Why Does Communism Win?

Guest Post by Eric Peters

A Communist is on the verge of becoming the mayor of New York City, once the world capital of capitalism. It is thus on the verge of becoming something else. Of course, it already is – and has been – for a very long time. Like the rest of America. The problem is Americans – most of them, it seems, prefer to pretend otherwise.

Which is exactly why Communism is winning. Why it has won.

The problem is one of perception, etymology and honesty. Americans who have implicitly accepted all the core tenets of Communism like to be seen as Democrats; some prefer to call themselves Socialists, so they can pretend to themselves and others that they aren’t Communists, after all.

Except of course they are – and this goes for most Republicans, too. They’re just not wanting to be honest with themselves.

Or us.

What is a Democrat and what makes him different from a Socialist? What is the difference between a Socialist and a Communist? Easy! It is a matter of degree. The Democrat – who shares this belief with the Republican – thinks it is possible to have a little Socialism and not end up with a lot of it. The Socialist wants more Socialism sooner but without all the overt unpleasantness of open Communism, such as work camps and mass graves and the total elimination of the individual in favor of a murderously coercive collective. The Communist is intelligent enough to use the naivety of the Socialist to advance Communism (and eventually have the Socialist rounded up and probably shot) just as the Democrat is intelligent enough – usually – to not speak openly of his desire for Socialism.

The common denominator being no one wants to be honest about their desire for Communism except the Communist and he is generally smart enough to keep quiet about it until he is in a position to Gulag the Socialists and the Democrats and anyone else who isn’t a Communist.

Consider the fact (just one of many) that under the current regime – which has been in force for more than 100 years – no American can ever hope to own a home. He is allowed to rent one.

The rent that must be paid while he is making payments on the mortgage; the rent that must be paid even after the mortgage has been paid. But Americans – most of them – don’t want to be honest with themselves or with other people. They like to think of themselves as “homeowners.” It helps them deal with the ugly reality that they’re not.

Many will complain that the rent – the property tax – is too high. Rarely that it is wrong to force people to pay the government any rent at all in order to avoid being evicted by the government from what by right is or ought to be their home, if they paid for it. Many will demand more “support” for the government schools, to be paid by forcing the people who like to believe they own their homes to pay ever-higher rent. Also for the police and various other “services” free people ought to be free to decline.

Since we can’t, what are we?

What are the ones who favor – whether honestly and openly or let’s pretend-play it isn’t – forcing people to pay rent forever in order to avoid being evicted from a fully-paid-for home? They are Democrats (and Republicans) who want to play-pretend they are not Socialists, thus enabling the eventual takeover by open Communists.

When you work, you work for the state – which claims a portion of your income as its due. When you are forced to hand over to another what you’ve worked for, what are you? If you want to open a business, it becomes a public matter and you must operate it in the “public interest,” as decided by the state. You must obtain its permission, submit to its inspections and do as it says.

Ayn Rand took a page from – of all people Abraham Lincoln – when she argued that a “mixed” economy (and so, polity) is an inherently unstable thing that will always and inevitably transition into something no longer “mixed.” It becomes one thing – for everything – except of course for the ones at the very apex of the authoritarian pyramid, who may not legally own anything, personally. It is all state property. The people own it! Except of course the people control nothing and so own nothing – just like the Americans who think they own the home they paid off but still must pay rent to avoid being evicted. The rent-paying American and the Soviet-era prole differ only in degree – and delusion. The Soviet-era prole knew he was a prole – and knew that while “the people” supposedly owned everything in common, the governing claque enjoyed exclusive use of it all.

Many Americans who consider themselves Democrats and Republicans and certainly not Socialists (much less Communists) do not seem able to understand – or prefer not to think about – the fact that having a little Socialism – “the schools!” “the roads!” – always leads to more and finally to Communism, because what else were you expecting? Once it is admitted that other people have the right to vote to take anything from another person just because he has it and they need it, it is accepted that they – these other people – may take everything.

It is merely a question of when they take it.

Until Americans who want to pretend they’re not Socialists because they say they are Republicans and Democrats decide that Communism is a terrible idea to be nipped in the bud, the vines of Communism will continue to grow  until they strangle the life (and point of living) out of everything.