Yesterday, William informed me about a socialist meeting that was going on in Sunderland, organized by the Socialist Party. As I am interested in politics, I donned my military jacket, oddly reminiscent of famous socialists- Che Guevara, Uncle Fidel, and Stalin.
We went to the pub were it was held at, upstairs to a small room where about 15 men were gathered, drinking beers, awaiting the guest speaker. Some were socialists, some wanted to be socialists, some just hated capitalism.
The guest speaker finally arrived and began to talk at length about the benefits of Socialism and the faults of Capitalism. When he was done, the moderator asked if anyone had any questions, the room felt silent. I raised the copy of 'The Socialist' in my hand, my question was about the concept of eradicating competition, which means for instance there will be no Audi competing with BMW and Mercedes, it'll just be one car, one socialist car. And due to their emphasis on equality, there would logically be only one model, one type of saloon, one type of station wagon, etc. This has to be as if there is a lot of diversity humans would add unseen value and prestige to certain shapes of cars. Socialists see competition as useless, saying that money spent on advertising (in this case of cars) could be better spent on solving the worlds problems. I stated that by stifling competition or rather, by eradicating it, the strive for innovation will be diminished, one will not be pressured to develop a faster, safer and more efficient car if there is no rival to compare with.
The speaker answered that although there is one car manufacturer there would still be a lot of innovation, this can be extended to the idea of being the smartest person in your room, there is no standard to reach, no one raises the stakes or develops revolutionary technology, all these things can be done with capitalism due to the fact that investors take risks, they take decisions that may not be popular, or may not seem logical, but the results are greatly rewarding.
William then asked about Socialism's stance on religion, the speakers reply seemed to suggest that in the 'Socialist Utopia' there'll be no need for religion.
The speaker was a Socialist Apologist, quick to denounce all governments and statements that were done in the name of Socialism. Karl Marx's qoute of religion as the 'opium of the people' was elaborated on, which just made it even worse, as Marx seemed to say 'Religion was a drug that kept the poor happy, but it was also a safe-haven for sanity', the two ideas seemed conflicting to me.
Another issue I was concerned about was 'entertainment' in a socialist world, there would be one film studio churning out movies, no rivalry between studios to produce better films, or hire better actors.
My defence of capitalism is merely by the fact that all men are not created equal (and by that I'm not refering to some are born to serve) What I mean is that no two men are the same, one is handsomer, one is physically stronger, one is more intelligent...the list goes on. Capitalism, in my opinion, grew out of these natural differences, it is from these differences that the concept of comparative advantage arises. By specializing in different areas, all traders are better off in the end. This then means if you think you can produce a good more effectively you have to show others that they will be better off buying the good from you. Socialism seems to me to be an idea by disadvantaged people to make themselves feel better by 'equalizing everyone' It comes out of a jealousy of the material benefits of diligent hard-work. Now, I'm not blindingly defending capitalism, because it does have it's faults, many in fact, noting especially that with money comes power, and that power is not always used for the betterment of humanity.
However it boils down to a lesser of two evils if you will, a movement that tries to force uniformity on humans, or a movement that celebrates the differences and enterprise of individuals. Without a doubt, I choose Capitalism!
Further Reading: George Orwell's: Nineteen Eighty-Four, it takes socialism to an extreme and logical outcome.
P.S. As the speaker spoke, the red banner of the socialist party what was spread behind him folded and fell to the floor, that seemed to me a very bad omen, symbolizing the uselessness of the concept.
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