By Lloyd L. Streeter
It is sad that so many people, age 35 and younger, are ignorant of the dangers of socialism and communism. It is sad and dangerous that only 52% of Americans now embrace capitalism. Capitalism, with its free markets and private ownership, has helped to make the USA the greatest and most prosperous country in the history of the world. Unfortunately, more and more of our young people reject capitalism and want socialism.
The Democrat Party has become a socialist party. Bernie Sanders, the most popular of Democrat candidates, is actually a Communist. He has long been an admirer of the old Stalinist-Marxist Soviet Union. He loves the Castro revolution in Cuba, and has only praise for the godless, oppressive, and murderous government of that country. Bernie keeps calling for a revolution in our country! But the unknowing, unthinking, and naive young Bernie supporters believe his promises of free stuff. These supporters are willing to throw away everything that made them the richest, most free, and most hopeful people in the history of the world because they believe it is a good idea to steal other peoples’ money! They have never learned the lesson that there is no free lunch–have never learned that socialism always runs out of other people’s money. What Bernie is promising, if delivered, would run the entire country out of money very quickly; and it would ruin the markets, and ruin the future of our grandchildren and our grandchildren’s children.
Many public schools have failed to teach American values. They do not teach freedom values, economic values, or the dangers of socialism and communism.
We started a Christian school, and I, a busy pastor, taught US History, World History, American Government and Economics, and other courses for thirty years. We did that because we knew it was God’s work. It is a tragedy that many public-school students know nothing about our country’s founding, know nothing about our Constitution, know nothing about how our government is supposed to work, and know nothing about the economic system that helped to make America great.
Recently, a post on FB provided an example of the ignorance of some people about socialism. While defending socialism, the poster said, “Well, we are all socialists now. You have a Social Security card, and that makes you a socialist. Social Security is socialism.”
To be fair, the poster was probably just repeating something that he had heard. Or perhaps he thinks that the word “Social” in “Social Security” means that it is socialism. Whatever he thought, I can assure you that Social Security is not socialism.
No matter what you may think about the government forcing us to buy old age insurance, it is not socialism. It is not free. It is not welfare. You work for your Social Security. You pay for it! It is a forced savings program with some life insurance thrown in. It is poorly administered by the government and abused, but it is not socialism. And it is no excuse to vote for Bernie Sanders or for any of the other socialists.
Bernie Sanders and other Socialists and Communists often use the Scandinavian countries as examples of the success of socialism. Their logic seems to be that if socialism worked there, it is a foregone conclusion that it will work in the United States. However, there are several facts that make those Nordic countries unconvincing examples for proof of socialism’s success.
First, there is the fact that the Scandinavian countries are not socialist countries. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland are all parliamentary democracies with free markets and private ownership of all that is produced. The governments of these countries do not own or control industry, nor do they fix prices. With the exception of Iceland (which is a republic), the Nordic countries are constitutional monarchies with a king or a queen with only symbolic power. These countries deny, even take umbrage at, suggestions that they have a socialist economy. Perhaps some of the umbrage comes from the fact that, being in close proximity to the old Soviet Union, they had to resist Communist efforts to turn them toward socialism. A short time ago, Denmark’s Center for Political Studies published a report telling us that Denmark is absolutely not a socialist country, and that, in fact, Denmark has more economic freedom than we have in the USA! And Swedish historian Johan Norberg says flatly, “Sweden is not socialist.”
Second, the Nordic countries are very small with small populations, but they are very rich. Sweden has only 11 million people. Norway has only 5 million people. Denmark has only 5 million. Finland has only 6 million. And Iceland has only 365 thousand people. All of these countries do have very high taxes and they are “welfare states.” They have universal healthcare, and all education is paid for with tax dollars. However, the state has not taken over all education or healthcare. Private insurance and private education are the right of the people. They can afford their welfare state with its high taxes because they are very rich countries. They are rich in oil and natural gas, metals, and minerals. They are great exporters of things made of metals, exporters of fish, and of forestry products. They are highly industrialized. All of them have extremely high GDPs for such small countries with such small populations. The fact that these countries can successfully manage their welfare state does not mean that the same thing would work in a big country like the United States. The US has 330 million people. For the US to pay for all education and all healthcare for all of our people would cost more than all the wealth of the entire country!
Third, why do not the wannabe socialists use the example of real socialist countries? Why don’t they use as their example (of where they want to take us) the old Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela or one of the failed communist regimes of Central America? Maybe it is because the people in those countries hated the socialism that was forced upon them at the barrel of a gun! Socialism in its purest form murdered about 130 million of their own people. There is no freedom under socialism, no private ownership, no personal or economic freedom. This is why the Scandinavian countries are a dishonest example for Bernie Sanders to use.
Socialism is not biblical. It is not Christian. Socialism always denies God-given rights, the freedom to own property, the freedom to conduct one’s own business, and the freedom to make a profit.
Capitalism, on the other hand, is smiled upon by the Lord. The free-market system involves the very basic ingredients of life which God intends for humans to observe. It involves private ownership, honest work, providing for oneself and family, and sound stewardship.
Jesus told the Parable of the Laborers (Matthew 20). It is highly instructive in matters of economics. The principles of capitalism are taken for granted in this parable. The right to hire workers, the right for both business owner and workers to negotiate for wages and working conditions, and the right for the owner to make a profit are all here in this parable. Jesus clearly taught the principle of private ownership when he has the property owner ask, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own?” Of course, as in all of Jesus’ parables, important spiritual lessons are taught. In this case, the lessons are that Jesus will return to earth, and that Christians should work for Him until He comes. He will reward (in surprising ways) those who are faithful. Nevertheless, the underlying economic principles in the parable should not be overlooked.
The biblical nature of capitalism is reinforced in the Old Testament story of Naboth’s vineyard (I Kings 21) and in the New Testament story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). Naboth’s vineyard belonged to Naboth. He owned it! It was his! When the evil King Ahab and the wicked Queen Jezebel coveted the vineyard, killed the proprietor, and stole the property, God was angry and took vengeance on the thieves.
Ananias and Sapphira were property owners, but they lied to God and were judged. Their sin was not that they owned property, nor that they refused to share with others. Their sin was that they lied to God and man in order to build their own prideful reputation. Peter’s words, on that occasion, prove that God approves of private ownership—”Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? . . . thou hast . . . lied unto God” (Acts 5).
The point is that both the story of Naboth and the story of Ananias and Sapphira show that they were exercising their God-given right to own and control their own property. The government did not own their property, nor was it owned by a cooperative.
When God gave the Ten Commandments, He laid down this law, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). This law, if obeyed, will result in man’s own well-being and happiness. It should be remembered that private ownership is taught by this commandment. It would be impossible to steal anything unless someone owned it!
It is not only individuals who steal. Governments and collectives also steal. It is theft when governments confiscate, unjustly, the fruit of our labors and the profit from our investments. This is why socialism and Christianity do not mix. Socialism considers religion a crutch and demands worship of the State and of men. The more Christian a person is, the more he will reject socialism.