Dr. Ben Powell’s talk was interesting to me. I am a huge opponent of socialism/communism, and I take great pleasure in pointing out people’s fallacies associated with socialism. I think that his talk was quite good at highlighting people’s common misconceptions with socialism, as well as giving concrete evidence with socialisms issues. I will be going through his talk sequentially, taking each topic as it comes up.
Sweden – the “Fake Socialist” country
I have heard quite a few people in my life point to Sweden as a shining example of socialism working. I was always under the impression that Sweden (along with the rest of the Nordic region) was NOT socialist, even if it had some socialist features. Dr. Powell confirmed my notion, as he said that Sweden had some socialist qualities (Universal Healthcare and a wicked high tax rate), but the market of the country was still very much capitalist. *He argued that Sweden was going the wrong way if you look at their economic output metrics, where they pivoted in the late 20th century away from a strong free market and more towards a socialist system.* He mentioned that beer was ridiculously expensive in the country because of that tax rate, and that is why I never understood the whole “universal services” thing. You still must pay for “free” things, you just pay for it through tax.
Venezuela – a complete failure
Venezuela is another country that makes me sad to look at, as I am sure the guy they elected to bring in “democratic socialism” was a great candidate to vote for. Unfortunately, them bringing in socialism willingly turned out to have the SAME consequences as by bringing in socialism through violence. The end result being the failure of the economy and widespread poverty. Venezuela (from an outsider’s perspective) was chugging along fine right up until oil prices collapsed, when the country was thrust into high inflation and unemployment. *The other small issue with having a socialist government, as Dr. Powell touched on, is that you can’t easily get rid of said government once it is in place*. Now you have everyday individuals having to sell their own hair out of necessity to get the basics for life. Oh you want aid? Well make sure you vote for the same useless president! Venezuela is a complete failure and a shining example of socialisms failures.
Cuba – socialist purgatory
Dr. Powell said that Cuba was not moving in either direction right now, it is just sort of stuck in its socialist ways. There is SOME private enterprise, such as AirBNB’s, but the issue is that those private enterprises are still using the same supply chain. The supply chain that only produces 2 beers, the supply chain that doesn’t allow imports, and the supply chain that makes food taste awful. Cuban food is FANTASTIC, although I’ve never had Cuban food in Cuba. *How can anybody advocate for socialism when Cuba, an example right across our doorstep, is such an abject failure?* No, the country isn’t collapsing in on itself like Venezuela, but the vast majority of Cubans are left out to dry by a government that simply does not care about them.
North Korea – Hell on Earth
North Korea is a well-known failure. Probably the biggest laughingstock of the world. You can’t even get in unless the government approves of you, and if that is the route you go you essentially get a scripted tour of the capital and are ushered out the door. I’ve seen the image Dr. Powell showed, with the discrepancy in light output from everywhere else and North Korea. His image where he stayed across the river and an entire city, t*he biggest export place in North Korea did not light up at night, was shocking. You’d think that the economic engine of a country would be lit at night, but no.* South Korea and North Korea are opposites of each other, and really the difference is the system in place. Free market capitalism vs harsh Socialism/Communism. *North Korea is ignored by all the people advocating for socialism, why might that be?*
China – Fake Socialism with free market qualities
Mao Zedong killed millions during his great leap forward. That was pure socialism. China was not a developing superpower during this time. It only started becoming the economic giant it is today when it started allowing special economic zones where the oppressive policies of the CCP did not exist. Dr. Powell highlighted how China now is mostly a free-market capitalist society, which is directly correlated with the crazy growth of the country. Even though economically speaking the country is more capitalist, the country is very much still a police state. *Why do people advocating for socialism always ignore the fact that every socialist country has a secret police system which punishes those who disagree with the system?*
Russia/Ukraine – reformed socialism
Neither of these countries are very interesting, as both have moved far beyond socialism. They’re essentially just Western European countries.
Georgia – New Capitalism
Georgia only recently started reforming, like 2004 recently. *They got a huge amount of reform very quickly, but unlike socialist reform did not involve violence and a secret police force. Why not?* The outcome? A much more prosperous system, a massive reduction in the government, and a nation on the uprise. They started producing their native wine too, which as Dr. Powell said is objectively better than what the soviets did.
The USA – misplaced anger
So many people in the USA want socialism. They want to end poverty, greater equality, sunshine, and rainbows. *But if you ask them HOW they intend to do this through socialism, they get stumped.* It sounds great to have a collectivist system where people get what they need, it is not possible in the long term. Every time socialism has been tried, it has failed. These people think that their version will be different, it won’t go wrong. It will, and it will fail because socialism isn’t possible. Capitalism works because we place value on things monetarily, and different entrepreneurs use their judgement to correctly value things. The people in power always become corrupt, and they live a great life while the people suffer.
Conclusion
Socialism is one of those things that sounds great on paper. It promises to do a lot of good stuff for the society. But, and there are a lot of big buts, *why has it never worked? Why have so many millions died under socialist regimes? Why do people who have lived under socialist regimes argued so staunchly against it getting replicated?*
