Socialism According to the Socialists
29th August 2023
As I explained recently, it matters a great deal how we define ‘socialism.’ Our choice of definition makes a measurable difference in terms of what level of government intrusion into our lives that we are willing to accept.
Yet despite the unmistakable difference in outcomes depending on what definition we choose, the right-of-center political movement is surprisingly resistant to changing its mind when it has adopted the wrong definition. I am not going to speculate as to the origins of this resistance, but if it is a fear of being perceived as an intellectual turncoat, it might be worth remembering the following words of wisdom attributed to British economist John Maynard Keynes. When criticized for changing his mind too often, Keynes is said to have replied:
When someone presents me with a better argument than mine, I change my mind. What do you do?
There is, of course, also the possibility that some pundits, analysts, and scholars to the right of center are not too worried about the policy consequences of their writings and sayings. If so, it is very unfortunate: if we do not understand socialism, we also do not understand the policy that promotes socialism. If we cannot see that policy for what it is, we eventually become useful conduits for an ideology the end goal of which is the very antithesis of what both conservatives and libertarians want.