If you want to see modern-day socialism in action, look no further than to the other side of the pond at not-so-jolly old England. The story of Britain’s decline is a warning signal to those here in the States who are thrilled by the warm embrace of socialism.
Right now, the Brits are having the same debate about the merits of socialism as we are in our major cities and blue states. In England, the foppish Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party is out. But instead of turning to the right, it appears the UK will swerve further to the collective ownership of the left. Andy Burnham — the former socialist mayor of Manchester (Britain’s Zohran Mamdani) — is next in line. God save the queen.
As Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal reports, “Burnham’s socialism is the real deal. He wants the state to control more of the means of production. … (H)e advocates public ownership of water, housing, energy, and transportation.” Burnham calls it “business-friendly socialism.”
Sure. That will make the trains run on time.
What short memories. After World War II, the Brits experimented with creeping socialism for more than three decades. The Labour Party handed over to public bureaucrats and unions the means of production: the Bank of England, the coal mines, the airlines, iron, steel, and phone service, to name a few. Prices soared, nothing worked, unemployment lines lengthened, and the Brits got a lot poorer.
Britain’s share of world output fell by half, from more than 10% to less than 5%. About the only thing Britain had going for it was four lads from Liverpool called the Beatles, who singlehandedly brought deep pride back and caused a mini-stimulus. But in the 1970s, the downturn worsened.
We interrupt this story with the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. She saved the kingdom by slashing taxes and privatizing everything she could get her hands on. It was the precursor to Reaganomics.
That didn’t last long. Now it’s Thatcherism in reverse — just as the left in America wants to reverse the Reagan and Trump legacies of deregulation, lower taxes and sound money.
What seems to be driving this leap toward “democratic socialism” on both sides of the Atlantic is a middle-class fury over inflation. The idea of free food, housing, child care and health care is alluring.
But prices have risen not because of a failure of capitalism. It was mostly caused by massive money printing, widespread shutdowns of private industry, retail businesses and schools, and stay-at-home orders during COVID-19. The government became the provider, and the leap forward in state expenditures was never entirely extinguished.
In both the U.S. and in England, the “affordability crisis” is mostly in government-owned, government-operated, or heavily regulated businesses. In the U.S., that’s health care, education, and college tuition. In Britain, it’s those industries plus energy, housing, and child care.
There is an infestation of socialism in Britain that has sucked the dynamic and wealth-producing spirit out of the UK. We need a socialism vaccine in America.
Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children.
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The term “Democratic Socialism” is the best definition of putting lipstick on a pig.
Socialism = national suicide! We can thank (?) academia in the poisoned Ivies and their peers + the two major teachers unions for “indoctrinating” K-12 students to think this “ism” beats a capitalist economy. The nation is now suffering from this academic perversion!
Besides Great Britain, one can include most of Europe in this socialist category. Poland and Italy may be the few that have exited but are not out of the woods yet. The effects of Socialism have been around for quite some time in Europe and has been transferred to the USA slowly. Socialist say that they can do better with the USA than Europe, but the consequences will still be the same.
Those that don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Socialism/communism fails to raise folks up to the highest standards but rather results in the fall of standards to their lowest because it encourages mediocracy not exceptionalism, collectivism over individual growth and effort.
What is needed is education! The evils and dangers of socialism/communism/Marxism used to be taught in schools. No longer. The teachers’ union for the most part is all in on those economic strategies. Not only are the teachers not teaching against those economic theories, but they are advocating for them against capitalism. I would like one so called educator to show me even one example of a society that was enhanced by electing to become socialist? Plus, they obviously do not know American history as socialism was already tried in this country, TWICE! And, like everywhere else in the world, it failed miserably. Jamestown, VA fell apart and people died, others starved. In Plymouth, MA, with resources expected to be shared, no one wanted to work but they expected to get something. The colony was essentially saved by implementation of private property rights; thereby permitting people benefiting from the work of their own labor.
Sadly, another reason these stupid ideas are even out in the public space is due to the decline in religion over the last several decades. It used to be that people would not be envious of what others had due to Biblical values. Additionally, people would work very, very hard to provide for themselves! Most would be far too proud to take ANY type of charity; they would make do with what they had, not take from others.
So many people want our medical system set up like Britain’s one payer socialist system. They average person has no expense for medical care. The main problem with their system is that emergency care is first come, first served. It doesn’t matter if you are having a heart attack, or some other more serious event, if the person with something less life threatening came in first, they get attended first. Some people I know who come from England, told me that their Dad went to emergency in England with a heart attack. They put the Dad in a hallway on a gurney to wait his turn. He died while waiting, and that is just the way it is in Britain. The people I met said that our medical system is far better in medical emergency priority attention.
So many aspects of socialism that some people think are superior, are definitely not. Trump is right, socialism is the biggest threat to our country. The socialists have been working at their plans for a long time.
Demonrats love tyranny. It’s why they’ve devalued the currency by 215% since they created the Federal Reserve. And they’re going to keep on doing it since there’s nothing to stop them. Most people have no idea how inflation works. Prices increase because the money has less value. You’re being taxed by a government agency. Remember, “taxation without representation is tyranny.” That’s what the Federal Reserve is. Nobody voted fo any of the members of the Fed, but they’re the largest taxing agency in the country.
There is no such thing as Democratic socialism, that is plainly put, on oxymoron! These two ideals cannot exist in the same space because they are counterintuitive, they they are the exact opposite of eachother. This is precisely why t he dumbing down if our students and potential voters is so essential to the left.
The chains of communal living are being unrolled and distributed about the nation coming to a community near everyone. Organization and vocalization in opposition to this dread virus is the only solution. Don’t wait. Resume the resistance against the activists of The Sixties still present and influencing society, the education industry, government and all workplaces. It’s almost like running away, looking back, from the dust and debris of the falling towers on 9/11. Escape is necessary but not certain.
Just goes to show how utterly ridiculous our “no kings” rallies are in the US.
The Irony here, is the very Hippie class that preached to us, anti government, anti wealth, anti war, are the very people, running government, pushing government takeover, accumulating huge wealth and constantly burying our citizens by promoting endless wars, you know, things they accuse the right of!
The Democratic Party and their allies are too stupid to learn, they must be dealt with!
”Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery,” Winston Churchill
Wanna see what ‘Murica will look like in 20 or 30 years? Maybe LESS?! Stare across the pond at Great Britain, and stand by…..’cause it is comin’!
The academics are behind the push toward socialism. They have done their best to erase history so most people have no idea what a failed ideology socialism is. It has never worked and never will, it has the failure of society written into it.
There are Moslems and there are non Moslems, who will give? There only can be one to rule,to talk and think about coalition dream on. it won’t be pretty, I think we all know who it will be, the loudest, aggressive, not hesitant to kill if need be ,not a pretty picture, Virginia will discover she’d been lied to by Times.
Oh. And don’t forget another benefit for The U.K. is that the government dictates what you can say and cannot say. Takes all the effort out of actually speaking for yourself.
Dig out the Bible and read up on prophecy. We are heading to the time of a one world government under the control of the anti-christ. Also, a one world religion. With all the technology we now have, it is possible to put a chip in us to control what we do. At some point, we cannot buy or sell without the “mark” of the beast. So, if this is the start, no matter who you elect, it will eventually go that way. All we can do is pray for guidance, and slow it’s progress by at least vote for people who will fight this cancer to the end.
All those words = “It is HORRIBLE!”