Need Help to set liberal friends straight...

n/a ^

[Reelect President Dubya]

How many did communist regimes murder?

[martian_22]

He's got you there. Socialism has worked very well for the rulers who've used it.

Stalin - Soviet Socialism
Hitler - National Socialism
Mao Tse Tung - Marxist Socialism

There's no better way to control the masses than with fear. Today it's being used to spread social and economic injustice to the masses under the guise of a paradise on earth. You know, take what the other guy has and you'll be happy. The gulf between rich(ruling elite) and poor(the rest) only grows under Socialism. Check history for more detailed analysis.

[SoDak]

Tell him/her to read Animal Farm by George Orwell. Some animals are more equal than others.

[Pyro7480]

I'm guessing your name comes from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime saga. Great series. :) I especially like the recent 08th MS Team mini series.

[MrB]

People will simply not work if they will get money/goods regardless

As we can see in the welfare crowd.

The only way to make people work under a socialist system is to force them to work. There is no free and socialist society.

This is preaching to the choir, but:
Give people the choice of "work or go hungry" and they'll find something they can do that's productive.
Let motivated people keep the excess of their labors to improve their own lifestyle, and you'll see productivity beyond imagining.

[Tree of Liberty]

I'd also suggest Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

[dirtboy]

Look up Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage. One of the main reasons why capitalism will always outperform socialism.

The other main problems with socialism:

it promotes equality, but no one wants to be equal.

it discourages performance, as there is little incentive to perform better.

it creates a mandarin class that controls the economy, and these people typically have no understanding of how business works.

[Curly007]

Offer him "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. He prolly won't read it.
Try JUSTICE AND EQUALITY VERSUS FREEDOM1 by Thomas Sowell

[DWSUWF]

If I had a friend (or a family member, for that matter) who believed that socialism is a 'flawless topic' I'd cut them out of my life.

I can't stand a ***damn red.

[Black Agnes]

I can state it simply;

When you reward success, people compete to be successful!

When you reward need, people compete to be needy!

[E=MC²]

If socialism is flawless to your friend, why isn't he packing his bags post haste and emigrating to Cuba?

[goodnesswins]

"When you reward success, people compete to be successful! When you reward need, people compete to be needy!"

VERY GOOD - I like that....it's going in my quote file.

[eleni121]

Have him/her read The Black Book of Communism written by (Heaven's!) several former French Communists.

[Demosthenes]

Better yet, why don't you ask him for proof that it ever HAS worked. It's been tried many times, and failed. His arguement will inevitably devolve into the same core arguement for Communism:

It hasn't worked yet because the right people haven't been in charge.

[Billthedrill]

Your friend will be unable to read it, but for the best categorical refutation of why socialism doesn't work, try

Socialism by Ludwig von Mises

I also liked

The God That Failed by R. Crossman

Not too impressed, really, with people who utter such inanities.

[FormerLib]

Offer to buy him a one way plane ticket to Cuba if he'll promise to live out his days in Fidel's paradise.

[Curly007]

One other thing. Explain to him that ideologies are based on premises. Socialism is based on the false premise that we are all equal. We should have freedom and equal rights. Equal rights give each of us the freedom and the opportunity to excel in any way we please.
Some are physically strong, some are not. Some of us are smart, others not. And so on.
If you accept this premise - which is hard core reality - then the whole basis of socialism is flawed.
That is why socialism/communism simply don't work.

[Britton J Wingfield]

Look at the Cato Institute (www.cato.org) or at PJ O'Rourke's "Eat the Rich" for a very enjoyable and educational look at the subject.

[jla]

http://www.mises.org/efandi.asp

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/2000/june/why_socialism_must_fail.htm