A conversation wiith communist Americans.

Do you buy food at the grocery? Do you have a mechanic who works on your car? Maybe you have somebody who comes in and clean your house? Do you have a plumber who fixes your pipes when need be? Or maybe you have a place you go out to eat when you're looking for a nice evening out. Or a club where you can go listen to a band and have a drink or two. Have you ever bought a new windshield wiper or a cell phone or a computer or a music player or a TV? Do you hate all these things?

If you do this stuff and almost every other interaction you have with people and businesses, then you do not hate capitalism, because that's what all these things are. The thing that you hate is something else. Once you get the government involved it stops becoming capitalism and becomes something else. It's that something else that you hate....not capitalism.

I have had a few dinner party discussions with a self proclaimed socialist, he is a sociology professor at a local university. The guy is very bright, but amazingly he has not taken any economics classes, when I discovered that in our discussions, needles to say I had him stammering. Now I thought socialism was an economic system, so how can one make a determination without any understanding of economics? My feeling is socialism is an idealistic vision with no bases in reality, almost like pursuing a perpetual energy device, or like the alchemists who wanted to change base metals into gold. Most of his arguments against capitalism was what Ron Paul calls crony capitalism, the unholy alignment of big government and big business. I did score a couple minor victories by getting him to vote for RP in the Mi primary (based on RPs anti war position) and his acknowledged that small business was somehow different in its treatment of the proletariat than the large corporations.

every week and have your friends also at different times and ask for Ron Paul's books. Eventually they will think so many people want them they will put them on the shelves and hopefully wake up some sleepy people.

Don't waste your time with people who are too brainwashed. Rather spend the time with people who still believe in capitalism and the American Dream. There are plenty of them who have been misled and are ready to wake up to the truth.

Unfortunately the school system and the media have brainwashed a large number of people into fighting for what they oppose (more power to the rich and powerful).

Economics In One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. This book is incredibly easy to read and understand. The funny thing is this book was written in 1946 and can still be directly quoted to refute almost anything that comes out of some socialist fool's mouth.

The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek explains how central economic planning and socialism are anti-liberty and will eventually lead to totalitarianism.

Start with those and you can refute any argument a socialist throws at you.

If you want to understand the communist, socialist, progressive blueprint the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx is the book you seek.

Communism is a utopia that will be reached after a half a century of violent revolutions.

The socialists (proletariat) are shown how they are oppressed and are instructed to overthrow the oppressors.

The progressives are the intellectual elite who can help the down trodden masses by implementing Marx's 10 planks for the greater good.

But the 10 planks are no good, in fact, and they are the quickest path to oppressive tyranny driving the new socialists to violent revolution against the old socialists that became the new oppressors, with the help of the progressives.

Das Kapital (The Capital) by Karl Marx was an economic misdirection intended to focus on "capitalism" as the oppressive force when in fact it was government central planning, especially after the 10 planks are being implemented. It is not capitalism but government that oppresses the poor and robs the middle class and transfers their wealth to the ruling elite.

Don't take my word for it.

Requiem for Marx by Yuri Maltsev is a collection of essays from Mises scholars. It is a good antidote for Marx's writings.

Videos by Maltsev:
http://mises.org/media/7650/Audio-Mises-Daily-gtgt-What-Sovi...
Teaches-Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Xrv1ShUcQ&feature=player_em...

Start by pointing out how many people in high places support communist/socialist ideas over Libertarian ideas and ask them why this is so? Also add that socialist theories exert control over the people (as opposed to the freedom for all that its supporters promote) of a nation as opposed to libertarian views where everyone is free to be different and live as they choose. Extending this idea if you were in power then the best way to control others (without their knowing which is key) would be to control their finances (through tax, control of money supply) and then use this revenue to institute programs to weaken their strength to produce a disconnected populace of divided groups unable to unite to overthrow their masters.

In addition to this mention that all communist countries have ended with leaders whose power has lead to rampant corruption and violence to maintain their control - Stalin, Pol Pot, Tito.

So are they people who want to control others through socialism like the dictators above or do they believe in freedom of opinion and association that libertarianism promotes?

I do not think any have been prosecuted in the former East Bloc since its end.

How did they weasel out of that one?