do good, providing they don’t raid pension plans, etc.

No one argues that oversight isn’t necessary, just make it simple and light, don’t micromanage. With proper regulation, capitalism takes advantage of the best in people. You want money, you work. However, the goal of regulation shouldn’t be to expect to NEVER EVER have an incident of cheating. That’s unrealistic. It may seem cold when cheating is uncovered to shrug and say, “Que sera, sera”, but that’s basically all one can do other than finding out who dropped the ball and firing them. Enforce the regs we have, don’t make more. Currently, Wall Street is dropping like a rock with all this talk of, “We’ll fix those greedy, nasty, capitalists and tax the living daylights out of them.” Few jobs are being created in the creative part of our economy, the part that makes money as it grows, not in the government, which spends money it doesn’t have. Currently most of the jobs being created are in the government and even those are temporary. And false, as it turns out. One census worker reports that she’s been laid off and rehired five times and each time, it was counted as a new job. Her supervisor confirmed it. So the reports of the new jobs are bogus. Basically, the census is almost over with and hiring should be minimal. I worked in the census in 1990, when it was going door to door, not mail and it was done by the end of June. I finished up the routes of people who’d quit.

I just don’t understand this attack on capitalism and democracy, except the mindset is getting to be getting something for nothing. Excelling is frowned upon. We’re all becoming equal. Equally mediocre.