Socialism Quotes - Page 7

• Socialism is a wonderful idea. It is only as a reality that it has been disastrous. Among people of every race, color, and creed, all around the world, socialism has led to hunger in countries that used to have surplus food to export.... Nevertheless, for many of those who deal primarily in ideas, socialism remains an attractive idea -- in fact, seductive. Its every failure is explained away as due to the inadequacies of particular leaders.

  Thomas Sowell

  Country, Reality, Race

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• Tyranny is the political corollary of socialism, as representative government is the political corollary of the market economy.

  Ludwig von Mises

  Government, Political, Economy

  Ludwig Von Mises (2008). “Planning for Freedom: Let the Market System Work : a Collection of Essays and Addresses”

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• The desire for an increase of wealth can be satisfied through exchange, which is the only method possible in a capitalist economy, or by violence and petition as in a militarist society, where the strong acquire by force, the weak by petitioning.

  Ludwig von Mises

  Strong, Capitalist Economy, Desire

  Ludwig von Mises (2016). “Socialism - An Economic and Sociological Analysis: The Economist”, p.336, VM eBooks

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• The system that would stand midway between capitalism and socialism.

  Ludwig von Mises

  Midway, Capitalism And Socialism, Capitalism

  Ludwig Von Mises (1978). “Anti-Capitalistic Mentality, The”, p.65, Ludwig von Mises Institute

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• One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project, most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it.

  Ronald Reagan

  Medicine, People, Care

  Radio Address on Socialized Medicine, recorded circa 1961

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• Real socialism is inside man. It wasn't born with Marx. It was in the communes of Italy in the Middle Ages. You can't say it is finished.

  Dario Fo

  Real, Men, Age

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• The issue is Socialism versus Capitalism. I am for Socialism because I am for humanity. We have been cursed with the reign of gold long enough. Money constitutes no proper basis of civilization. The time has come to regenerate society - we are on the eve of universal change.

  Eugene V. Debs

  Civilization, Issues, Long

  Eugene V. Debs' open letter to the American Railway Union, as quoted in "Chicago Railway Times", January 1, 1897.

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• When we truly discover love, capitalism will not be possible and Marxism will not be necessary.

  William O'Brien

  Love, Marxism, Capitalism

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• In the socialist commonwealth every economic change becomes an undertaking whose success can be neither appraised in advance nor later retrospectively determined. There is only groping in the dark. Socialism is the abolition of rational economy.

  Ludwig von Mises

  Dark, Determined, Economic

  Ludwig von Mises (2016). “Economic Calculation In the Socialist Commonwealth”, p.22, Lulu Press, Inc

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• Friedrich Hayek made the point that one of the keystones of socialism is the denial of individual responsibility. Thus, the crusade for socialism always included attacks on individual responsibility. For if individuals do not have free will, and are not responsible for their actions, then their lives must be controlled somehow - preferably by the state - according to the socialists. They must be regulated, regimented and controlled - for their own good.

  Thomas DiLorenzo

  Responsibility, Denial, Action

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• Under capitalism, man oppresses man. But under socialism, it's the other way around.

  Russ Roberts

  Men, Way, Capitalism

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• Gore Vidal, the American writer, once described the American economic system as 'free enterprise for the poor and socialism for the rich'. Macroeconomic policy on the global scale is a bit like that. It is Keynesianism for the rich countries and monetarism for the poor.

  Ha-Joon Chang

  Country, Rich Countries, Economic

  Ha-Joon Chang (2007). “Bad Samaritans: rich nations, poor policies, and the threat to the developing world”, Century

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• The issues which today confront the nation are clearly defined and so fundamental as to directly involve the very survival of the Republic. Are we going to preserve the religious base to our origin, our growth and our progress, or yield to the devious assaults of atheistic or other anti-religious forces? Are we going to maintain our present course toward State Socialism with Communism just beyond or reverse the present trend and regain our hold upon our heritage of liberty and freedom?

  Douglas MacArthur

  Religious, Issues, Yield

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• Socialism: nothing more than the theory that the slave is always more virtuous than his master.

  H. L. Mencken

  Slave, Theory, Masters

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• When one makes a Revolution, one cannot mark time; one must always go forward - or go back. He who now talks about the 'freedom of the press' goes backward, and halts our headlong course towards Socialism.

  Vladimir Lenin

  Time, Freedom Of Speech, Revolution

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• Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich America on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.

  Star Parker

  America, Becoming, Rich

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• The socialism of our day has done good service in setting men to thinking how certain civilizing benefits, now only enjoyed by theopulent, can be enjoyed by all.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Men, Thinking, Done

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1872). “Representative men. English traits. Conduct of life”, p.367

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• No theory of government was ever given a fairer test or a more prolonged experiment in a democratic country than democratic socialism received in Britain. Yet it was a miserable failure in every respect... To cure the British disease with socialism was like trying to cure leukemia with leeches.

  Margaret Thatcher

  Country, Democratic Socialism, Government

  "The Downing Street Years". Book by Margaret Thatcher, October 18, 1993.

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• Without calculation, economic activity is impossible. Since under Socialism economic calculation is impossible, under Socialism there can be no economic activity in our sense of the word All economic change, therefore, would involve operations the value of which could neither be predicted beforehand nor ascertained after they had taken place. Everything would be a leap in the dark. Socialism is the renunciation of rational economy.

  Ludwig von Mises

  Taken, Dark, Would Be

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• 

  Each generation should be made to bear the burden of its own wars, instead of carrying them on, at the expense of other generations.

  James Madison

  War, Liberty, Bears

  James Madison (1865). “Letters and other writings of James Madison”, p.471

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• There is talk of the failure of socialism, and where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia, and in Latin America?

  Fidel Castro

  Latin, Reality, Eugenics

  "SIEMPRE Interviews Castro on Revolution, Future". Interview with Beatriz Pages Rebollar, lanic.utexas.edu. June 4, 1991.

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• It is only in revolutionary struggle against the capitalists of every country, and only in union with the working women and men of the whole world, that we will achieve a new and brighter future-the socialist brotherhood of the workers.

  Alexandra Kollontai

  Inspirational, Country, Future

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• Voluntary exchange is more moral than forced redistribution.

  Ben Shapiro

  Moral, Capitalism And Socialism, Income Redistribution

  Ben Shapiro (2015). “Ben Shapiro: Volume I”, p.7, Creators Publishing

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• The real issue behind these people who are gun grabbers, the truth is - based on fact - the reason why is, they want control. They want control of the people. That's what socialism is and communism.

  Luke Scott

  Real, Gun, Issues

  "Answer Man: Luke Scott talks Nugent, hunting and Obama origin". Interview with David Brown, sports.yahoo.com. December 8, 2010.

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• We were happy a hundred years ago. We knew that there were exploiters and exploited, wealthy and poor, and we had a perfect idea of how to get rid of injustice; we would expropriate the owners and turn the wealth over to the common good. We expropriated the owners and we created one of the most monstrous and oppressive social systems in world history. And we keep repeating that in principle everything was all right, only some unfortunate accidents slipped in and slightly spoiled the good idea. Now let us start afresh.

  Leszek Kolakowski

  War, Ideas, Years

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