Archive | Capitalism RSS feed for this section

Mark Caserta: Democrat policies have heightened the appetite for Socialism/Communism

26 Jun

I remember a time when socialist-leaning politicians tried to hide their Marxist tendencies for fear of public rejection. Today, many are openly campaigning on those ideas — and in some places, they are winning.

How did this happen?

How could a nation that became the most economically powerful and prosperous country on earth through capitalism now have a growing segment of voters openly embracing socialism and even communism?

Here is what happened — and far too few people are willing to say it.

The chickens have come home to roost for the Democrat Party.

For decades, far-left Democrats have worked to build voting blocs, not by inspiring independence, opportunity, and achievement, but by creating dependency, division, and grievance. Rather than earning votes through policies that strengthen families, create jobs, and restore hope, they have too often attempted to purchase loyalty through government control and political promises.

They have appealed to women through abortion politics and cultural movements. They have sought the LGBTQ vote by elevating identity politics above common sense. They have fanned the flames of racial resentment while claiming to represent the very communities their policies have failed for generations. They have expanded a nanny-state that weakens industry, eliminates good-paying jobs, and leaves too many families dependent on the very government that helped create their struggle.

They have also opened the door to millions entering this country illegally under the banner of compassion, while offering free housing, healthcare, benefits, and services that many hardworking American citizens can barely afford.

This did not happen by accident.

The far-left ideology of today’s Democrat Party has helped create a voter base that has not fully experienced the promise and discipline of true capitalism. Too many have not been encouraged to work, build, fail, learn, grow, and achieve the American Dream. Instead, they have been told that government is the source of success.

They were told, “You didn’t build that.”

Government did.

Now that culture has come to full fruition in many blue states and cities. People look around and see decline, chaos, poverty, crime, broken families, and a growing lack of hope. And sadly, many of the people voting for socialist Democrats are not bad people. Many are simply trying to survive in the very system they were handed.

When hope disappears, people become willing to try almost anything — even failed ideas that history has warned us about again and again.

Winston Churchill is often credited with saying:

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”

Whether one studies history, economics, or human nature, the lesson is clear: socialism does not lift people into prosperity. It spreads dependency, envy, and misery.

The failures of the Democrat Party have helped give birth to the very appetite for socialism they now pretend is compassion. Their policies have not produced strength. They have produced dependency. They have not produced unity. They have produced division. They have not produced hope. They have produced desperation.

I believe this movement will continue to grow unless it is confronted not merely with words, but with results. People do not just need speeches. They need jobs. They need safe communities. They need strong families. They need opportunity. They need leaders who are more interested in restoring hope than preserving political power.

Make no mistake: the appetite for socialism and communism in America did not appear overnight. It was cultivated through decades of failed policies, broken promises, and political dependency.

As this ideology spreads, I believe we will see the socio-economic gap grow even wider between states and cities that embrace freedom and those that embrace government control.

Perhaps it will take a massive failure — a real-time history lesson — for some voters to understand why America became the greatest nation on earth in the first place.

But I pray it does not come to that.

May God bless and protect this nation along the journey.

Mark Caserta: 2 undeniable reasons for Christians to vote!

4 Sep

Click here for video message:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/c69NjUAADFLrXFjF/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Mark Caserta: The 1st Amendment; our Republic and the 2024 presidential election

4 Sep

Click link for video message:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/KQ4kgXvwWf3manoa/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Mark Caserta: Now is the time to defend Capitalism, not change it.

17 Apr

putin

Note: A column from 2008: Somewhat prophetic in its scope.

These past few weeks have been very disconcerting with regard to the path our government has chosen in these troubling economic times, although often in times of crisis, leaders expose deeply embedded beliefs as they frantically search for solutions to an overwhelming problem. I’m concerned our government may be out of answers and we’re going down a road that could change our economic system as we know it.

Winston Churchill once said, “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent vice of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”

Capitalism is an economic system in which the free enterprise of investment and ownership provides production of a product and/or service, distribution and the exchange of wealth between private individuals or corporations. Its success is directly relative to the productivity of its components. It’s an economic system characterized by a free market for goods and services under the control of private entities.

Capitalism is designed to reward those who work hard; however, it has equal consequences for those who decide not to pull their weight. Although capitalism clearly results in different levels of economic success, it also clearly provides equality in opportunity and promotes the entrepreneurial spirit. The people are in control of their future.

Socialism is the economic theory of “collective ownership” and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. Socialists believe that capitalism unfairly provides power and wealth to only a small segment of society that controls the major flow of capital. Socialists advocate a system whereby wealth and power are distributed more evenly by the government in an effort to eliminate class warfare. Socialism is designed to balance the economic worth of each citizen and for the government to provide for the needs of the people. The government is in control of your future.

Karl Marx, often referred to as the “father of socialism,” said, “From each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs.” Socialism suppresses the entrepreneurial spirit by eliminating the incentives for productivity, while capitalism rewards productivity and creates consequences for fiscal “slothfulness.”

Or is the equation changing?

The government’s bailout of businesses that knowingly breeched the faith of the people is setting a very dangerous and unjust precedent. Most assuredly, the government has shown its down card, and the fact that these lending institutions were not allowed to suffer any consequences for their actions is unfathomable and unfair to hard-working Americans.

Probably the most tragic result of this “economic nightmare” of a decision made by our government is that it truly showed the will of the American people really doesn’t matter, and our nation’s political leaders, who were elected to represent the people, truly do not.

Is capitalism in danger? Is there a resolve among our nation’s leaders to take the problem out of the hands of the people? Are we headed for a major change to our economic system?

Karl Marx also said, “Democracy is the road to socialism.”

Only if our leaders decide to take that path.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald- Dispatch editorial page