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Thoughts on Stalin and socialism on this MLK Day?

[socialism-simplified.com]

mykhael 6 Jan 21
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Socialism has two kinds of problems, economic and moral.

The economic problems include the inability to accurately value capital goods without a free market (von Mises 1922) and the inability to utilize widely distributed local information in central planning (von Hayek 1945). In fact advanced societies that are popularly imagined to be socialist, such as the Scandinavian countries, actually have free market capitalist economies combined with high levels of taxation. There really are only two choices, the free market and poverty.

The moral problem of socialism is the necessity of using coercion. Capitalism requires only voluntary exchanges between willing people, but socialism always requires people with guns to enforce government policies. Stalin, who murdered tens of millions of people, was just an extreme example of the coercion socialism always requires. Nikita Krushchev and Robert Conquest were much better informed about Stalin's bloody crimes than gullible celebrities like Du Bois, Wells, and Einstein.

Thanks for your insightful reply. Always ready to add to what I know.

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Stalin communist .....yes. Socialist... no.

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Stalin was NOT a socialist. Communism is far different and on paper looks fine but is always doomed to fall to a dictatal rulership. In many ways quite similar to pure Capitalism. Try examining democratic socialism and it's myriad of successes throughout the world.

Yes, I'm quite aware of the nordic successes and our own (albeit denied). As for maddog below, not sure what got his panties in a wad. I was just throwing the topics out there. Didn't realize there was so much hate here.

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Surprised? I was.

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