Myth: Socialism trusts government too much.

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Note: This video is part of a series which debunks myths pertinent to laissez-faire capitalism. Many points not addressed in this video can be found at the above link.

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George Washington once observed that government, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearsome master. It is unlikely, however, that Washington meant by this that we should stop using government, any more than he would have advocated for an end to the use of fire.

One fundamental problem with which societies often grapple is how to prevent powerful people from exerting oppressive influences over those who have less power. Given that individuals and institutions with power tend to abuse it, if society contains powerful institutions, there is little or nothing to prevent them from using that power to exploit others. Society might be more equitable if all power were shared equally. However, the most simplistic application of this idea is not really feasible, because if no one has an appreciable amount of power, there is nothing to prevent some individuals from gaining disproportionate amounts of it and using it abusively.

If we have any interest in equality and freedom for more people than just an elite, we need to hold everyone accountable to a standard of fairness. The only way to do this appears to be by using some form of collective action. The people can hold powerful individuals and institutions accountable through some system of collective action, and that system itself can then be held accountable using a transparent system of oversight, checks, and balances.

Socialists tend to trust government more than private organizations in principle because of the possibility of holding government accountable, something we can't do to corporations or individuals — unless we use government.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• capitalism
• charity
• compassion
• conservative
• economics
• empathy
• happiness
• libertarian
• reason
• religion
• republican
• socialism

[FreeEcon]

The flaw here lies in your misguided belief that governments are accountable, particularly to the people they harm. The other flaw is that you think power, that is, the power one individual can exert over another through violence or threat thereof, is a necessary aspect of society. Both are false

[lordhighexecutioner]

@kbr7171 That is dogmatic thinking. That is, you say you accept that there are better ways to run society, but you choose to reject those ways in the name of some holy writ in which you believe. People are suffering more, but that's good because it's in the name of a purer order.

[lomocan]

Power, wealth, etc will never be shared in egalitarian manner because Nature is NOT egalitarian since only a few are unltra-smart others aren't (comparatively), only a few have a specific skill others don't & so on & so forth so those few whose talents are MORE valuable than others will always make more money or gain more power, etc so the best system is the one where one is allowed to maximize one's own potential AS LONG AS one doesn't encroach on others' right to do the same = libertarianism

[LeftistPilot]

@ineptsegue Thanks, its time people wake up and realize there's an alternative to capitalism.

[LeftistPilot]

Hey, why don't you tell us socialism is when the workers control the means of production democratically.

[Beingism]

I'm asking (advocating) for nothing more or less than a culture (including a government) that will do what is effective to create a society full of people likely to be able to meet their needs and be happy.

[kbr7171]

I agree. But you are making it the governments job by asking them to "more evenly distribute wealth". The only way they can do that is thru taxation. The one makes the higher the tax rate. And, ultimately, the government doesn't "distribute" that wealth, they create programs. I would actually have less of a problem if the government just gave people below a certain income level a check rather than create a program. At least then that person could have a choice as to what they do with that money.

[Beingism]

No one said that it's the job of the government to create happiness. Obviously, however, given the choice between creating culture A (where happiness is more likely) and culture B (where it is less likely), any rational person would chose the former.

[Technate1]

Mao, Stalin, and Castro were all COMMUNIST. Read a book.

[kbr7171]

"In any case, it's the countries with the more evenly distributed wealth—the socialized ones—that have the happiest populations." - It is not the job of the government to create happiness. The government's job is to protect your life and liberty for you, the individual, to pursue happiness. For some happiness is wealth & "things", for others it's little other than friends & family. It's telling that one would equat wealth distribution with happiness. If you want wealth, go get it.