Why socialism doesn't work...

As I have become more involved in politics and the discussion of the current issues facing our nation today, I have become increasingly concerned. There are many people out there that are going more and more in the direction of socialism. Throughout history, different types of governments have come and gone. Socialism seems to be the one that continues to resurface. Why might that be? What is socialism? Why does it appeal to so many people? Let's start by defining what socialism is, shall we?

Socialism - An economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise, and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity. [1]

So, according to that, socialism supposedly helps us work together in 'cooperation' with each for the betterment of society as a whole. Sounds good right? It's a great idea to work together for the common good. I have heard it said that socialism would eliminate classes in society because there would be no poor. That sounds great, right? Of course it does, but that is where is stops sounding good, especially for the people under socialist rule.

The first problem I see is that government controls everything. Is that ever a good idea? Have we ever heard the saying: "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"? When people have power, in most circumstances, they hunger and thirst after more power. Second, what happened to free enterprise or any freedoms for that matter? I personally believe that in order for a society to progress, people need to be free to develop their own ideas, learn from their mistakes (without having the government 'fix' everything for everybody), and free to take care of themselves. When you take away personal responsibility and let the government control everything, you 1) lose more & more of your civil liberties and freedom over time and 2) people won't know how to take care of themselves when the government isn't there to support them.

In the end, those who profess socialism as the way to go, don't have a problem with the government taking what is theirs and doing whatever they want with it.

In a future post, I will give an example of how socialism doesn't work... especially when it comes to healthcare.

[1] socialism. (n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved June 26, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socialism