Sharon Hughes

Are We Heading Towards Socialism?

A few years back I wrote a column entitled: "Will The Next Generation Of Americans Be Socialists?" Little did I know how true that question really was.

Based on some of the emails I receive it is clear that some people today are not clear on the difference between Communism and Socialism, and in some cases, the difference between Socialism and Capitalism. Some have asked, "So, what's wrong with socialism?"

Not long ago Fox News reported this troubling reality ...
"Nearly half of all U.S. millennials believe the greatest safe space of all would be living under a socialist regime. That’s according to a new study from research firm YouGov and Washington, D.C.-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, which surveyed over 2,000 people regarding their views on socialism and the communist political system. The biggest takeaway from the study was that one out of every two millennials surveyed said they would rather live in a socialist or communist country over a capitalist democracy like the U.S.

“Millennials now make up the largest generation in America, and we're seeing some deeply worrisome trends," Marion Smith, executive director of the foundation said in a statement to Fox News. Millennials are increasingly turning away from capitalism and toward socialism and even communism as a viable alternative.”

Today, 67% of Millennial men favor Socialism. And if you think that's not troubling enough, how about this? ...
"The report also found that one in five Americans in their 20s consider former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin a hero, despite his genocide of Ukrainians and Orthodox priests. Over a quarter of millennials polled also thought the same for Vladimir Lenin and Kim Jong Un."

By comparison, well over half of U.S. baby boomers polled favor capitalism, with (only?) 26 percent who support a socialist system.

For those who think the move towards socialism in America is conservative-speak, here's what the Democrat Socialists of America say about this on their website following the 2016 election...
"Favorable views of socialism aren’t limited to Sanders supporters. The 39% of South Carolina Democrats who call themselves socialists exceeded by 13 percentage points the number who actually voted for Sanders. In a New York Times poll last November 56% of Democrats – including 52% of Hillary Clinton supporters – said they held a favorable view of socialism. Nor was this sway toward socialism triggered by Sanders’s candidacy: as far back as 2011, a Pew poll revealed, fully 49% of Americans (not just Democrats) under 30 had a positive view of socialism, while just 47% had a favorable opinion of capitalism. In 2011, the percentage of Americans under 30 who could have picked Sanders out of a police line-up was probably in the low single digits. Bernie Sanders didn’t push the young toward socialism. They were already there.

What can be done? We all need to become 'citizen reporters, writers or teachers' to counter the indoctrination. So here are some 'talking points' on the differences between socialism and capitalism that I pulled together a while back from online dictionaries...

Socialism & Communism in a Nutshell...
Socialism, the cousin of Communism, refers to an economic system, which seeks to control the market, essentially for "the redistribution of wealth." Karl Marx, father of Marxism, the foundation of socialism and communism, said, "From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need.” Some confuse this view with Christian compassion, but in reality Socialism is really 'Communism-lite."

Communism refers to both an economic and a political system, which seeks to manage the economy and the society by controlling the distribution of property and wealth, in order to "achieve both classlessness and statelessness."

Socialism seeks to manage the economy through "deliberate and collective social control." Communism on the other hand, seeks to manage both the economy and the society by controlling the working person, who is paid "according to their abilities and needs." In other words, the government determines each citizen's abilities and needs. Their slogan is, "Workers of the world unite!" a phrase we see painted on banners and signs in protests across America, more and more.

Communism does not value private property. Karl Marx, said: "You reproach us with planning to do away with your property. Precisely; that is just what we propose." And in the Communist Manifesto we find: "Point 1: Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes." Marx bottom-lined it with, “The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property."

Both socialism and communism are anti-Capitalism. In their Communist Manifesto Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels outlined the goals of Marxism, which is a vision of "a future society free from class antagonism, which will purportedly be brought about by the establishment of communism and the demise of oppressive capitalism." Thus, the end goal of Marxism is a future one-world communist, capitalistic-free, utopian state.

Capitalism is an economic system based on the free exchange of goods and services, without fraud, theft and breech of contract; it is a free market economy.

Karl Marx also said, “Democracy is the road to socialism.” That's why it's important for all of us to understand the difference between a democracy and a republic, which our kids are not being taught well in school. America is a Republic, ie "...and to the Republic, for which it stands...one nation under God..."

Which brings me to one last thing on Marx...his idea about God. He said much on the subject including, "Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand.” "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." And for our topic, probably most important, "My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism."

Believe it or not, the historical goal of 'social justice' comes out of the Marxist worldview. That's not to say churches that are using the phrase today for social action are following Marx, but then again, some are. A quick research on the subject will reveal the Marxist 'liberation theology' roots. Frankly, this is why we call our radio show "Changing Worldviews," because worldviews change with each generation, and often those worldviews are just old views repackaged.

If you are interested in more on this subject, I recommend my interview with Dr. Jay Richards of the Discovery Institute, on his book, "Money, Greed & God," where he expands the issue to include Christian compassion vs. government redistribution. You can listen to it in our archives online either on Spreaker or Oneplace; just go to our website www.changingworldviews.com and follow the links.

It's way past the time to prevent the move towards socialism of young Americans; it's time to stop it. How? Not with arguments, but with the truth.