When you hear the word socialism, what comes to mind? Free food and housing? Cash handouts? No consequences for street crime? Legalized recreational drugs? Unlimited, free medical care?
None of these things define socialism. Socialism is not a welfare state. The United States is steadily expanding its welfare and regulatory apparatus—just try naming an industry that is not regulated or subsidized —but that alone doesn’t make it socialist. Conversely, the Soviet Union was socialist without being a welfare state; the able-bodied were required to work, in line with Karl Marx’s dictum that everyone must perform “socially useful labor.”
Socialism is also not antinomianism—an opposition to moral or legal norms. Marx labeled criminals, prostitutes, and vagrants (“homeless,” in modern terms) as part of the lumpenproletariat, a permanent underclass used for political manipulation but not capable of societal progress. The Soviet Union, far from being permissive, outlawed drug use and homosexuality. The ideal “New Soviet Man” was expected to be sober, disciplined, and “sexually healthy.”
Socialism means one thing:
The government controls the economy through a centrally planned, command system.
Everything else flows from that. Economic totalitarianism is not an unfortunate side effect—it is the system.
Bernie Sanders once mocked the abundance of shampoo varieties in the U.S. marketplace. In a command economy, that “problem” disappears. Choice disappears. If the planner decides you get one government-designed phone every five years, that’s all you get. One pair of shoes every two years? Two pounds of bread per week? These rations become production quotas for state-owned factories and farms.
The Fatal Flaw: You Cannot Centrally Plan a Nation
Leaving aside moral issues, central planning fails because it is impossible to predict and coordinate the needs of millions of people.
If even 10% of the population buys more shoes than the planners predicted, you get shortages. Since the planner cannot admit error, the blame falls on “hoarders,” “wreckers,” or “saboteurs.” So-called “economic criminals” must be found—usually ordinary workers—to punish, imprison, or eliminate. Meanwhile, the socialist elite maintains its privileges and wealth. 
Historical Evidence
- Russia, once a major grain exporter, starved at least 4 million people after forced collectivization of agriculture.
- Cuba rations sugar and cigars—once its major exports.
- Canada’s state-run medical system leaves more than 15,000 people per year to die while waiting for treatment, and assisted suicide has become the country’s sixth leading cause of death.
- Even small-scale planning fails: the Danish army once ordered bras for female soldiers based on “expert” guidance that 70% were A-cup. They weren’t. An army couldn’t centrally plan underwear for 5,000 women—yet socialism claims it can plan the lives of entire nations.
The Myths
Don’t be fooled by slogans like “communism is where everyone shares” or “democratic socialism.” These are marketing terms.
Whether called communism, socialism, or collectivism, the system is the same:
a command economy run by a central authority that punishes dissent and rewards loyal elites.
In a market economy—even an imperfect one—hard times still come with the possibility of improvement. In a socialist command economy, you get only what the planner allocates, and you have almost no chance of improving your situation.
Turn your back on socialism.
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