State of Mankind

How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World:


Chapter Nine: The Communist Economic Trap (Part I)


Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Developed Western Countries: Practicing Communism by Another Name
a. High Taxes and Generous Social Welfare
b. Aggressive Economic Interventionism in Western Countries
c. Socialist Economics Leads to Communist Totalitarianism

2. The Dystopian Socialism of the Chinese Communist Party
a. The Chinese Economy: No Relaxation of Communist Control
b. The Truth Behind China’s Economic Rise
c. Consequences of the Chinese Economic Model

3. The Ravages of Socialism in the Developing World
a. Socialism Continues to Haunt Eastern Europe
b. Socialist Economics Failed the Developing Nations

References
Introduction

Over 150 years ago, Karl Marx published Das Kapital, advocating the abolition of private property and its replacement by public ownership. A century later, communist public ownership was being implemented across one-third of the world’s nations.

After the disintegration of the Soviet bloc following 1990, many Eastern European countries underwent “shock therapy” to return to market economics. Other countries not ruled by communist parties, but which had nevertheless embraced socialist nationalization and endured the misery and poverty of public ownership, ultimately had no choice but to introduce market reforms.

To achieve global domination, the specter of communism launched offensives worldwide. Looking at those countries that abandoned communism or the socialist economic model, one would think that the specter had failed in its goals. But the reality isn’t so simple. The communist specter does not follow a fixed set of principles. Instead, its methods and forms are constantly shifting to fit the situation. It may abandon or criticize its previous actions for the sake of the greater objective, and nowhere is this truer than in the economic sphere.

Upon careful analysis of our present economic system and the reality behind it, one cannot help but discover how the communist specter has spread its tendrils to every corner. As wishful schemes and blind worship of government abound, the economy of virtually every country on earth is moving away from the principles of the free market. Nations are losing their moral foundations and gravitating toward communism. It is time that we wake up to this reality and take measures against it.
1. Developed Western Countries: Practicing Communism by Another Name

In The Communist Manifesto (originally Manifesto of the Communist Party), Marx wrote that communist theory can be summarized in one sentence: Abolish the system of private ownership. For individuals, this implies the “abolition of bourgeois individuality, bourgeois independence, and bourgeois freedom.” For society, it means that “the proletariat will use its political supremacy to wrest, by degree, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the State, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class.” [1]

To achieve this objective, communists used violence and mass murder in communist countries. But as violent communism lost its appeal, nonviolent forms were devised. These variant strains of socialism infiltrated all of society to the extent that they are difficult to identify.

Western countries are using many economic policies that don’t appear to bear any relation to socialism either in name or form, yet they play the roles of restricting, weakening, or depriving people of the right to private property. Others weaken the mechanics of free enterprise, expand government power, and lead society further down the road toward socialism. Methods include high taxation, generous social welfare, and aggressive state interventionism.

a. High Taxes and Generous Social Welfare

An important feature of communist or socialist economics in Western countries is robust social welfare. Current social welfare policies make people who came from communist countries feel as though they have simply moved to another socialist state.

Undercover Socialism

The government itself doesn’t generate value. Rather, it’s like shearing wool from a sheep. All social benefits are ultimately paid for by the people using taxes or national debt. A high degree of welfare itself is a variant form of communism, just without the violent revolution practiced by communist parties.

High taxation is the forcible nationalization of private assets for redistribution on a large scale. At the same time, it is a hidden path to gradually phasing out the system of private ownership.

The end result of high taxation is the same as the public ownership and egalitarianism imposed by communist regimes, with the only difference being whether nationalization is effected before or after production. In communist planned economies, production materials are directly controlled by the state. In the West, production is controlled privately, but the revenue is converted into state assets via taxes and redistribution schemes. Either way, it is equivalent to robbery and plunder of others’ wealth. In Western countries, rather than using killing and violence, this was achieved legally through democracy and legislation.

Some government aid is reasonable, such as social security for victims of disasters or accidents. But the positive aspects of welfare make it a convenient instrument of deception, and it becomes the excuse needed to increase taxes. In this regard, generous social welfare has already achieved the same destructive consequences as communist economics for the people, society, and moral values. By nature, communist economics brings out the dark side of human nature. This is the root cause of why the specter is pushing communist economic values around the world, whether in free societies or in those directly controlled by communist regimes.

High Taxation

Social welfare in developed Western countries consumes a large portion of fiscal revenue, which comes from taxes transferred from private wealth. There is no other way to maintain this level of government largess.

In the United States, over half of tax revenue is spent on Social Security and medical care. More than 80 percent of this money comes from personal income taxes and social security taxes; 11 percent is from corporate tax. [2] Many Western countries go even further than the United States, given their more comprehensive welfare systems.

According to 2016 data on thirty-five market economies published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), twenty-seven countries had an income tax rate of over 30 percent. The countries with the two highest income taxes, at 54 and 49.4 percent, were both in Europe. On top of this, eating or shopping in many parts of Europe comes with a value-added tax as high as 20 percent in some places. [3] Corporate taxes and other taxes further add to the overall rate.[Read more in PDF]