While some may define it as “me having to wear a mask when I don’t want to” or “the government will pay for all of my needs”, the actual definition of Socialism is (and always will be) “state ownership of the means of production”. That means the central government controls all of the factories, all the farms, all the shipping companies, and all the retail outlets for every good or service provided in a society. Karl Marx envisioned it as the transitive period between getting rid of capitalism and full-on Communism. And it’s probably because of the disastrous period of transition that not a single country has actually gone on to full-on Communism.
But those past results aren’t dissuading an entire generation of young Americans from embracing the idea that Socialism is a better economic system than Capitalism. An Axios poll last year found that 51% of Americans under the age of 30 hold a positive opinion of Socialism–while 58% hold a negative opinion of Capitalism. Now, did the pollsters explicitly spell out that Socialism means the definition I gave you in the third portion of the first line of this Two Cents–or did they leave it open to the interpretation held by those with the positions of the first two lines of this Two Cents? We can’t really be sure but I tend to think not–because the numbers would have been zero if there had been full understanding.
But let’s consider what the U-S economy would be like if all the decisions as to what is made and is available to the public was made in Washington. This isn’t as hard as you think it is, because we are seeing some attempts at doing just that in recent months. Let’s start with the food industry. Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders (the nation’s most ardent Socialist) accused Chipotle of charging too much for the food it serves in its restaurants. That claim was not based on the actual expenses incurred by the chain of restaurants, but rather on the pay increases given to its CEO and record revenues for the company in 2021–revenues driven in large part by the pandemic and consumers’ decisions to forego dining in sit-down Mexican restaurants and instead going with options that offered drive-thru or delivery (which Chipotle was set up to do pre-pandemic).
Bernie Sanders is not a restaurant owner. Restaurant worker is not one of the menial jobs Sanders listed on his resume before committing full-time to politics as a career. He does not have a degree in business, he has no managerial experience. But under a Socialist economic system, because he belongs to the ruling party, he could very easily be the Secretary for Fast Casual Mexican Food. As such, Sanders alone would be responsible for deciding where Mexican restaurants would be located, what they would serve, what they would pay their workers, what hours they would be open, and what prices they would charge. He would also decide if we even need Fast Casual Mexican Food in the United States. If he and others in the ruling party decide that the resources needed to operate a string of restaurants isn’t in “the best interest” of the society–they could instead pour all of those resources into increasing overnight bus service to rural parts of Maine.
Sticking with the food sector, Senator Elizabeth Warren says the only reason prices in the supermarkets are going up is the greed of producers and grocery store chains. Senator Warren has never worked in a meatpacking plant, she was not raised on a farm, she doesn’t list grocery store manager in her professional resume. She does have a degrees in economics and law. But again, being a member of the ruling party, Warren could easily be the Secretary of Agricultural Production. She alone could decide how much milk should be produced (if any milk should be produced at all), and how much corn and how much wheat and how much (again if any) meat should be produced. And again, she could decide at what price she thinks is “fair” for society.
Despite the constant complaints about “First Amendment rights” being infringed upon by the platforms, social media is a private enterprise. But members of both parties in Congress want to have a major say in how Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and all the rest operate. Let’s say that Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida–a career lawyer–is appointed the Secretary of Social Media. It would be Gaetz that decides what platforms are even allowed to exist, what their terms of service are, if they can post ads to generate revenue, and what will be tolerated from posters (especially when it comes to criticism of Matt Gaetz).
If you want a local example, look no further than the political fight over Oshkosh Corporation production. If Senator Tammy Baldwin–a lawyer for a few months before being elected to the Legislature–was the Secretary of Postal Vehicle Production Oshkosh would likely be the home for that production. But what if Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina–a former schoolteacher–was appointed to that position? Then, production would almost certainly be where it is going to end up anyway: in South Carolina.
Free market Capitalism works because those who know the most about their respective industries determine the futures of those industries. They are quick to respond to consumer demands. They look for efficiencies and aren’t afraid to take chances and fail. If anyone thinks that we would have the technological tools and toys we have today if a bunch of bureaucrats in Washington were determining what, where, when and how something was going to be produced, I’ve got some momentos from my trip to Moscow while it was still a Soviet state to share with you.
And if you think working the drive-thru window at Chipotle sucks and is a dead-end job that is keeping you from being an “Instagram influencer”–just think what it would be like if Secretary of Fast Casual Mexican Bernie Sanders decided that is the job you will have for the rest of your life….because it is best for society, you know.
