“Conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked.”Russell Kirk – Ten Conservative Principles*
In Part I of this series we discussed capitalism as the ideal protector of an individual’s natural right to the pursuit of property. We also touched on the competing economic system of socialism. If you’re reading this series for the first time be sure and check out Part I.
How Do You Take Your Socialism? Latino or Scandinavian?
In Part II used the term socialist to describe someone who advocates the means of production belong to the state as opposed to the individual. In other words, companies are nationalized and controlled by the state, regulating everything from how much a company will produce to how much it must pay its workers. While this may accurately describe classical socialism advocated by the likes of Marx, the Castro brothers, Mao, and the like, it doesn’t encompass everyone claiming the socialist moniker.
When asked in the Democratic presidential debates of 2016 whether the heavy-handed socialism of Latin American strongmen regimes was what we could expect from a Bernie Sanders administration, Sanders assured the audience his would be a kinder, gentler approach:
