Dear Friends,
It seems to me, there is a political pendulum that swings continually back and forth between socialism and capitalism, that pendulum is shown most clearly in the third world but is also apparent in the West as well. That political pendulum is driven by public opinion on the merits of both. Once a nation becomes relatively wealthy via capitalism there is always a movement to change to a socialist economy. Once the cancer of spreads sufficient, socialists are elected and begin to enact socialist policies. Once those policies are implemented… graft, corruption, poverty and outright famine take hold in a once wealthy country. The socialists however will not allow capitalists to get elected and wield power, so to change back to a market system there requires either a revolution, or criminal trials for the socialist elite. Once the government is under the control of capitalist, or to be more precise, politicians who favor the free market and liberty it provides, the economy becomes healthy again and the standard of living rebounds. The economy never achieves it’s former highs but the rampant corruption is dealt with, the suppression of economic activity subsides and some level of liberty is restored. Once the people become comfortable again, they vote socialists back in, and the cycle starts again.
Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Zimbabwe among others are perfect examples of this in action. In Argentina the profoundly corrupt socialists are facing criminal trials for their naked corruption. Politicians who favor free markets and liberty are back in charge, but only until they fix the economy and government, once they are fixed the people will again vote in socialists, as has happened over and over in Argentina. Venezuela is almost to the point of tossing out the socialists because they are at the bottom of the economic cycle. Basic needs cannot be met and poverty is as crushing as it is rampant. All in a nation setting on an ocean of oil. Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution has taken a relatively wealthy south American nation to absolute destitution. If he were still alive there would be executions in the streets of pro free market politicians. Rest assured however, the moment the free market repairs the economy and the corruption is rooted out of government, the people will again turn to socialism.
The US has just embarked on the socialist experiment. So far under Barak Obama it has been an utter failure. The media that calls itself unbiased is doing it’s job, as ordered by Obama, to protect him and forward the agenda. They have been good little toadies. Reporting on the economy is always rosy, despite the fact that interest rates have been held at an absurd level the entire span of Obama’s regime, US standing in the world has collapsed, terrorism has gone from an inconvenience to an existential threat and our debt to GDP ratio has never been higher, even during WWII. US manufacturing has seen 9 straight months of decline, a result not seen in over 100 years, (since Woodrow Wilson). Without recession. In fact by many metrics we have been in recession for years… but recession only happens when we are told by the elite we are in recession. The US is being overrun by people who come here illegally, have no intention of assimilating and pose a perpetual threat to the citizens. By every measure the US has dramatically declined under Obama’s march to socialism. Like an alcoholic however, the decline is ignored until we hit rock bottom, like one of Argentina’s many bouts with hyper inflation that gutted the middle class over and over.
This cycle is driven by human nature. People want to be comfortable and we want that comfort easy. It is all too easy to see the shortcomings of socialism when it has obliterated wealth, created famine and steeped the government in corruption, but once the government is free of corruption, there is economic prosperity and people have their needs met, the siren song of socialism tickles the ears of the people. Socialists will claim there is so much wealth it should be redistributed to those who need from those who have. The idea sounds great to those who want, but believe they need, so they will throw the gates open for the Trojan horse. Socialists appeal to our envy, feed our greed and fill our bellies with hate. The call for a more equitable distribution of the goods of society grows in volume and intensity until socialists get elected. The claim is that it will work this time because we have the “right” leaders. Socialists rely on the lazy, ignorant and foolish to gain power. Since free market politicians have as their core value, liberty, they allow free and fair elections, and so another experiment in socialism is started. One that will fail, like all the others, resulting in a diminished standard of living for everyone but the elite.
The cycle of socialism/capitalism is as destructive as cancer, unfortunately, human nature prevents us from treating the disease, as well as the constant drumbeat of propaganda from the media, that calls itself unbiased. Such a cycle is impossible to break as long as those who are in love with socialism control the government monopoly school system, the media, our universities, media, the legal sector and big business. That is why the new class so stridently oppose any reform of education like the voucher system, such reform would take thousands of children away from their indoctrinating centers, give them good educations and enable children educated in such a system, to engage in the market system. The results would undermine the cycle and therefore cannot be allowed. The results would feed back, and more people would seek economic improvement within the free market framework, laughing at the lies of the socialists. In short, the power of the new class must be reduced, and since that is nearly impossible, the cycle will go on. I call dibs on that slice of half eaten moldy bread, maybe I can even find some rancid butter to put on it…
Sincerely,
John Pepin
