Even in its more dispersed modern forms, socialist central planning is fairly easy to spot, because it has an easily identifiable signature: failure.
How about 2000+ page laws? Why not propose a Constitutional Amendment that no law can exceed ten pages? Then legislatures will have to repeal laws that are too many to count.
Not surprisingly, our schools, our health-care system, and our mortgage market are the three most prominent failures of major institutions in recent memory.
Can you beat that?
P.S. Forgive the ads and any errors. I just copied the source code.
Socialism is about to get marched into the sea at the point of a bayonet.
Our brand of socialism is the National Socialism model.
Now that excites me to no end.
Back???? Back????? When was it ever gone???? Certainly not under Lyndon Baines Bush. Socialism has been around for 70 years and simply keeps advancing.
Thanks for posting this. Kevin Williamson - a new name to me.
So much covered so well.
Reference: Blackstone's Commentaries, “View of the Constitution of the United States,” Section 1 - Nature of U.S. Constitution; manner of its adoption as annotated by St. George Tucker, William Young Birch and Abraham Small, c1803, on the nature of a “compact”:
“It is a compact; by which it is distinguished from a charter, or grant; which is either the act of a superior to an inferior; or is founded upon some consideration moving from one of the parties, to the other, and operates as an exchange, or sale: but here the contracting parties, whether considered as states, in their politic capacity and character; or as individuals, are all equal; nor is there any thing granted from one to another: but each stipulates to part with, and to receive the same thing, precisely, without any distinction or difference in favor of any of the parties.....”
This is supported by the system of common law, which assumes various retained rights of Englishmen, presumes innocence, uses a jury and a legal adversary approach. The law is built on precedent which incorporated basic assumptions about individual rights. The Bill of Rights and the 10th Amendment allude to the existence of retained rights/liberties of the people not delegated to government control. This is reflected in the compact - that not all is surrendered. The system is supposed to rigorously protect individual rights from the whole, as long as the action of one does not substantially injure the health, safety and property of another or the general public. The government structure, power and authority is intentionally fragmented to further protect individual rights.
Socialism is based on the idea of the social contract. The individual surrenders his natural sovereignty to the control of civil society in exchange for superior protection of his health, safety and property than he would have as an individual. France has a civil law system, which emphasizes the rights of the State over the individual. For instance in a criminal case, the accused is considered guilty until proven innocent. The law is built on codes. The government is hierarchical and democratic (majority rules.)
These two illustrations point to the basic difference between the two and is a reason why the new European environmental movements imported into the US emphasizing the communal good, social justice, environmental justice and equity are so fundamentally adverse to our system of government and individual liberty.
BTTT
Back? When did it leave? We’ve had it since the 30’s.
Socialism is just one variant of collectivism. All collectivist movements are the enemies of the individual. No matter what you call it they all threaten individual freedom and liberty.
I'm glad that somebody gets it. So many unthinking conservatives have been bandying the word 'socialism' about for so long that it has lost all meaning and force.
Now that we are facing true socialism of national proportions we have no words to effectively counteract it with.
Thank you Birchers and 50+% of Freepers!
Interesting read. The ads were a bonus.
He is Right about this ,Socialisms Failure Leads to Communism. These People want contro; and they are going to get it ,even it if costs you your life. National Healthcare anyone
Williamson describes a complicated situation, and it's not entirely sure that he knows what he thinks about it himself.
If socialism in the form of public schools has been around for almost 400 years, it probably isn't going away anytime soon. I'm no fan of the public school system, but there is no perfect fix out there.
Patrick Allitt, the British-born professor mentioned in the article is about as conservative as you get among history professors in major colleges. At least, he's written for NRO himself.
If Williamson criticizes him it's probably because Allitt recognizes that you'll never get perfection in this world -- never get a pure capitalism with no interference from government, at least not for very long.
Things will always be mixed together in the real world -- states and markets, democracy and capitalism. One without the other would only be worse. I don't know if Williamson realizes that himself.