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By Coach Mitchell Goldstein
May 16, 2015
NewsWithViews.com

History is a Weapon

The Idea

This essay by Clarence Darrow expresses the profound truth that men gather power and wealth and use it to bribe lawmakers to give them privilege. This privilege in turn allows for cronyism to thrive. This cronyism is prevalent in all economic systems and in America the term Crony Capitalism seems to have acquired a certain cynical air – as it should. Crony Capitalism sets the tone and the conditions for our society to wallow and atrophy within class warfare.

Darrow claims in this essay, that the poor have no choice but to commit robbery in order to survive and that they and their thievery are no different than those who steal from us every day through legal means, e.g. through prices that are too high because of monopoly control, through the private ownership of land, through the definition of what constitutes a crime, through policies of who is pursued for crime, etc. Darrow says, “So long as men are allowed to monopolize all the earth, and compel others to live on such terms as these men see fit to make, then you are bound to get into jail.”

The Remedy IS The Problem

Sadly, as is the case with all egalitarian thought, the situation discussed is real, the cause is often just, the arguments chosen are compelling, many of the facts are true, and a few of the conclusions are on point, however the remedies are all wrong. Advocates of Socialism use language that is too broad in its condemnation, hyperbolic, melodramatic and meant to arouse passion rather than to persuade the intellect.

Darrow concludes his 1902 essay entitled Crime and Criminals:

“The only way in the world to abolish crime and criminals is to abolish the big ones and the little ones together. Make fair conditions of life. Give men a chance to live. Abolish the right of private ownership of land, abolish monopoly, make the world partners in production, partners in the good things of life. Nobody would steal if he could get something of his own some easier way. Nobody will commit burglary when he has a house full. No girl will go out on the streets when she has a comfortable place at home. The man who owns a sweatshop or a department store may not be to blame himself for the condition of his girls, but when he pays them five dollars, three dollars, and two dollars a week, I wonder where he thinks they will get the rest of their money to live. The only way to cure these conditions is by equality. There should be no jails. They do not accomplish what they pretend to accomplish. If you would wipe them out, there would be no more criminals than now. They terrorize nobody. They are a blot upon civilization, and a jail is an evidence of the lack of charity of the people on the outside who make the jails and fill them with the victims of their greed.”

Let’s dissect this paragraph.

“The only way in the world to abolish crime and criminals is to abolish the big ones and the little ones together.”

This sounds OK, except that the big criminals always get their way, no matter the system. This is the truth, has always been the truth and will always be the truth.

Not long ago Russia had another revolution. In this newest iteration of the Russian revolution, who are the victors? Isn’t Putin heading an oligarchy? The “Russian Mafia” rules the new Russia? How is this different than Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, et al.?

The marketing of socialism is sophistry at its best. Socialism is a top down system. The bosses make the rules, the rest of us get to follow. The bosses always create advantages for themselves; this is the way it is. It is silliness to call for a perfect standard when perfection is not attainable.

The biggest debates during the early Congresses were whether public monies should be used for public works. Several presidents vetoed public works bills numerous times during the countries first 50+ years because they foresaw that the reality of the corruption that outgrows from public works was perceived to be far worse than the fruits of the promised commerce. It was, is now and will always be commonly understood that government expenditures help the connected few much more than the great unwashed. That is why we are still dirty.

“Make fair conditions of life. Give men a chance to live.”

Who makes the decisions about what is “fair?” The bosses do. Who decides the definition of a condition and which conditions apply to what situations? The bosses do. “Give men a chance to live?” What socialists mean is, provide men a life, i.e. luxuries beyond a man’s native ability to acquire on his own.

The marketing certainly sounds good, doesn’t it? However, how is this standard fair to those who support those with less ability or ambition? How is it fair to require one to work to support someone else? How is it fair that the achievers are required to work even harder than they would otherwise need to in order to provide “luxuries” for themselves? How is it fair to be required to provide for those who will not provide for themselves so all can be “equal?” And how much should be provided? Isn’t it obvious that the person who decides is the one who is likely to be corrupted? Isn’t it obvious that the person who decides corrupts others so that the corrupt system continues? Someone must decide and this is why corruption is endemic in every economic system.

The simple truth is that the reason all socialistic economies fail is: Lazy men have unlimited wants and working men have the desire to keep what they earn. Socialism fails because these two wholly opposite ideas are in eternal conflict. People have an insatiable appetite, but there are never enough assets to please all. The lack of assets creates a resentment for the favoritism which always develops. Favoritism is the building block to any corrupt system and Socialism is replete with corruption. Is the Welfare Class known for self-advancement or do we all know about Welfare Queens and Welfare Cheats and generations of families who have come to know no other way of life? Socialists say, “The little cheaters don’t matter. They don’t have enough.”

I recall a conversation with a hitchhiker I gave a ride to around 1972. During the ride, he said he was on Welfare. I said, “You’re young and look healthy. Why aren’t you working?” He said, “I don’t need to work. They said I qualified so I get a check every month. If they’re stupid enough to give me free money, why shouldn’t I take it?” ‘nuff said?

Abolish the right of private ownership of land, abolish monopoly, make the world partners in production, partners in the good things of life.

Socialism and its variants, Communism and Fascism are actually all about monopoly, the monopoly of power. Take the 1st Three Commandments of those who believe in a One World Government: #1 This Government Is Your God, #2 There Shall Be No Other Governments But This Government, #3 You Shall Not Believe In Any Other False Governments.

Abolishing private property violates the 10th Commandment. Communes and collective farms are a known failure at the nation state level. An inalienable right of Nature is man’s right to his property. The need for property is what drives men to succeed and society is much better off for it. “Make the world partners” – that is to say, “Force the world to accept partners,” not, allow the world to choose if it wants to join in partnership.

Dictates from those in charge, the Plutocracy, is the essence of Socialism, Communism or Fascism. The language of Egalitarianism is actually the clever marketing of Authoritarianism. I’ve never understood that why it is not obvious that once you own nothing, someone else decides what you do get, and because no individual or committee can share meager resources fairly, the outcome is never fair. Additionally, who decides any outcome? Those in charge of course, the new, big criminal class. I call it “The Miscreant Class.”

“Nobody would steal if he could get something of his own some easier way.”

This is one of the silliest statements ever made. The only way to get something easier than stealing it is if it were given for free. The only way an asset is acquired so that the asset can be given to someone for free is if that asset is stolen from someone else.

Darrow’s lack of logic makes you wonder how he could have put together law cases. Man is never satisfied with “enough.” The best example are those who are wealthy. Do they stop trying to gather more wealth and power or do they try hard to gain as much as they possibly can? Man is an acquisitive being. This is the hard truth. Own it. Socialism is all about getting you to give up your ambitions to someone who will not give up theirs. If you are stupid enough to give in then they believe they are clever enough take it all, and they think they deserve it all. A communist boss’s version of sharing is: What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.

“The only way to cure these conditions is by equality.”

More lack of logic. The marketing of socialism is to use words like equality. However, by its very nature, whenever a decision has to be made, those making the decision are never equal to those being affected by the decision. There is no such thing as equality and never can be. Some are always more equal than others. With mankind, there is only the voluntary decision to cooperate and the individual moral responsibility to help ones neighbor. Isn’t it interesting how these two thoughts go together so naturally? Requiring one to help ones neighbor simply does not work for long.

”There should be no jails.”

In the socialistic nirvana there are no Jeffrey Damer’s or Charles Manson’s. The argument is that a guaranteed income would stop thievery. Question: what if someone wants more than the guaranteed income can supply? The answer is, they can’t have more. Wow! That hardly seems tolerant! But what if the person insists on getting more and steals what he wants? Where are the jails? Or, are we all required to further share the little bit we were given? The lack of logic abounds. Liberalism is so easily shown to be silliness.

“They (jails) are a blot upon civilization, and a jail is an evidence of the lack of charity of the people on the outside who make the jails and fill them with the victims of their greed.”

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Jails are not a blot upon civilization. Jails are a recognition of the unalienable right of men to self-defense. We should be able to defend our property and jails are part of our natural right to self-defense. Jails house the confirmed thief or deviant. It is not from a lack of charity that people create jails but from the knowledge that certain men will not stop their nefarious behavior. The idea that big men create monopoly and thereby create victims is certainly true, however, Socialists, instead of creating an economic system determined to gain power and steal through legal means, should rather add their voices to those working to pass laws to dilute monopoly. For Part two click below.

Click here for part -----> 1, 2,