Sanders, Stalin, Socialism: An Alliterative Cautionary Tale

While the above is quite funny, there's still the need to keep perspective and understand what people like Grandpa Gulag believe and espouse is really not that funny.

It's astonishing to me how illiberal ideas and economic illiteracy has so much support in America and by extension North America and still further out in Europe.

And the ignorance.

It's unacceptable considering the literature that's out there.

Take their stance on Scandinavia. They claim that Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark (Finland is not Scandinavian but it is part of the Nordic region) are examples of 'common sense' democratic socialism at play but they be half right - or half wrong.

It's true those countries offer a generous and luxurious welfare and social safety net to their citizens. They pay for it, in part (but mostly), through high taxes. In the case of Norway, oil money kicks in a nice chunk. Ironic, no?

But here's the part the left either don't know or won't say (I'm betting it's both), those places aren't hostile to free market principles and capitalism as a whole like Sanders and intellectually remedial lunkheads like AOC are.

The truth is, Scandinavia is far less regulated than the USA (and Canada) is.

Here, Scandinavians understand and accept the reality of things and life. Don't disrupt an economic eco-system that helps to provide and pay for all the welfare bestowed upon people.

Business and entrepreneurship create wealth and prosperity on many levels it's mind-boggling this has to not only be reminded and reiterated but strenuously argued about given the vociferous and spectacular stupidity of the modern North American left where matters of finance, business and economics are concerned.

No AOC you moron, we don't need a 'conversation' on the Modern Money Theory because that has been thoroughly debunked and dismissed by just about any economist or public intellectual worth their salt for well over a century.

You can't just print money to pay for 'free shit'. That's how you end up with, well, South America and Venezuela in particular. That continent hasn't quite figured it out as the romanticism of the scourge that is socialism continues to grip their psyche.

AOC and Sanders add up to misery and death.

They're a dime a dozen where the dust bin of history is concerned. Noting they say is unique or remotely practical. It's been tried and done and done and tried.

Pick your spot.

The difference between North American leftists and Scandinavians is the former foolishly believes in wanting to have their cake and eat it too. They want the welfare infrastructure and they want to hamper business and control capitalism. They want medicare for all, free tuition and a GND but at the same time want a heavily regulated business structure that serves the state. What of other nations in the EU and Canada who do provide for it?

Have you seen Canada's demographics, high public debt and somewhat lethargic growth rates? While Canada isn't quite as bad as the USA and Europe on costly and inefficient bureaucratic red tape, it's still not very good. The unfunded liabilities for our health care system is the elephant in the room no one wishes to speak about.

It won't and can't work.

That's socialism/communism by other means and is condemned to fail.

If they want it, they can go live in places that accept such dark and envious fallacies.

Don't let them crash our prosperity like suicidal kamikazes. We can face our problems and imperfections within our liberal framework and traditions.

But first, rejecting socialism and communism is a requirement as it impedes progress; it does not advance a civilization.

I think the average person understands this.

Now we just need to make sure the generation we've failed with false historical narratives get the message.