The Top Four Lies of Collectivism
In this week's article, I am working through my thoughts on what I consider to be the four top lies of collectivism in all of its various forms (Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Fascism etc.).
These four topics seem to be present in every version of collectivism we've encountered so far in human history and so addressing them will hopefully strip away the facade regardless of what form the collectivist approach takes.
In no particular order the top four lies of collectivism are:
Workers are not exploited
We provide for those who cannot provide for themselves
We eliminate poverty
Every one works at what each one is best at and what they enjoy
Lie #1: In a collectivist society, workers are not exploited.
Truth: Workers are still exploited in a collectivist society.
This is only "true" in the sense that the definition of 'exploited" is falsely altered or limited. To understand this, consider that all collectivism has its roots in the grossly oversimplified dichotomy proposed by Marx of oppressors and oppressed.
According to Marx, the oppressors were and always will be evil by their nature and even their most kind and benevolent actions are tainted by their exploitive intentions. The oppressors are and will always be victims and even their most evil and violent actions are deemed appropriate because of their exploited experiences. When the oppressed become the holders of power, they are untainted by the exploitive powers they have taken from the oppressors. To the collectivists this is true even though they may do the exact same things to the exact same workers to produce the exact same products that the former oppressors do. Their rise from the place of oppression to the seat of oppressive control renders them somehow incapable of being understood or even identifiable as an actual oppressor even though they still act oppressively. The logic fails.
In the original societal scheme, the workers were being oppressed because the business owner profited from the labor of the worker whereas the worker was only entitled to a inferior portion of the wealth their energies and effort produced. The evilness of the oppressor is therefore to be found in disproportionate division of wealth for the work provided. This is the exact exploitation of the worker that is to be "fixed" by collectivism. The various forms of collectivism differ ever so slightly, but mainly do so on who owns the actual resources and means of production and who controls the division of both the product and wealth created.
Here is the lie laid bare. In reality, all that collectivism does is substitute the business owner or owner(s) with a ruling body that performs the exact same function but focusing instead on some version of "equality" based distribution. The worker still does not get 100% of the benefits of their labor. Instead, the benefits of their labor are now divided among those deemed most worthy by the ruling body. The state of worker is not changed, and they do not get an increase in wage or power. They merely are no longer being "exploited" for the benefit of some people, but instead are now being exploited for the benefit of other people.
Lie #2: A collectivist society provides for those who cannot provide for themselves
Truth: The state is a poor parent, a worse charity and a horrible manager.
A Moscow blogger once wrote that Russians should reflect on what he calls that country’s “inexplicable paradoxes” of the Soviet era. His comments deserve quotation in full. In the Soviet era, he stated;
“Everyone had a job, but no one did anything.”
“No one did anything but the plan was always fulfilled 100 percent or even at times 104 to 110 percent.
“The plan was fulfilled 100 percent but there was nothing in the stores.”
“There was nothing in the stores, but everyone had all they needed.”
“Everyone had all he needed but all stole.”
“All stole but all had enough.
“All had enough but all were dissatisfied.”
“All were dissatisfied but no one went on strike."
“No one went on strike but no one worked.”
“All were against, but all voted ‘for.’"
“He who shouted ‘yes’ the loudest, now beats his chest more than anyone else and insists he was against.”
Source: http://topru.org/59430/neobyasnimye-paradoksy-sovetskogo-soyuza/
In no historical version of collectivism has the state proven capable of successfully managing any component of the economy. It is always driving to the lowest possible common denominator. It successfully achieves the decimation of anything productive and it ever-so-efficiently reduces everyone to meaningless subsistence except those at the top who still somehow manage to have the best of everything.
Lie #3: Collectivist societies eliminate poverty
Truth: Eliminating income equality by making everyone equally "not rich" is not the same as eliminating poverty
This is another classic bait-and-switch of definition by the collectivists. Poverty is redefined as "income inequality", meaning that there are the rich, the affluent middle class, the working poor and the non-working poor. Supposedly replacing the rich with the ruling body (someone has to run everything), eliminating the middle class and paying everyone the same regardless of whether they work or not and regardless of what work they do if they actually work is the same as eliminating poverty. It doesn't matter whether anyone has any actual wealth, because everyone is equally un-rich and non-poor at the same time. It doesn't matter if they have the basic necessities of living or enough money to purchase them. Everyone is in the same state, so there is no poverty. Everyone has "work" and a "wage". Poverty eliminated. (see previous section)
Lie #4: Every one works at what each one is best at and what they enjoy
Truth: Every planned economy lacks the capacity to allow its worker resources to do whatever they choose to do.
You hear the seed of this lie frequently discussed in the West now. The underlying argument comes in the form of a "living wage." The state will pay you a basic living wage - enough money to purchase the necessities of life - regardless of whether you work or not. The idea is that the state is wealthy enough (somehow) to afford to pay its people a basic wage for nothing. Theoretically then, the individual is free to pursue anything they want to from art to music to whatever and somehow this will in turn become a productive component of the economy reaping ever greater benefits for the individual and the state.
The problem with this pipe-dream is that if the state is running the economy (as would be required to qualify as a collectivist society that supposedly doesn't exploit its workers, provides for those who cannot provide for themselves and has eliminated poverty) it can ill afford to have a nation full of happy self-indulging people who don't have to work. It must mandate or conscript some minimum level of employment in all of its various industries because in reality who would want to be a plumber for the same money as doing nothing all day?
By necessity, the collectivist state must somehow identify the work for which each one is best suited and mandate for that individual to work in that role. It is after, your patriotic duty to serve the collective. "From each according to his ability to each according to his need" - right? Your collectivist utopia will only last as long as the existing toilet paper supplies last and then it all goes to . . . mandated labor. Hopefully you will be patriotic enough to enjoy it.
What do you think? Are there other collectivist lies that you would include in this list? Post your comments below.