Archive for Myths and Misconceptions
Denmark Is No Proof that Socialism Is Good
Posted by: | CommentsThere seems to be a new (perhaps a recycled) argument about the greatness of socialism circulating around these days. I’m not sure what brought it forth, but I suspect it all started recently after Oprah did a profile of the country of Denmark. Denmark, as you may know, is a country with quite a lot of social programs. And so the argument goes: Denmark has a lot of socialism and is a successful country, therefore socialism is good. There are two main problems with this argument: 1. Is socialism... Read More→
Misconception: Police, Fire, Road Construction, Etc. Are Proof that Socialism Is Great
Posted by: | CommentsThis is the most common type of argument I get, and I’ve seen it take the following forms: Government Service X works, and that’s socialism, therefore socialism works/is great. You wouldn’t want to not have Government Service X? No you wouldn’t! And Government Service X is socialist, therefore, you can’t say you don’t want socialism. Where in the above, Government Service X is one or more basic safety, infrastructure, or a limited government service, such as... Read More→
The Iraq war is a very common fixation among socialists so here goes: Regardless of whether letting a brutal dictator, who was actively shooting at US Air Force planes (there to prevent a genocide), paying money for suicide bombers, violating UN resolutions, preventing UN inspectors form doing their job, and has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the past, get away scot-free is a good idea or not (and it’s okay which ever way you think here because any war has a cost)… The war... Read More→
Myth: The Middle Class Is Stagnating Under the Evil Capitalist System
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the biggest myths the socialist liberals love to perpetuate is that only the rich benefit during periods of low taxation and economic growth such as under president Reagan in 1982-1988. They say that the standard of living of the middle class is falling. But nothing could be further from the truth. A favorite liberal tactic is to ignore the economic cycle and compare times of recession to an economic pique of the past. This chart from a 1997 Heritage Foundation article illustrates this... Read More→
Misconception: The Poor Are Voting Against Their Own Self Interest By Voting Republican
Posted by: | CommentsSome poor communities, especially in the South, tend to vote largely for Republicans. This brings liberals to allege that many of the poor are swindled by the Republicans to vote against their own economic self interest. This would be true if the socialist policies of the Democrats actually overall benefited the poor. But nothing could be further from the truth. Assuming one is poor enough to receive welfare and government assistance, and “stuck” living life this way forever, one would... Read More→
There is a concentrated effort by left-wing zealots to brand Republicans (and other conservative movements) as racists. This problem has been compounded recently by the election of Barack Obama, since now it’s all too easy to claim that opposition to Barack Obama is due to racism. (And it can’t be due to any of the other multitude of philosophical, political, and personal points of contention one may have with Barack Obama, not the least of which are that he is a liberal Democrat who... Read More→
Misconception: Free Market Capitalism is About Greed
Posted by: | CommentsThe previous post made me think some more about what it means to be greedy and how the terms is used and misused. My Mac’s dictionary defines the term “greedy” as greedy having or showing an intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth or power : greedy thieves who plundered a defense contractor. I propose that the key word here is selfish. If you want to possess something and you’re selfish about it, then you’re greedy. All right, let’s look at what... Read More→
