For the Christians among us, socialism and the welfare state must be seen
as sinful.

Dr. Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of

at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Socialism is evil

Socialism is evil

2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

What is socialism? We miss the boat if we say it's the agenda of left-wingers
and Democrats. According to Marxist doctrine, socialism is a stage of society
between capitalism and communism where private ownership and control over
property are eliminated. The essence of socialism is the attenuation and
ultimate abolition of private property rights.

Attacks on private property include, but are not limited to, confiscating the
rightful property of one person and giving it to another to whom it doesn't
belong. When this is done privately, we call it theft. When it's done
collectively, we use euphemisms: income transfers or redistribution. It's not
just left-wingers and Democrats who call for and admire socialism, but
right-wingers and Republicans as well.

Republicans and right-wingers support taking the earnings of one American and
giving them to farmers, banks, airlines and other failing businesses. Democrats
and left-wingers support taking the earnings of one American and giving them to
poor people, cities and artists. Both agree on taking one American's earnings
to give to another; they simply differ on the recipients. This kind of
congressional activity constitutes at least two-thirds of the federal budget.

Regardless of the purpose, such behavior is immoral. It's a reduced form of
slavery. After all, what is the essence of slavery? It's the forceful use of
one person to serve the purposes of another person. When Congress, through the
tax code, takes the earnings of one person and turns around to give it to
another person in the forms of prescription drugs, Social Security, food
stamps, farm subsidies or airline bailouts, it is forcibly using one person to
serve the purposes of another.

The moral question stands out in starker relief when we acknowledge that those
spending programs coming out of Congress do not represent lawmakers reaching
into their own pockets and sending out the money. Moreover, there's no tooth
fairy or Santa Claus giving them the money. The fact that government has no
resources of its very own forces us to acknowledge that the only way government
can give one American a dollar is to first – through intimidation, threats
and coercion – take that dollar from some other American.

Some might rejoin that all of this is a result of a democratic process and it's
legal. Legality alone is no guide for a moral people. There are many things in
this world that have been, or are, legal but clearly immoral. Slavery was
legal. Did that make it moral? South Africa's apartheid, Nazi persecution of
Jews, and Stalinist and Maoist purges were all legal, but did that make them
moral?

Can a moral case be made for taking the rightful property of one American and
giving it to another to whom it does not belong? I think not. That's why
socialism is evil. It uses evil means (coercion) to achieve what are seen as
good ends (helping people). We might also note that an act that is inherently
evil does not become moral simply because there's a majority consensus.

An argument against legalized theft should not be construed as an argument
against helping one's fellow man in need. Charity is a noble instinct –
theft, legal or illegal, is despicable. Or, put another way: Reaching into
one's own pocket to assist his fellow man is noble and worthy of praise.
Reaching into another person's pocket to assist one's fellow man is despicable
and worthy of condemnation.

For the Christians among us, socialism and the welfare state must be seen as
sinful. When God gave Moses the commandment "Thou shalt not steal," I'm sure He
didn't mean thou shalt not steal unless there's a majority vote. And I'm sure
that if you asked God if it's OK just being a recipient of stolen property, He
would deem that a sin as well.


Dr. Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics
at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Socialism is evil

2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

What is socialism? We miss the boat if we say it's the agenda of
left-wingers
and Democrats. According to Marxist doctrine, socialism is a stage of
society
between capitalism and communism where private ownership and control over
property are eliminated. The essence of socialism is the attenuation and
ultimate abolition of private property rights.
Attacks on private property include, but are not limited to,
confiscating the
rightful property of one person and giving it to another to whom it
doesn't
belong. When this is done privately, we call it theft. When it's done
collectively, we use euphemisms: income transfers or redistribution.
It's not
just left-wingers and Democrats who call for and admire socialism, but
right-wingers and Republicans as well.
Republicans and right-wingers support taking the earnings of one
American and
giving them to farmers, banks, airlines and other failing businesses.
Democrats
and left-wingers support taking the earnings of one American and giving
them to
poor people, cities and artists. Both agree on taking one American's
earnings
to give to another; they simply differ on the recipients. This kind of
congressional activity constitutes at least two-thirds of the federal
budget.

Regardless of the purpose, such behavior is immoral. It's a reduced form
of
slavery. After all, what is the essence of slavery? It's the forceful
use of
one person to serve the purposes of another person. When Congress,
through the
tax code, takes the earnings of one person and turns around to give it to
another person in the forms of prescription drugs, Social Security, food
stamps, farm subsidies or airline bailouts, it is forcibly using one
person to
serve the purposes of another.

The moral question stands out in starker relief when we acknowledge that
those
spending programs coming out of Congress do not represent lawmakers
reaching
into their own pockets and sending out the money. Moreover, there's no
tooth
fairy or Santa Claus giving them the money. The fact that government has
no
resources of its very own forces us to acknowledge that the only way
government
can give one American a dollar is to first – through intimidation,
threats
and coercion – take that dollar from some other American.

Some might rejoin that all of this is a result of a democratic process
and it's
legal. Legality alone is no guide for a moral people. There are many
things in
this world that have been, or are, legal but clearly immoral. Slavery was
legal. Did that make it moral? South Africa's apartheid, Nazi
persecution of
Jews, and Stalinist and Maoist purges were all legal, but did that make
them
moral?

Can a moral case be made for taking the rightful property of one
American and
giving it to another to whom it does not belong? I think not. That's why
socialism is evil. It uses evil means (coercion) to achieve what are
seen as
good ends (helping people). We might also note that an act that is
inherently
evil does not become moral simply because there's a majority consensus.

An argument against legalized theft should not be construed as an
argument
against helping one's fellow man in need. Charity is a noble instinct –
theft, legal or illegal, is despicable. Or, put another way: Reaching
into
one's own pocket to assist his fellow man is noble and worthy of praise.
Reaching into another person's pocket to assist one's fellow man is
despicable
and worthy of condemnation.

For the Christians among us, socialism and the welfare state must be
seen as
sinful. When God gave Moses the commandment "Thou shalt not steal," I'm
sure He
didn't mean thou shalt not steal unless there's a majority vote. And I'm
sure
that if you asked God if it's OK just being a recipient of stolen
property, He
would deem that a sin as well.


Dr. Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of
Economics
at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.