The Podcast Patriot

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been accusing presidential candidate Barack Obama of being a socialist, but do Americans even understand what that term means today? I think not: Especially when the terms socialism and communism seemed to be used interchangeably and erroneously thrown about as antonyms to capitalism and democracy.

First—get this straight—capitalism and democracy are not the same thing. Democracy is a system of government and capitalism is a system of economy. You can have a communist-capitalist society (look at China) and you can also have other combinations of economic-government combination: such as democratic-socialist society, a socialist-capitalist society, etc.

Capitalism requires three components: private property, ability to earn a profit, and freedom of competition. The system of capitalism infers that when individuals can receive 100% of their rewards and the freedom to compete for customers, they will be more innovative and productive. The market competition will determine the right price and keep prices fair.

Socialism (i.e. a 100% pure socialist society) believes that all business should be considered owned by populous. The collective society should determine prices and gage those prices based on the needs of the community.

Communism (as an economic model) believes that all business should be considered owned by the government, and that wise party leaders should run everything as an oligarchy for the benefit of the greater good. The Soviet Union was both an economic and governmental communist system, with an oligarchy of party members determining what was best for the collective society. This is a significant departure from a socialist society, like many European countries, who may have democratically elected representatives from diverse political parties.

A significant difference between European socialism and theoretical socialism is revealed that not all industries are socialistically regulated. While health care, public transportation and welfare may be nationalized, most businesses do own their own company, the property, and compete on the free market.

These economic models are never pure in their application. No purely capitalist, socialist, or communist economic system exists in the world. The truth is, that most Americans would not tolerate a purely capitalist system, because it would mean that there would be no regulation on farming (the most heavily regulated industry in the country and whose federal mandates keep food costs low), communications (an industry without regulation would flood the Internet and TV with very profitable porn and family-friendless entertainment), travel (an industry where airlines and Amtrak are kept alive through government assistance), etc.

In the current credit crisis, the entire financial industry is being partially nationalized (i.e. buzzword for socialism), to prevent American capitalism from collapsing the entire country into the greatest depression in history.

When Sarah Palin and John McCain call on fear words like “redistribution” and “socialism” they are offering popcorn: words that taste good but are really empty calories without much substance. Our government survives on programs that include some socialist aspects. Nevertheless, do not confuse social programs with socialsim.

Social programs, unlikes socialism, are systems the government sets up to help Americans. Regulation is a social program to ensure that private companies are held to certain standards. Health care programs, such as Medicare, do not socialize medicine but provide a social program to provide medical care to those who can’t afford to pay for good health. Subsidizing farming ensures that private farmers can earn a living and still keep prices low for the greater population.

While Americans fear the word “socialism” as a political boogey man that lurks under the beds of every red, white and blue quilt covered bed, the reality is that it is nothing to be feared. And most of the things we label as socialist, are not socialist at all.

As Americans, we have collectively and democratically elected our statesmen to run our republic. They have been entrusted to ensure that our opportunity for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are secure. As we move into the future, our challenges and needs have changed from the days of the founding fathers. We have global economies with multi-national mega corporations. We have huge populations with advanced medical technology. We have global communications. In the past two hundred years, we have invented the train, the computer, heart transplants, and a modern industrial society.

As we burst boldly into the 21st century; we recognize that health care is not a privilege, we observe how the actions of someone in Bangkok can immediately impact the global environment, we feel the pain of how a bank in Iceland can ruin the life savings of thousands of people in Britain.

The security of that phrase “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” is no longer an individual concern, a city or county concern, but a national issue, because our federal government is able to handle the macro issues that effect all three of those covenants with Americans. It is the only community representation that has the resources to secure that promise.

Joe the Plumber may not want “the rich” to pay more taxes, because he dreams of being one of the rich someday. However, Joe the Plumber (who is neither a plumber, really named Joe, rich or pays taxes) enjoys all the benefits and securities that tax payers provide. If asked to give up those social programs he would regret his decision very quickly.

Freedom is not measured by the liberty of one man, but measured by the liberty of our nation. Health is not measured by the individual, but by the health of the republic. Happiness is not benchmarked by those who have, but by those who have not.

There are many in this country that see their personal opportunity as the only concern, and that is why they fear the word socialism, and associate any social program with socialism. It is why most Americans hate illegal immigration, but love low cost fruit and cheap sweat-shop clothing. It is a “I got mine without any help, so you need to get yours.”

Unfortunately, this myopic view overlooks just how much help the “haves” in this country owe to social programs and the support of a healthy community. They ignore how a rising tide raises all ships and a country full of healthy and happy citizens makes life better for everyone. Nothing happens in this world in a vacuum.

When people fear the word socialism, they are really fearing the word sharing. They fear that they do not have enough and they shouldn’t be asked to share what they have with anyone else. They do not see the benefits of helping others, and they do not recognize how they are helped daily by everyone around them. In short, they are selfish: no taxes, no social programs, no regulation. These are people who only hear the word “free” in freedom.

To use a baseball analogy: They are people who were born on third base and claim that they hit a triple. These are people who feel that any success they have in life started from scratch and they did it all on their own. They also feel that anyone who doesn’t meet their personal benchmark is an underachiever. To offer anything less than disdain is rewarding underachiever and punishing hard work. The irony is that the largest population of this mentality are not the millionaires, but the Middle Class who cling to stay just above the people they hate.

The people that feel social programs, who hold it up try to scare little children with the buzzwords of socialism, are Americans who are living a “from the gut” life. They, in most cases, did feel they worked hard to get where they are, but are ignorant of how much help they really had to get there (and stay there). They do not appreciate how much of social programing is embedded into their lives to keep their family happy, healthy and safe. They do not see the benefit and profit in giving opportunity to create opportunity and keeping your neighbor healthy to keep your family healthy.

Americans should see people like houses in a neighborhood. When one house becomes run down then entire neighborhoods prices fall. When one American is suffering, and can not enjoy the opportunities of all Americans, the value of all Americans are diminished. That isn’t socialism, that is Americanism.