So we started with a scale showing the general types of government against personal freedom. Now let’s add social and economic freedoms.
Term Definitions:
- Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. It is characterized by free markets, competition, and the pursuit of individual self-interest
- Anarcho-capitalism is a political philosophy advocating for the elimination of the state and the establishment of a society based entirely on voluntary interactions and free-market capitalism. It proposes that all services, even those traditionally provided by governments (like law enforcement and defense), would be provided by private entities competing in a free market.
- Laissez-faire capitalism is an economic system where the government has minimal intervention in the market. It emphasizes free markets, private property rights, and individual economic freedom, believing that the market will naturally regulate itself and lead to optimal outcomes.
- Crony capitalism is an economic system where businesses thrive not primarily through free-market competition and innovation, but due to close relationships with government officials. These relationships lead to favorable treatment like tax breaks, subsidies, or relaxed regulations, creating an uneven playing field that stifles competition and benefits the politically connected.
- Corporatism is a political and economic system where the state organizes and controls society into corporate groups representing different sectors of the economy (labor, business, etc.), aiming to achieve social harmony and control over the economy.
- Socialism is a political and economic philosophy advocating for social ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, typically through a democratically elected government, with the goal of achieving greater social justice and economic equality.
- Market socialism is an economic system that combines social ownership of the means of production (e.g., worker-owned cooperatives, public ownership) with a market-based allocation of goods and services, aiming to balance efficiency with social justice and equality.
- Democratic socialism is a political philosophy advocating for a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system, with an emphasis on social ownership and worker control of the means of production, aiming to achieve greater social justice and reduce economic inequality.
- Communism is a political and economic ideology advocating for a classless, stateless society where all property and resources are owned in common and everyone contributes and receives according to their ability and needs.
- An economic market is a system where buyers and sellers interact to exchange goods and services. Prices are determined by the forces of supply and demand, with minimal government intervention in a free market.
- A free market is an economic system where the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand, with minimal government intervention. Buyers and sellers are free to trade with each other without interference.
- A limited free market is an economic system where the forces of supply and demand primarily guide the production and exchange of goods and services, but with some government intervention and regulation to address market failures, protect consumers and workers, and promote social welfare.
- A government-controlled market, also known as a command economy, is an economic system where the government has significant control over the production, distribution, and pricing of goods and services. It decides what to produce, how much to produce, and who gets the products.
As can be seen the spectrum is still from freedom to slavery. As capitalism maximizes freedom, socialism and communism maximize control over freedom. Individual liberty erodes away into the communal abrogation of all liberty. Socialism is based on a belief in collectivism where the individual needs are subservient to the needs of the group or community. Because of this, individual liberty is rejected and replaced with emphasis on social justice and reduction of inequality.
Who determines what is social justice? What are the determinates of equality? What is social ownership? The group or community! Thus the “group or community”, becomes the arbiter of values. These values are then placed upon the individual without express consent, through the use of force. There is a presumption that values of the larger group are somehow greater morally than that of the individual. Along with this comes the assumption that the individuals are not as smart as the totality of the collective so therefore the larger body must take care of the “poor and dumb”. The moral superiority of the “majority” is a cornerstone of socialist systems. And the only way that these moral superiors can ensure equality and social justice is through the use of force.
In all historical accounts of socialist systems, the “group or community” devolves into an elite group of individuals who take on the role of a governing body. This small group then states they are the “voice of the people.” The “majority” is actually a “minority.” Because of the belief that they speak for all, they become either an oligarchy or sole dictatorship. The power they hold allows them to make decisions over the intricacies of the individual, thus the loss of all individual freedom. Socialism ALWAYS leads to totalitarianism.
So where are we now in America? We are in the corporatist, democratic socialist, and limited free market section of the spectrum and heading toward socialist authoritarianism. How can I say this?
- Government intervention in the market place is rampant
- Government intervention in our personal lives is excessive
- The “woke” and politically correct movements tell us how to speak
- The authoritarians tell us what our morals should be
- Those who disagree with the authoritarians are called “a basket of deplorables”
- Large corporations collude with the government to fix prices and force out competition
- There are so many laws that every person in the United States commits at least 3 felonies per day
- Regulatory agencies, that were not approved by the Constitution, rule over the lives of everyone
- Government employees refer to the money in their coffers as “their” money, when in truth it belongs to the taxpayers
In the next post we will “back it up” with examples.
