Marvin Olasky on the Affinity Between Socialism and Slavery

“Looking back from the 21st century, we might ask: Why have all socialist countries become slave plantations? Because in a market economy the baker gets up early so he can sell tasty bread to feed his family—but in socialism his family will eat crusts whether he gets up early or not, so he’s likely to roll over and go back to sleep.

What then will the master of a society do? In today’s parlance, first he sends a text message: Going back to sleep is wrong! The baker ignores it. Next step: Give the baker a phone that sounds a blaring wake-up at 4 a.m. The baker turns it off. Next, send a loudspeaker he can’t turn off, like the one on the Soviet freighter that took me across the Pacific in 1972: The baker will find a way to cut the cord. Finally, the master sends a soldier to rouse the baker, march him to the bakery—and shoot him if he resists.

That’s the history of socialism.”

In my earlier post I stated that if anything history teaches human behavior, in part, as a reaction to governmental policies. This selection from this article illustrates this perfectly.

the questions on a collective farm are who milks the cow and who stay up with a sick cow.