The Socialist Delusion

Simple and truthful. This is what is referred to as a FACT. And the "the fact is" human nature will always trump the Socialist Utopian Dream.

People are greedy and selfish by nature, and will do whatever they can to rip each other off to satisfy their needs and/or protect those things they desire from others who may desire them. This is true of the Donald Trumps of the world and the Joe Averages too; the guys who make billions or the guys who are just getting by.

Few people, if any, will voluntarily work for the perceived good of his neighbor, no matter what the current social fad is. Likewise few will also go out of their way to harm their neighbor. Those that do seek to harm them will face, or should face, justice for their crime, including the crime of taking what is not theirs (except, it seems, for the state, which imposes taxes to accomplish that end).

Human nature, however, also encourages people to STRIVE to better ourselves. That usually involves hard work, education, and/or making short term sacrifices for the hope of longer-term gains. It may even involve some financial risk, or an investment of time risk too, whether in developing a new idea for the web or building a conventional business like a restaurant or retail store, with no guarantees of success.

It is the same thing with raising children or planting a field. Your equity is often the work you put into whatever venture you wish to pursue. That effort may pay off in financial and other rewards, or it may fail utterly. But if it is successful, does that mean you are entitled, or obligated, to forego any of the fruits of your labour because someone, who neither took or shared in your risks, or put in your efforts, is not successful?

The is the crux of the tension between the Capitalist and the Socialist. The Capitalist might be a greedy bastard, but so is the average non-capitalist working at a McJob. The Capitalist, in truth, might, if opportunity arises, stomp on "the little guy" much as the Socialist state stomps on everyone, except without the threat of arresting and shooting you for a 'thought crime.'  But how can anyone say that "the little guy" might not take his opportunity to stomp on his "fellow little guy" if the opportunity does not arise?

As someone told me, while I was considering my career options, 'you have to look out for number one.' It's a selfish statement but it is also a fundamental truth; looking out for one's own best interests, apart from those of others whom you neither know or whom you suspect are more that willing to take advantage of you if given the same opportunity too, is how we operate, whether you want to believe it or not.

This, again, is human nature and you cannot simply revoke or outlaw it. The Communists and Socialists, from the time of Lenin, tried and failed, despite years of tyranny, murder and oppression in the regimes in which they held sway. They failed so completely, in fact, that the 'fatherland' of Socialism, the former Soviet Union, disappeared as a state, while ostensibly still-Communist China is now the second largest consumer and capitalist market in the world (second only, and catching up fast to, the USA!).

Now Christians know that the nature of man is sinful and selfish. Christians also know that sharing and caring is superior to selfishness, as the example of Jesus Christ shows. It is why much of the good, and selfless people of the world, ARE Christians or identify with them. These are the ones who have peacefully set up and run charities and homes for the poor, along with medical centers and other facilities that care for the disadvantaged. Their motivations, when seeking to emulate Christ, thus run COUNTER to human nature and, some would argue, run counter to Capitalism too.

That, however, is a mistake. Jesus Christ, who as well as being God incarnate, and the prime example of selflessness, never actually condemned the rich. Instead He encouraged all people, rich or poor, to set their sights to something higher, to the Kingdom of God itself. 

As the Bible teaches, Jesus wanted us all, regardless of our station in life, to seek and desire the things of eternity which 'moth nor rust' can destroy, rather than the shallow and carnal things of the earth, which bring no use or utility after their death. Indeed, the book of Ecclesiastes, which most of attribute to wise King Solomon, is full of examples of how utterly meaningless (a constant theme) life is and the pursuit of that which does not last.

Solomon points out that all the wealth a man amasses in his life is useless since he dies and those who did not strive for it will inherit it by default. He believed that the better life is to seek God and His will, rather than the shallow gain of money or physical prosperity alone, which Jesus Christ affirmed.But that does not mean we must seek some kind of Socialist, communal existence, as was the fad in the 1960’s?

Being "selfless," however, does not make one a Socialist any more than being poor means you were screwed over by the rich (a.k.a  the “1%”) that seem to have it their way; thus requiring a way to  balance that ‘unfairness’ through an oppressive state structure which makes everyone ‘equal.’ That, as both China and the former Soviet Union found out, is impossible.

These nations tried, by some of the cruelest methods of torture, terror and suffering man has ever inflicted upon another man, to change human nature. But they failed because sinful human beings cannot be changed by other sinful human beings; only God can do that! And the irony is, Communists and Socialist either outlawed God (Karl Marx said "religion is the opium of the masses"), or tried to discredit Him, believing that "faith" in the supernatural was stifling to human development and the progress of the state.

To the Socialists and the Communists, the state, therefore, became as God. To them it was the final arbiter of ‘fairness’ and justice for all people living under it. But being run by flawed, sinful people it was no less corrupt and no less unfair than what it vowed to replace. It also killed initiative and punished success, thereby hindering development, growth, and prosperity for all people; people that would have found work and became motivated to become even more successful otherwise and as has been demonstrated since the end of Communism in the former East Bloc.

So, in their desire to rid the world of unfairness, the Socialists created a new system of unfairness and oppression, and a class of people just as corrupt (if not more so) than those they wanted to get rid of (the capitalists).  It, moreover, they introduced the idea of deliberate state coercion and terror upon all people "for their own good!"
United States President, Ronald Reagan once said, “The Marxist vision of man without God must eventually be seen as an empty and false faith – the second oldest in the world – first proclaimed in the Garden of Eden with the whispered words of temptation, ‘ye shall be as gods.’ Someone else, writing in the same vein, that "it is better to be subject to the 'greed' or 'avarice' of a man than to be subject to those who want to help you ‘for your own good.' The reason being is that the greed or avarice of a man may be satiated for a time, but you can never satisfy the desire of those who believe they are acting 'for your own good,'" as many people, living under Liberal and Socialist regimes (with their stifling political correctness) have or are finding out.

This is the essence of Socialism pure and simple, and why it must be avoided at all costs. This is not because it is a valid counter to greed of the Capitalist but because it is a malformed Utopian Vision of human nature that is at odds with human nature, and God's desire to change it too.

By striving to help people ‘for their own good’ the Socialist believes that they are acting from superior motives, thus making all their actions superior too. As the new "Socialist Man" they believe that that makes them, in effect, a new breed of creature, one long longer subject to the sinful, greedy natures which afflicts the common people whose 'good' they claim to be working for. 

This arrogance is only compounded by their ignorance. Akin to self-delusion, or self-righteousness, the "Socialist Man" fails to understand that they are still a man, and not a god (as President Reagan explained), and thus still subject to the same nature as anyone else, which includes greed, avarice and all the other selfish motives which they blame for the 'failure' of Capitalism. In practice, therefore, Socialism subjects man to man in far more serious ways than Capitalism; the former ideology because it requires a powerful and meddling state to ensure compliance with those who might not be as committed to the goals of the Socialist Utopian vision, the latter because the Capitalist wants to exploit you without state interference.

Jesus, however, said we should not concern ourselves with any of that. He said that those who follow God should not worry about food or clothing, or those things which we need to live on this world, as they will be provided by the Lord in Heaven. As it is written, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (Psalm 37:25). Jesus Himself said "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:31-33)

Envy, covetousness, a desire to take from someone what you did not deserve or earn, stealing, lying...all these and many other qualities, run counter to the Christian nature. But so does slacking and expecting others to feed you (Proverbs 13:4). All these negative characteristics of the human nature God will, one day, abolish in the Christian by His Holy Spirit; not by oppression, or the tyranny of man, but by the changing our hearts and renewing our minds.

The Lord will, and does slowly but certainly, work to replace human nature, our carnal desires, our envy, greed, covetousness, and all manner of sin, with genuine love and compassion for all. As such it does not require a ‘state’ but a good heart and a conscience that both strives to succeed and a selflessness that cares for those around them.

Christianity thus transcends all economic and political systems. It is not a Utopian or exploitative process but a gradual, powerful, unending life change that begins at the moment of rebirth and salvation. Through His Holy Spirit, the Lord encourages hard work, freedom, charity, and kindness for all people, whether they be Christians or not, regardless of background, skin colour, or political view. It is thus the very fair and just because it is the not forced, and founded not on the idea of 'looking out for number one' but on making God and His righteousness your 'number one' and yourself 'number zero.' It  takes what gifts and blessings we have as Christians and uses them to serve others, but does not "punish" success  and hard work, the way Socialism does, or enabling laziness and slacking either.

If we could adopt this as our ‘system,’ we could do away with the wild notions Socialist Utopianism that Karl Marx gave us in the mid-1800's. We would do away with the extreme greed and avarice of the rich, and the tyranny of those wanting to help us for our own good too. It would, in short, usher in an era of perfect liberty for all people.

I believe it is possible but it cannot be done at the point of a gun, propaganda, political correctness, or the oppression of the state in any form. It can be done by a revolution, not one of guns and violence but of the heart.

By opening the door to God again, by striving within ourselves to overthrow all manner of greed, selfishness, covetousness and arrogance in our own hearts through a conscious effort to follow and emulate the example of Jesus Christ, we can establish a society based on genuinely good laws, laws which acknowledge the existence, and primacy of God and the Bible, and emphasize maximum liberty (even liberty to peacefully disagree).

By bringing God back into schools, by openly espousing Christian values, such as hard work, charity, success in business, and other endeavors,  by rebuking sin with fair laws and punishments (as opposed to the tyranny of a human-based state, politically-correct or paranoid state run by Liberal and  Socialist Utopians), and by following the example of the perfect man, Jesus Christ, society can yet change for the better.

The only question is, do we have the courage for such a radical idea? Many don't. Many still want to carry on, selfishly 'looking out for number one', whether that 'number one' is the Capitalist or Socialist vision.

But neither vision is correct. Neither one brings peace, fairness, or success in the long term or the eternal term, because they do not change the heart of man. Only God can do that and only God will.

I pray that we give Him that chance, for our sake, the sake of our children and our societies, and the sake of our own souls too. As the Prophet Joel said, "Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." (Joel 2: 12-13)