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© Copyright 2012, 2014 by Paul B. Skousen
All rights reserved.
Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, electronically or otherwise, or by use of a technology or retrieval system now known or to be invented, without the prior written permission of the author and publisher.
Published by:
Ensign Publishing Company
PO Box 298
Riverton, Utah 84065
http://www.paulskousen.com/
Contact the author at [email protected]
Softback ISBN: 978-1630720728
Hardback ISBN: 978-0910558730
eBook ISBN: 978-0910558723
Cover illustration and design by Arnold Friberg, restored by Benjamin C. Skousen, additions by J. Rich Skousen,
First edition, paperback, red cover: July 2012
First edition, hardback, red cover: September 2012
Second edition, paperback, black cover: May 1, 2014
by Paul B. Skousen
The Ensign Publishing Company, Riverton, Utah
Thomas Jefferson
November 29, 1802
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
Foreword
The Naked Socialist is the third in a series of books written to unmask the human combines of control and power that have labored for millennia to enslave others. The first two works, The Naked Communist (1958) and The Naked Capitalist (1970), by W. Cleon Skousen, dealt with the ugly aftermath of those forces in modern times. The Naked Socialist goes further, all the way back to the beginning, to explain in layman terms how elitist minorities have always managed to take charge over everybody else. It’s a modern phenomenon that began 6,000 years ago—and has failed to achieve its promised goals each and every time.
A wise man once said, “You will never hear the answer until you first ask the question.” The following information is intended to trigger a thousand questions so that the crucial answers will make sense, make a lasting impression, and make clear the way forward to restore freedom, prosperity, and lasting happiness. It is a wonderfully satisfying pursuit for freedom-lovers of all ages.
Preface
Ask anyone, what is socialism?
Ask an American what socialism is and the answer is usually an impatient shrug—“I think it’s a European idea where the government pays for a lot of regular things like utilities and health care.”
Ask a European what socialism is—“It’s a political party,” many will say. “They’re always promising to make the government pay for more things—it’s certainly better than your American way.”
Ask a former member of the USSR what socialism is and some will answer, “Do you mean that other word for communism? It was horrible—my grandparents were killed because of it, people starved, we were miserable, but today we’re more free and the government is paying for a lot of things. I’m not sure if that’s socialism, but it keeps us from starving.”
Ask someone in North Korea or Cuba or parts of China what socialism is, and they might be afraid to speak openly out of fear of being arrested or shot for criticizing the regime.
Socialism has so many meanings, people use it interchangeably with the ideas of compassion, fairness, and equality, or as the best alternative to “evil” capitalism. Or, as a system that provides affordable health care, utilities, mass transit, insurance, pollution control, etc.
Ask anybody, “what is socialism?” and the answers make it very clear that most people don’t know, probably don’t care, and seem content to live under its regimentation.
Missing in these hurried dismissals of socialism is this singular and critically important fact: socialism always destroys its host nation.
This study uncovers the ugly underside of socialism’s failure formula. It looks into socialism’s 6,000-year history to discover its common elements. As we’ll see, there are seven distinct and identifiable markers of socialism—seven shallow but affective ideas that consistently fail to serve the people or promote prosperity.
Once these seven bad ideas are identified and stripped of their deceit, propaganda, lies and false promises, then, quite suddenly, a way to climb out of today’s snarling maze of cultural and economic decline can easily be seen. It’s an amazing epiphany that pleasantly unfolds to students of freedom, to suddenly see the original U.S. Constitution in this new light and realize how elegantly and ingeniously it solved all the problems now facing America. And, how these same principles can guarantee freedom to all mankind.
Without using political or economic jargon, the reader is given the tools to correctly identify and explain why the best laid socialistic plans always go haywire. For example—
In 2010, President Barack Obama committed the American people to their first-ever national health-care program. He told them it was against the law to say no. If they did, they would have to pay a fine. At the same time, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain and other parts of the European Union were in the middle of massive financial meltdowns brought on by their own health-care and entitlement packages.
As we’ll explain, entitlement programs is socialism at work.
In 1787, the Founding Fathers sat uneasy while Alexander Hamilton paced back and forth at the U.S. Continental Congress. He spoke for five hours in support of a strong, all-powerful president and State executives appointed for life. About that same time, the European crowned monarchs watched with worry as discontented masses in France agitated for a proper way to remove their own “head” of state.
As we’ll explain, all-powerful rulers is socialism at work.
In 1607, the emaciated survivors of Jamestown’s first terrible winter looked at their scant food supply and the buried remains of 66 of their company who starved to death or were killed, and wondered what had gone wrong with their “ideal” colony. At the same time, far to the south, Jesuit Priests in Paraguay were leading thousands of natives into a life of such regimentation that the men and women wouldn’t even sleep together unless they were ordered to by their masters.
As we’ll explain, government regulation is socialism at work.
In A.D. 500, a widespread Christian heresy in Persia, the Mazdakians, won followers by calling for all things in common, including wives and women. So confused were the biological connections that some of the members didn’t even know their own children. Meanwhile, far to the east, Shang Yang in China was teaching a doctrine of how to make millions of working peasants mentally weak so they could be ruled with greater ease.
As we’ll explain, that, too, was socialism at work.
For more than a century, America has been adopting socialism by changing or ignoring its founding documents. As a result, the current generation is reaping financial wreckage, cultural upheaval and widespread despair on a scale of cataclysmic proportions.
Conditions are now dangerously ripe for replacing the substance of the Constitution with an inferior form of government. For a dozen decades the American people have allowed these corrupting ideas of socialism to swell within their ranks to the point that today the nation is on the very verge of crumbling to pieces, and teeters on the brink of ruin. The executioner of liberty is socialism, a massive red iceberg now cutting a fatal swath through the hull of the United States.
Only on
e thing will spare America from going over the European and Soviet cliff of bankruptcy and cultural collapse. The answer is in the pages that follow. Here, the reader may learn what socialism is, learn a proper definition, learn how to apply this understanding as a test to root out dangerous ideas forming in government, learn how socialism’s 6,000-year track record renders its founding ideas anathema to human progress, and learn how to save this nation. The reader learns to reject socialism not because he hates it, but because he understands it. Stripping away all pretenses, false promises and lies, explains the title, The Naked Socialist.
Great hope and energy comes from the study of freedom. It breathes encouragement and optimism into all things. Keeping that freedom alive requires some work, some awareness, and some action on the part of every person who lives under liberty’s umbrella of prosperity and protection. Our goal here is to help readers detect in their own lives how they might be supporting the noxious ideas of socialism, or thinking like a socialist. Once discovered, the way forward becomes bright, clear, and filled with hope.
PAUL B. SKOUSEN
Salt Lake City, Utah, September 17, 2013
Reader’s Guide
The Naked Socialist may be divided into ten general sections for quick and organized study.
ONE: Indispensable Basics
For those in a hurry, the first 8 chapters tell what socialism is, what unalienable rights are, and why the two will always be in conflict. The seven pillars of socialism are introduced.
TWO: Socialism in History
There is nothing new to socialism. It has existed under different names since the dawn of human history. See examples in Chapters 9-34.
THREE: Religion
Are there any connections between socialism and Christianity or Islam? Was Jesus a socialist? Did the early Christians practice socialism? Find out in four short chapters, 35-38.
FOUR: The Miracle
Learn about the miracle that stopped socialism. Read how the Founders abolished all seven pillars of socialism with the Constitution. See Chapters 39-49.
FIVE: Revolution of the Socialists
Socialism-minded people seeking control over others have appeared in America’s history in the form of progressives, unions, religions, scholars, bad amendments, the Supreme Court, law schools, and more. See Chapters 50-66.
SIX: Welfare, 44 Pages
The last temptation of unrestrained government is to solidify power by offering welfare, national health care and other government services. See Chapters 67-74.
SEVEN: Money, 26 Pages
How does socialism finance itself? Read about national banks and the Federal Reserve and how these businesses took over Congress’s role as stewards over our money. See Chapters 75-79.
EIGHT: U.S. Presidents, 42 Pages
How did U.S. presidents inject socialism into America’s cultural heart and economy? See a brief sampling in Chapters 80-85.
NINE: World Socialism, 33 Pages
How are modern nations prospering or failing because of the influence of socialism in their midst? See a sampling in Chapters 86-90.
TEN: Restoring Freedom, 29 Pages
The hardest and most important question of all is “what can we do about the mess that socialism has created?” There is an answer, and it’s not as complicated as many might expect. See Chapters 91-92.
227 Quiz Questions
Several questions designed to help the reader learn how to recognize socialism are included at the end of each section.
The Seven Pillars of Socialism
Socialism stands atop seven pillars of control rooted in the power and authority of Ruler’s Law.
1. All-Powerful RULERS
2. Society Divided into CASTES or CLASSES
3. All Things in COMMON
4. All Things REGULATED
5. Compliance is FORCED
6. Control of INFORMATION
7. No Unalienable RIGHTS
Socialism: Government force to control and change society
Contents
Foreword5
Preface6
Reader’s Guide9
The Seven Pillars of Socialism11
Part I: WHAT IS SOCIALISM?16
Chapter 1: Socialism at Work17
Chapter 2: The Eternal Conflict: Force Versus Choice19
Chapter 3: How Much Force?23
Chapter 4: What Is A Right?28
Chapter 5: Force and Envy33
Chapter 6: Using the “Eight Rights” As a Test37
Chapter 7: The Appeal of Socialism39
Chapter 8: Sample Fruits of Socialism43
Part II--SOCIALISM IN ANCIENT HISTORY49
Chapter 9: First There Was Force50
Chapter 10: Ancient Sumer, the Earliest Socialists51
Chapter 11: Pharaoh, the Demigod Socialist55
Chapter 12: Nimrod, the Anti-God Socialist58
Chapter 13: China: Dynasties of Socialism60
Chapter 14: Assyrians: Ruthless, Blood-drenched Socialists63
Part III--SOCIALISM IN CLASSICAL HISTORY67
Chapter 15: Draco and His Draconian Ideas68
Chapter 16: Sparta: Warrior Socialists70
Chapter 17: Plato and His Republic73
Chapter 18: India and the Caste 76
Chapter 19: Aristophanes: Socialist Ideas “In the Round”78
Chapter 20: Rome’s Recipe: Bread & Circuses80
Chapter 21: Israel and the Elusive Essenes81
Chapter 22: China: Wang Mang, a Failed Socialist82
Chapter 23: How Socialism Killed Rome83
Part IV--SOCIALISM IN THE MIDDLE AGES88
Chapter 24: Socialism and the Rise of Christianity89
Chapter 25: Feudalism and Ruler’s Law93
Chapter 26: Socialism in the Middle Ages95
Chapter 27: Socialism and the Reformation99
Chapter 28: Rise of the Guilds105
Chapter 29: How the French “Revolutionized” Socialism110
Part V--SOCIALISM IN THE AMERICAS121
Chapter 30: Meanwhile, Over in the Americas . . .122
Chapter 31: Incas: Model Socialists123
Chapter 32: Jesuit Priests Socialize Paraguay127
Chapter 33: Jamestown: Socializing the New World129
Chapter 34: Plymouth: No Thanksgiving for Socialism132
Part VI--SOCIALISM IN RELIGION137
Chapter 35: Socialism in Religion138
Chapter 36: Did the Early Christians Practice Communism?149
Chapter 37: The Word That Can’t Be Defined152
Chapter 38: Socialism Du Jour155
Part VII--THE MIRACLE THAT STOPPED SOCIALISM160
Chapter 39: The Miracle That Stopped Socialism161
Chapter 40: Abolishing Pillar #1, “The Ruler”165
Chapter 41: Abolishing Pillar #2, “The Caste”173
Chapter 42: Abolishing Pillar #3, “All In Common”175
Chapter 43: Abolishing Pillar #4, “All Things Regulated”178
Chapter 44: Abolishing Pillar #5, “Force” 180
Chapter 45: Abolishing Pillar #6, “Information Control”182
Chapter 46: Abolishing Pillar #7, “No Natural Rights”184
Chapter 47: Founding Fathers Speak on Socialism189
Chapter 48: “Old Fashioned”?192
Chapter 49: Does It Work?193
Part VIII--REVOLUTION OF THE SOCIALlSTS, Part: 1195
Chapter 50: Conspiracy to Socialize America196
Chapter 51: There’s Nothing Progressive about Progressives 197
Chapter 52: America’s First Progressive199
Chapter 53: The Revolution of the Socialists206
> Chapter 54: Revolutionary: Ned Ludd207
Chapter 55: Revolutionary: Unions and the King208
Chapter 56: Revolutionary: Napoleon Bonaparte 209
Chapter 57: Revolutionary: Robert Owen211
Part IX--REVOLUTION OF THE SOCIALISTS, Part: 2214
Chapter 58: Revolutionary: Union Organizers215
Chapter 59: Revolutionary: Religious Revivalists222
Chapter 60: Revolutionary: The Thinkers226
Chapter 61: Revolutionary: Top Ten Books231
Part X--Revolution of the Socialists, Part: 3235
Chapter 62: Revolutionary: Bad Amendments236
Chapter 63: Revolutionary: U.S. Supreme Court243
Chapter 64: Early Progressive Milestones250
Chapter 65: Revolutionary: Law Schools258
Chapter 66: Socialism Run Amok261
Part XI--THE LAST TEMPTATION, PART 1: COMPULSORY CARE263
Chapter 67: The Last Temptation: Compulsory Care264
Chapter 68: Franklin Speaks ...265
Chapter 69: Bastiat speaks ...267
Chapter 70: The Twisted Roots of Modern Welfare268
Chapter 71: Modern Welfare Born in Prussia274
Chapter 72: The Roots of American Welfare277
Part XII--THE LAST TEMPTATION, PART 2: HEALTH CARE280
Chapter 73: Death by National Health Care281
Chapter 74: Top Six Flaws of Universal Health Coverage283
Part XIII--SOCIALIZING THE MONEY296
Chapter 75: John Law’s Trillion Dollar Idea297
Chapter 76: The Ruling Power of Central Banks300
Chapter 77: Progressives Finally Get Their Central Bank302
Chapter 78: Broken Promises of the Federal Reserve306
Chapter 79: Forgotten Wedges of Socialism309
Part XIV--SOCIALISM TODAY IN AMERICA315
Chapter 80: Thinking Like a Socialist316
Chapter 81: U.S. Presidents and Socialism317
Chapter 82: U.S. Presidents and Socialism, continued320
Chapter 83: U.S. Presidents and Socialism, continued325
Chapter 84: U.S. Presidents and Socialism, continued331
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