With the Democratic Primaries in full swing, promises of affordable healthcare and college education, reasonable gun control, and even a universal basic income of $1,000 per month are at their peak. Democrats are lining up to ask for your vote in return for free services and security. Alongside these promises, Democrats are assuring us that, through their proposed policies, we will achieve a leveled playing field and equal opportunity for all. Bernie Sanders may not have been successful in defeating Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Primaries, but he was successful in moving the Democrats closer to socialism.
Socialism, in practice, is government ownership and regulation over the production and distribution of goods and services. In simple terms, socialism decreases your spending power in return for goods and services utilized by the nation at large. The more spending power you have, however, the more power you have. In return, with more spending power, you may not enjoy as much government security as the Democrats are campaigning on.
The problem with socialism is that it gives people a false sense of hope. If we were to socialize everything, we would lose control of what we earn. Our incomes would be distributed to the numerous government programs and agencies created in order to fulfill the campaign promises of socialism. Less of what you earn will be yours. In return, you receive free medical treatment if you were to fall ill or get injured, free college tuition if you have not already graduated from college, a government-backed retirement plan, and other services provided at no direct cost to you.
Nothing is free under socialism; especially not the individual. Under these socialized programs, the individual loses their personal liberty to chose their own doctor, choose a college or university that is more tailored to their needs, and to choose not to have a retirement fund. In return, the individual can feel secure knowing that they will not go into debt if they are injured, they will be able to afford a college education, that there will be a retirement account with their name on it when they reach the government's predetermined age of retirement.
Socialism does not level out the playing field; it creates strict rules and regulations making it more difficult for one to succeed at the individual level, If Democrats truly wanted to level out the playing field, they would be running on a platform of free-market capitalism.
Free-markets naturally exists without any human intervention necessary. If a new society were to be created free from rules an regulations, a free-market would be their economic systems. Socialism, on the other hand, exists only through government intervention. This results in a socialized economic system that in prone to human errors. Free-markets are not prejudice against other races because free-markets are not human; they are not subject to human emotions. Therefore, prejudices can only exist in an economic system owned and regulated by human beings.
Furthermore, capitalism should be the first economic system that comes to mind when thinking about equal opportunity. Success may be determined by years of education and experience in a socialist nation, but in a capitalist nation, success is determined by the profit that you bring home. You do not have to be highly educated to navigate through a free-market society. There are plenty of men and women who have been wildly successful and have never completed high school. Free-market societies spark innovation. One great idea, one great album, one perfect painting, all can lead to success in a capitalist nation. These can also lead to success in a socialist nation, but there are more strings attached that burden your ability to reach your highest potential.
Socialism is a love story that the Democrats currently campaigning for office enjoy telling. They market to target audiences such as lower-income families and recent college graduates and pass socialism off as free services. However, they misinform the public when they pass these programs off as free because, as we know, government programs and agencies are not free; they are a cost to taxpayers. Freedom is not free, but the cost of socialism is much more.
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