Sometimes it's

useful to take a step back from the argument of the day and look at basic

philosophies.

We all have

ingrained ideas of fairness, justice, virtue... and these ingrained beliefs

are the driving forces that help us decide which side we'll be on when

the argument is about something specific like term limits, a balanced

budget or welfare reform.

Those of us

who care about policy debate, i.e., politics, all have a picture somewhere

in the backs of our minds of a perfect society. We know that the government

and societal structure in the U.S.A. at the end of the 20th century are

the closest to perfection that humanity has ever come, but still a long

way from the goal.

With 200 million

different Utopias in mind, we push this way and that, trying to move our

government and its programs toward those ideals.

As much as

I don't like labels, they do have a place in all of this. Without some

basic groupings of philosophy, often represented by the platforms of political

parties, we never would get anywhere.

Here are a

couple of labels you've probably heard: communism and socialism. We whose

thoughts tend to occupy conservative points on the political spectrum

sometimes use those labels to brand philosophies we don't agree with philosophies

often identified as "liberal."

There's a reason

for this. We're not just resorting to name-calling, and we're not being

mean-spirited (to use the name that political hit man James Carvill most

likes to call us).

Communism is

a theory of economics and government that's all. If I say that your theory

of government leans toward communism, it doesn't mean I'm accusing you

of being a spy. It just means I'm saying that your philosophy has something

in common with communism, which is defined as: "Any economic theory

or system based on the ownership of all property by the community as a

whole."

If you believe

that some people make too much money and our government and economic system

should be set up so that those who have more must give large chunks of

it to those who have less, then you believe in a system that is more like

communism than what we have now.

In other words,

you believe in socialism.

Socialism is

all over the political circle. It originally was a phased-in approach

to communism, sort of a catch-all name for a variety of theories of community

(i.e. government) ownership of the means of production and distribution.

Karl Marx and company believed that if you could control production and

distribution, you could eventually create a society in which all property

is held by the community, i.e., communism.

Socialism now

refers to pretty much any political system that values the common good

above the individual, or that seeks ways to redistribute wealth from those

who earned it to those who need it.

But it's the

basic beliefs about morality and humanity behind capitalism and communism/socialism

that I'm after here.

We capitalists,

in my opinion, take a realistic approach to human nature. We believe that

people will work harder and more creatively if they are rewarded... if

they can personally benefit from their own efforts and ingenuity. We believe

the reason socialism and communism don't work is because people will not

work as hard and think as creatively if they know the benefits derived

from their efforts are going to be given to someone else, or distributed

evenly in society.

Cynical? I

don't really think so. I think it's realistic to acknowledge that humans

are basically selfish and to set up a system in which people, acting in

their own self interest, do things that benefit all of us.

Communism,

on the other hand, envisions a perfect world in which everyone will work

just as hard for the common good as for individual profit. From each according

to his ability; to each according to his need.

The problem

in such a system is that no one is thinking about how to make a better

mouse trap. Without the profit incentive, the tendency is to either fit

into the gray masses as quietly as possible and take what the government

gives you, or to become corrupt and use your ingenuity to figure out ways

to siphon off community property and use it for your own benefit.

That's exactly

what happened in the U.S.S.R. and numerous other communist countries,

and it's why communism and socialism always fail. They ask humans to be

other than human.

We capitalists

believe in a government whose role is merely to create a level playing

field, to set up rules that prevent unfair competition, monopolies, fraud

and the like, but beyond that to pretty much allow people to keep what

they earn, and to receive as much profit as possible if they work hard

enough and smart enough, and if they are willing to take the necessary

risks.

We're not against

government, and we're not against regulation, but we believe in only as

much government and regulation as are necessary to insure that everybody

has a fair chance at the brass ring. We don't believe that the role of

government is to guarantee success in business or to guarantee every individual

a comfortable life.

But communism

is the extreme, and it has been proved wrong. Next week I'll tie this

discussion into philosophies in this country, here and now.

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