I write this essay because I and my family have experienced “Socialism” of various flavors personally over the years and know up close and personal what that means. My parents were almost executed by Joseph Stalin. My Grandmother spent a decade in Siberian Gulags for the crime of being my father’s mother. I was born in Nazi Germany with a swastika on my birth certificate to prove it. My parents had to carry an ID that proved “Racial Purity”. I can tell you what Socialism and Communism are from my family’s experience with both, and it is not what Harvard, Yale, and Zohran Mamdani say it is, and it is not pretty.
Karl Marx came up with a new theory: “From each according to his/her ability to each according to their need.” That is the core principle of Communism and Socialism, which was published in 1867 in his book Das Kapital. According to Marx we need to share our earnings for the greater good of society. Those of us who earn more should share it with those who do not earn as much. The theory is that when the means of production are controlled by the public (or their representative, such as a central committee), this will create a society that has no classes, where everyone is equal to everyone else. Private property and money disappear along with classes, the rich and the poor.
Marx used the term “Communism” and “Socialism” interchangeably. But modern political theory sees Socialism as a transitional phase where the state or public controls major industry, but money and limited private property still exist. However, the essentials for existence are free, such as food, education, health care, housing etc. Hitler’s hybrid version, Nationalsozialismus (Nazi), was not a complete takeover but a cooperation between government and the major industries, Siemens, IG Farben, Krupp/Thyssen, Porsche, Messerschmitt AG (which lives on as Airbus), Kodak, Mercedes, BMW, etc. as long as big business went along with Hitler’s dictates, especially in dealing with Jews; Hitler allowed them to have a certain amount of control. Nevertheless, it was big business that funded Hitler’s conduct of the war and the grandiose buildup of the Third Reich.
It is interesting that Karl Marx or Friedrich Engels never held down a regular job; they both lived off their parents, who supported them. Marx’s father was a lawyer with a good job, and he earned additional income as a landowner with vineyards along the Mosel River in Germany, which added to their income from wine production. The Engel’s owned a lucrative textile company in Manchester, England. Friedrich frequently surreptitiously dipped into that source of capital (embezzled) with which he often helped Karl.
Shortly after the Russian Revolution, an Austrian economist, Ludwig von Mises, predicted that Communism/ Socialism would fail. He pointed out that in Communism, the means of production are owned and controlled by government planners. Production is a complicated process; obtaining raw materials, tools, and machines requires planners to consider relative urgencies and priorities. Knowing what the public wants and needs is another complex issue. In Capitalism, the market is how that knowledge is acquired automatically. Producing products without market prices, the planners cannot coordinate and channel production to satisfy the needs of consumers. That is why Communism fails. As Mises wrote in 1920, “Every step that takes us away from private ownership of the means of production and from the use of money also takes us away from rational economics.”
Additionally, humans are a competitive breed. We see this in almost every human activity. We give prizes and awards to the best, the fastest, the smartest, and the hardest working. They get trophies, more money, a better house, or car. You see, this is how schools work: the more competitive the A’s, the more likely they are to be Valedictorians. In sports, it is the high scorers who win the games. If these rewards are removed, the workforce becomes complacent. Why should I work harder, faster, or more efficiently if I get the same as a worker who does not?
There are people who are unable to compete because of physical disabilities or mental constraints. As a civilized society, there must be a public safety net to help those people, but it must be for justified conditions. It cannot be because they just don’t want to work. Capitalism must consider those who cannot support themselves. But it cannot hand out rewards for just being present. It is true that Communism makes everyone equal, equally miserable! Communism has failed whenever and wherever it has been tried. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the best and most dramatic example to date. But there are others, Cuba, China, Laos, Venezuela, North Korea, Albania, Cambodia, and others. How many failed countries does it take to convince Homo sapiens that Communism/Socialism/National Socialism does not work regardless of complete or partial control of the means of production?