Why Socialism Always Fails
January 2nd, 2011Mommy Only Leaves so Many Twenties in her Purse
Conservatism is about building and growing and passing it on to future generations. Liberalism is just legalized looting.
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Liberalism is what happens when covetousness becomes law.
January 3rd, 2011 at 9:30 AM
“The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”. – some Brit politician, I forget exactly who. Thatcher? Churchill?
I would dearly love to reclaim the term “liberal”, without having to tack “classical” on the front, but I’m afraid the Left has left it permanently besmirched.
January 3rd, 2011 at 1:15 PM
Hence the fondness of ‘progressives’ for Islam – Muhammedism is just religiously-sanctioned looting.
January 3rd, 2011 at 2:17 PM
The Wikipedia translation of the 10th commandment should shock the religious left (more accurately “leftist, with religious flavorings”). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments#Judaism : “One is forbidden to desire and plan how one may obtain that which God has given to another.”
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There is NOTHING wrong with wanting a new Ford Mustang LIKE one’s neighbors, but engaging in any kind of zero-sum strategy to diminish one’s neighbor in doing so is prohibited.
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In nearly ALL cases of Jewish commandments, the issue is behavior. There is NO prohibition against WANTING to eat bacon.
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There are tithings and other offerings, but Jewish tradition says one shouldn’t give more than 20% in tzedakah. Now what if one is worth many billions and wants to give away more wealth? Help enrich others with dignity by providing loans. Enable the start of businesses that will hire and enrich others.
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Maimonides lists eight levels of charity:
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[1] The greatest level, above which there is no greater, is to support another by endowing him with a gift or loan, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding employment for him, in order to strengthen his hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others…
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[2] A lesser level of charity than this is to give to the poor without knowing to whom one gives, and without the recipient knowing from who he received. For this is performing a mitzvah solely for the sake of Heaven. This is like the “anonymous fund” that was in the Holy Temple [in Jerusalem]. There the righteous gave in secret, and the good poor profited in secret. Giving to a charity fund is similar to this mode of charity, though one should not contribute to a charity fund unless one knows that the person appointed over the fund is trustworthy and wise and a proper administrator, like Rabbi Hananya ben Teradyon.
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[3] A lesser level of charity than this is when one knows to whom one gives, but the recipient does not know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to walk about in secret and put coins in the doors of the poor. It is worthy and truly good to do this if those who are responsible for distributing charity are not trustworthy.
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[4] A lesser level of charity than this is when one does not know to whom one gives, but the poor person does know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to tie coins into their robes and throw them behind their backs, and the poor would come up and pick the coins out of their robes so that they would not be ashamed.
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[5] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person directly into his hand, but gives before being asked.
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[6] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person after being asked.
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[7] A lesser level than this is when one gives inadequately, but gives gladly and with a smile.
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[8] A lesser level than this is when one gives unwillingly.
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Taxation whereby a majority votes to redistribute the assets of the minority doesn’t appear to rise above the lowest levels and smacks of both theft and covetousness. There is a word in Hebrew which describes the particular form of theft which triggered the Flood, a legally unpunishable form of theft whereby many took an amount — each person taking an amount insufficient to prosecute — from one: hamas. Most translate the last word of Genesis 6:11 as “violence”, but that’s not accurate. http://hebrewtoday.com/noah.htm scroll down to “chamas” and you’ll see that it really means theft, embezzlement and fraud. Indeed, we live in a country where our legislators tax for x and spend on y. We know it… as long as OUR legislator “brings home the bacon”. It should be religiously IMPOSSIBLE for a legislator to reconcile using Social Security funds for ANYTHING ELSE… or to allow others to do so without rebuke.
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Commentary by Rabbi Meir Tamari (whom I’ve met and whose books on business ethics I own): http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Tzedakah_Charity/History/Jewish_Tradition/Maimonides_Ladder.shtml
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Dennis Prager has a bumper sticker: The Bigger the Government the Smaller the Citizen
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http://stores.dennisprager.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ME106
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Go and study.
January 3rd, 2011 at 7:02 PM
It’s just an observation.
I’m not picking a theological fight.
I like reading what Aaron has to write. He imparts wisdom.
Delete this if you want, Steve.
I just think it’s interesting, that with Christianity, the “wanting to eat bacon” is the problem.
For instance, if you’re covetous, that’s as bad as theft.
Just an observation.
January 3rd, 2011 at 8:05 PM
An interesting thing about Christianity, which almost no Christians teach, is that once you are baptized with the Holy Spirit, you are supposed to change over time, so your very desires are different. I believe this is why it was reasonable for Jesus to tell us our desires and thoughts were culpable. He gave us the power to change them.
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Christians who insist there is no second baptism (that baptizing once, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit fills you with the Holy Spirit) think all you get is that warm feeling people experience when they come to Christ. The first Christians were not like that. They prayed in tongues, and they were endued with supernatural gifts, such as the word of knowledge, the ability to see spirits, the power to work miracles, and the power to heal. They were also filled with the fruit of the Spirit, including things like self-control, love for others, and kindness. “Fruit of the Spirit” is a fancy way of saying their inner natures changed, so they became more like God.
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To a Spirit-filled Christian, it all makes sense. It would be unfair to expect an unaided human to change himself as fully as God can do it, so it would be wrong to blame him for his motives and thoughts, as long as he did not act on them. On the other hand, a person who has the power to be transformed has no excuse.
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I believe this is why Jesus called some of his fellow Jews “whitewashed tombs.” They did not have the ability to alter their own natures, so while they were able to change their outer behavior, they could not do much about the state of their hearts. Inside, they were full of iniquity, which leads to death.
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As I have said before, I think this is why the Torah was written on the skins of kosher animals (which represent people). The law given to Moses remained on the outside of people, because men could not force it into their hearts. It was therefore like the Torah characters, which were on the outsides of animals. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, enters into people and writes God’s law inside them, as the prophets predicted.
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I have to wonder who is considered more righteous: a person who has the Spirit’s help in ridding him of iniquity, or a person who has to struggle on his own. We are told that Abraham’s faith was accounted to him as righteousness, and maybe that’s where the answer lies. The righteousness of a Spirit-transformed believer comes by faith, and apparently, that pleases God even more than obedience. It’s a counterintuitive notion, since it’s natural to think people should be rewarded more for effort than for things received freely, but it seems correct.
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Of course, I am only writing this with Christian readers in mind.
January 4th, 2011 at 6:02 AM
Off topic Steve, but I didn’t want to wait for you to see this article in E-mail about south Florida’s record cold December followed by record hot summer in 2010:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/30/noaa-on-miami-florida-coldest-december-on-record/
I dislike The Weather Channel since NBC bought them and turned them into the “Weather Propaganda Doom and Gloom Channel” and just late night I heard the warmest summer on TWC while at the same time not mentioning your experiences in December.
Lies can be outright, or those of omission.
Much of our media is evil in a Biblical sense being guilty of lies of omission…
January 4th, 2011 at 6:08 AM
Sorry… I should have proof read that last comment (record hot summer 2010 followed by record December 2010, not the other way around) while bouncing between browser windows but you get my drift
January 4th, 2011 at 10:45 PM
And when Mommy doesn’t have any more money…
“Mommy! We want more money!”
“I don’t have any more, dears.”
“Can’t you ask Daddy for some?” “Yeah, ask Daddy!”
Mommy to Daddy: “Dear, the children are asking for more money.”
Daddy: “Tell them the money tree died.”
Mommy: “But dear… it would mean so much to the children! Can’t you work a few more hours?”
This is why Daddy drinks.
January 6th, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Liberalism is what happens when covetousness becomes law.
This is why Progressives need to come up with an alternate reality in which high-achievers are actually villains whose gains are illegitimate, unearned, or even the by-product of others’ suffering.