I am more and more disturbed at the amount of people who are campaigning for a professed socialist. Do they even know what it means to be a socialist? I wonder if they know what kind of society we would live in if capitalism was abandoned and socialism was adopted.

I think some definitions are in order. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

An economic system that features private ownership of the means of production (such as factories, offices and shipping enterprises) and in which market forces determine the way in which goods are produced and the means by which income and profit are distributed is called capitalism.

This is the form of government that provides the purest form of liberty. It is based on the principles of hard work and ingenuity. People provide goods and services to people who want and need them.

In capitalism, the dollar vote is powerful. When you create a business, if people want your goods and services, you make money; if they don’t like your product, you create another product.

In this form of government, the rich get richer because their work ethic is of the “boot strap” variety. In other words, you pull on your boots by the straps and go to work. In a true capitalistic society, people who choose not to work will suffer for their lack of fortitude. They will only be able to afford what they are willing to earn.

In a capitalistic society, there should be less interference from the government. Individuals own property and the tools to work their own businesses. They provide jobs to people who do not choose to own businesses. The poor in such a society prosper because they are able to find jobs with a corporation that pays them a fair wage.

If they are not able to find jobs, families, communities and corporations help fund charities that provide for the needs of people only until the person is able to work.

If the government meddles too much in a capitalist society, the society moves toward socialism.

Socialism is a political and economic system in which most forms of economically valuable property and resources are owned or controlled by the public or the state. The term socialism also refers to any political or philosophical doctrine that advocates such a system.

Socialism is funded by high taxes and government control. For example, health care, education, highways and large plots of land are all run and owned by the government. More and more people depend on the government for their sustenance. Consequently, taxes get higher and higher as the needs of a welfare state grow.

Corporations, the backbone of society, suffer with high taxes and too many regulations; therefore they cannot hire as many people. They look for other ways to cut costs by using machines or laying off employees. The government takes care of the needs of the poor, so people don’t feel the need be charitable.

To solve the problems created by socialism, the government bails out pet corporations while they allow others to fail. Gradually, the government owns all of the businesses, property and valuable assets. Then communism takes over.

Communism is a political and economic system in which the major productive resources in a society – such as mines, factories and farms – are owned by the public or the state, and wealth is divided among citizens equally or according to individual need.

Communism sounds like a wonderful society, and it should work beautifully. Everyone is equal. There are no rich or poor. Everyone works contentedly at their government job, and everyone gets their cut of the goods and services. Because everyone is equal, everyone lives happily ever after, right?

Wrong. When people lose their freedom and the rewards of freedom, there is no incentive to work or provide for the family. In fact, in such a society, children belong to the state. They grow up to think what the government teaches them to think. Dissenters are punished, and rebels are executed. Government decides who lives and dies.

Wait! Isn’t communism a Christian principle? Just look in Acts. Peter and the other apostles instituted such a society with the early Christians after Christ’s death. You remember the story.

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
—Acts 4:32-35

That sounds a lot like communism to me. Yes, but there is a stark difference. This kind of communism was more of a consecration of goods to God and His kingdom, not a forced allegiance to the government. In this society, everyone willingly gave all they had to promote the cause of Christianity. They were of “one heart and one soul.”

They truly kept the commandment to “Love thy neighbor as thy self.” They were able to live this way because of love and free will. They were people of integrity and ingenuity. They were all willing to work for the welfare of the whole.

I don’t know how long the early Christians lived in this society, but we know it did not last because Christians don’t live this way today. Maybe there is a society somewhere that might practice such a lifestyle, but I don’t know about it if there is.

Societies like this fall apart because of greed and selfishness. People start looking at their neighbor with the glasses of comparison. They start thinking, “I did more than so and so did. I gave more property than he or she did, so I should be able to have more food or clothes.

My contribution of making shoes takes more time than his contribution of chicken farming.” People start to air their differences through gossip and formal complaints. Pretty soon there is contention, and the entire community falls apart.

Jamestown of early America was supposed to be a community where everyone shared. It worked for a short while – until some felt it was more important to search for gold than to plant crops. Finally, Captain John Smith made a hard and fast rule: “No work, no food.” That changed everything. That might have been the very seeds of capitalism we know today.

We are living in the twilight of capitalism and socialism. People who are following the crowds of socialism in this election are paving the way for communism, not socialism. We are already virtually living in a socialistic society. If you doubt it, take a look at where most of the jobs are found.

Look at how much the government intervenes in our lives. Notice how many people look to the government for their very existence. Ask yourself how much of your paycheck goes to pay for social programs in the form of taxes. How many people have opted out of the workforce and have quit looking for a job because they make more money on the dole?

This coming communism is not a Christian place where everyone willingly gives for the good of each other. This communism is Satan’s counterfeit for Christianity. This is a place where despotism and evil abound. There are only two classes: the ruling class and the very poor. People in this society are only numbers and statistics to further the cause of the government.

Families are only there to produce more workers for the state. Free thinking and communication goes underground. Fear and force become the mode of motivation, and in one generation, we live in a society akin to the Dark Ages. If you don’t believe me, study the history of the rise of Stalin and Hitler while it is left unchanged. Communistic governments change written history, too.

The only thing that stands between us and this type of society is the Constitution of the United States of America. It is a shield and mighty sword against the powers of evil men.

If we allow it to crumble in the hands of an avowed socialist or a lawless despot, God help us. We have lost all that the Founding Fathers fought for, namely our “firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, our ... pledge to each other of our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”  PD