"We are afraid to sing, say, wear or think what we want. .....There is no love story, there is no Romeo and Juliet. Every story was propaganda to brain wash us about the Kim's dictators.....When I was 4 yeas old, I was ordered by my mother to not even whisper because the birds and mice could hear me. I thought the dictator could read my mind......" - Yeonmi Park.
This is a story of Yeonmi Park, a girl who had escaped from the brutal regime of Communist North Korea. It was a story of misery and human rights abuse at best. It is a heart wrenching story which depicts the brutality of Communism; But, how did it happen?
Some people believe that it started with Socialism which is a precursor to Communism.
What is Socialism? Socialism is when a population COLLECTIVELY owned and CONTROLS the means of production and DISTRIBUTES the end result "equally". Socialism means, or often used, to describe the ideals of Social Justice, Greater Equality, and Security. These are powerful slogans effectively used by those who are championing the rejection of private profits, labor alienation, inequalities of wealth, and discrimination based on race and sex.
"The idea of Socialism is at once grandiose and simple... We may say, in fact, that it is one of the most ambitious creations of human spirit,... so magnificent, so daring, that it has rightly aroused the greatest admiration", said Ludwig von Mises.
The fighting and striving for these noble values could understandably cause one, not only to feel good, but also to feel humanly and intellectually superior than others; Hence, a powerful and addictive concept, especially to those, the more idealist younger generation or millennial.
If it's so noble, why would socialism have the possibility to develop into totalitarianism such as in North Korea?
We all know that Society consist of individuals with a myriad of different needs, different wants and different aspirations. In order to achieve those noble ideals of Socialism, not only one needs a Plan, but also a Mechanism or System with Power that, amid those differences, controls the desired outcome. Aristotle believed that "order among men could extend only so far as the voice of a herald could reach, and that a state numbering a hundred thousand people was thus impossible." Therefore, a centralized economic plan and governance with iron hand would be necessary to realize the given socialistic distributive deals. "Central Economic Planning and Control lies in the heart of Socialism", said F.A Hayek in his book, The Fatal Conceit.
In order for it be effective, Power is required; And, when it becomes centralized and too big, it would ultimately lead, or at least create a slippery slope, to Totalitarianism, which we find in either Fascism or Communism. The propensity of Socialist ideas moving toward Totalitarianism has been interestingly analyzed and discussed by an Austrian Economist and Philosopher, Frederick A,Hayek, a Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics in 1974. His books worth to read are: "The Road To Serfdom" and "The Fatal Conceit - The Errors Of Socialism".
Based on his analysis, Centralized Socialism could lead to Totalitarianism and Communism which would cause all kind of human misery as we see happening now in North Korea. We saw this misery in the form of physical and mental abuse as well as economic failures. It happened in North Korea, old North Vietnam, Cambodia under Khmer Rouge, former Soviet Union, former Red China, Cuba, Venezuela and Eastern European countries. This appears to validate the argument that Communism didn't work, has failed, and will always fail. Therefore, the question would be: why should we go for Socialism if it leads to a totalitarian system, such as Communism? This is something worth to ponder and to be viewed with care.
Is Mr. Sanders correct in this matter? For further information about the other types of Socialism, please click the following link and read my next article which is titled "Democratic Socialism and It's Challenges"
This is a story of Yeonmi Park, a girl who had escaped from the brutal regime of Communist North Korea. It was a story of misery and human rights abuse at best. It is a heart wrenching story which depicts the brutality of Communism; But, how did it happen?
Some people believe that it started with Socialism which is a precursor to Communism.
What is Socialism? Socialism is when a population COLLECTIVELY owned and CONTROLS the means of production and DISTRIBUTES the end result "equally". Socialism means, or often used, to describe the ideals of Social Justice, Greater Equality, and Security. These are powerful slogans effectively used by those who are championing the rejection of private profits, labor alienation, inequalities of wealth, and discrimination based on race and sex.
"The idea of Socialism is at once grandiose and simple... We may say, in fact, that it is one of the most ambitious creations of human spirit,... so magnificent, so daring, that it has rightly aroused the greatest admiration", said Ludwig von Mises.
The fighting and striving for these noble values could understandably cause one, not only to feel good, but also to feel humanly and intellectually superior than others; Hence, a powerful and addictive concept, especially to those, the more idealist younger generation or millennial.
If it's so noble, why would socialism have the possibility to develop into totalitarianism such as in North Korea?
We all know that Society consist of individuals with a myriad of different needs, different wants and different aspirations. In order to achieve those noble ideals of Socialism, not only one needs a Plan, but also a Mechanism or System with Power that, amid those differences, controls the desired outcome. Aristotle believed that "order among men could extend only so far as the voice of a herald could reach, and that a state numbering a hundred thousand people was thus impossible." Therefore, a centralized economic plan and governance with iron hand would be necessary to realize the given socialistic distributive deals. "Central Economic Planning and Control lies in the heart of Socialism", said F.A Hayek in his book, The Fatal Conceit.
In order for it be effective, Power is required; And, when it becomes centralized and too big, it would ultimately lead, or at least create a slippery slope, to Totalitarianism, which we find in either Fascism or Communism. The propensity of Socialist ideas moving toward Totalitarianism has been interestingly analyzed and discussed by an Austrian Economist and Philosopher, Frederick A,Hayek, a Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics in 1974. His books worth to read are: "The Road To Serfdom" and "The Fatal Conceit - The Errors Of Socialism".
Based on his analysis, Centralized Socialism could lead to Totalitarianism and Communism which would cause all kind of human misery as we see happening now in North Korea. We saw this misery in the form of physical and mental abuse as well as economic failures. It happened in North Korea, old North Vietnam, Cambodia under Khmer Rouge, former Soviet Union, former Red China, Cuba, Venezuela and Eastern European countries. This appears to validate the argument that Communism didn't work, has failed, and will always fail. Therefore, the question would be: why should we go for Socialism if it leads to a totalitarian system, such as Communism? This is something worth to ponder and to be viewed with care.
Apparently, there
are several type and level of Socialism; one of which is known and called
"Democratic Socialism", which was recently brought to the forefront of
the political debate by a Democratic US Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders.
Mr. Sanders cited the Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark, Finland, Sweden,
as the successful models of Democratic Socialism. This is the type of Socialism
that does not have the totalitarianism effect as discussed above and therefore, is a much better system than Capitalism, according to Mr.Sanders.
Is Mr. Sanders correct in this matter? For further information about the other types of Socialism, please click the following link and read my next article which is titled "Democratic Socialism and It's Challenges"
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