The headline writer seemed shocked. The results of a recent Rasmussen Poll showed that only 53% of Americans say that capitalism is better than socialism. What is surprising to me is that this should be surprising at all. All one needs to do is  look at the last presidential election to see the percentage of votes cast for Barack Obama. All of a sudden, what is surprising is that it was as high as 53% that prefer capitalism. 

Now it is true that many people polled probably did not really know what socialism is anyway, let alone its political and economic consequences, but this poll does not surprise me in the least. “If it’s for free it’s for me” is pretty catchy, but of course, nothing is for free. I knew during the presidential election that the promise of something for nothing is too much to resist for too many people. What we are left with is a majority of the populace believing that someone else should pay their way.

People who prefer socialism likely are the ones who look at their successful neighbors and say that it is not fair that someone should make more or have more than someone else. Interestingly, it is exactly these successful people that are paying for all of these entitlement programs in the first place. More and more people are going around being indignant that people who have more are not sharing it with those that have less. More and more people are trying to act offended at the notion that “rich” people are not paying their “fair share” to support everybody else who have perhaps contributed nothing to society or to themselves. Clearly, being dependent on government and complaining that people are not doing more for you is much easier than doing something constructive to improve your standard of living.

There is nothing more satisfying than making it on your own. You work hard, you struggle,  you study, you perservere, you roll with the punches and you enjoy the successes. You also get to keep some of that money that you have earned to spend on yourself. This is liberty and this is freedom. You realize though that freedom, although cherished and hard won, is not a guarantee for success. Many a person has spent too much time wringing their hands in frustration if at first they do not succeed. It is too easy to sit around and think about who can be blamed for your position – your boss, the government, rich evil people. “This is America dammit – I am entitled!” or so they say. The freedom of a free market does make it hard to admit that YOU are the main factor in your success or your failure.

I was recently touring the historic mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. These “summer cottages” of the mega-rich have been turned into museums that you can tour. It is not uncommon to hear people demonize these rich families for what many may consider “excesses” during the construction of their houses. This, of course, is none of your business how someone else chooses to spend their money. It is their money. What is it about private property that socialists find so repulsive?

“That money should be given to poor people.”
“Why should they have such a nice house when others can’t afford to pay their mortgage?”

I say, “Buy your own house if you want one”. If you cannot afford it, welcome to reality. People usually have to struggle to buy a house. Think of ways, as distasteful as they may seem, where you may try to improve your own lot in life. Time is wasted complaining about how everything is everybody else’s fault and that the government should be taking more from others to give more stuff to you. This jealosy and greed of those that would like rich people to buy them things has got to stop. It is of no consequence that rich successful businessmen spend money on themselves and do not want to give so much to you.

Socialism sounds good to people who are the recipients and bad to the people who are the providers. The idea that everybody should be provided for, everybody should get the same and make the same money, everybody should rely on government for their employment, health care, retirement — all of this is not freedom. Especially to the people who are being forced to pay for all of this. I am amused by people who claim to be history experts and proclaim that the current financial situation shows that “capitalism and the free market do not work”. Yet these same self-proclaimed “experts” cannot point to an instance in history where socialism has flourished.

 If your profits and the fruits of your labor are going to be seized and distributed to everybody else, then why bother trying to be successful? Then where will we all be?