LETTER: Millennials confused about socialism and capitalism
I keep reading about the difficulty today’s youth have understanding two simple concepts, capitalism and socialism. (Most youth are educated in our socialist schools. Go figure.)
Capitalism is simply barter. I do something for you, and you do something for me. Just an exchange.
Socialism is more complex because it involves a third party. Say I want a doctor’s services. I won’t or can’t create the necessary wealth through barter, so I enlist the aid of a politician. That politician takes the needed wealth from a third party, at gunpoint if necessary.
As Margaret Thatcher once observed, the problem with socialism comes when you run out of other people’s money. Examples of running out of money include the Soviet Union and, more recently, Venezuela.