Published in cooperation with the David Horowitz Freedom Center
What will the next forty years of your life be like if the U.S. adopts
socialism?
Whenever socialism has been tried, it has led to failure, and often,
great human misery. Nonetheless, many young people prefer socialism to
capitalism. There are dozens of books and articles explaining the
failures of socialism, but these do not seem to have an impact on
students. One reason for this may be that the books are written in
abstract terms, and do not relate to the lives of the readers. This book
takes a different approach. It asks the question, "What will my life
be like if I live under socialism?"
Professor Paul Rubin--a leading expert on socialism and
capitalism--shows that under socialism:
- People will be poorer
- There will be less freedom
- Goods will be of lower quality but more expensive
- There will be less innovation
- The environment will be in worse shape
He also shows that the U.S. is the most productive and richest country
that has ever existed, and that the current level of wealth in the U.S.
is due to capitalism. Lastly, he demonstrates that many critiques of
capitalism (such as, it leads to excessive inequality) are mistaken or
ill-founded.
Professor Rubin points out an important paradox. The young people who
are the sharpest critics of capitalism are themselves highly dependent
in their daily lives on the products of capitalism. These include
computers themselves, mobile phones, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Uber,
Skype, Spotify, computer games, and almost any other modern product.
Additionally, the creators of these products are among the "millionaires
and billionaires" despised by socialists.
