Ecosocialists say that Marxism already contains many pro-earth ideals, but today’s movement is designed to give teeth to the abstract—such as empowering Americans to sue companies that are not “green” enough, or shutting down coal-powered power plants (and driving up energy costs), or stopping oil drilling (and driving up energy costs), or stopping land development (make everything a no-touch national park), or imposing mandatory regulations to create ultra-expensive alternatives that are theoretically kinder to the earth.
In 2009 and 2011, suspicions about the political motivations of the global warming movement were validated when batches of 5,000 emails were posted on the Internet.269 Among the messages are cleanly stated the intentions of prominent scientists to conceal underlying data that went contrary to their political agenda, to promote political causes instead of making unbiased scientific inquiry, and admissions that the global warming science is dependent on manipulation of the facts.
Ecosocialism has developed into a filthy assault on liberty that many Americans are supporting at the expense of their own future freedoms to exercise innovation.270
Prickles Off the Same Weed
The growing number of forms of socialism are prickles off the same weed. Each destroys property rights with force. Each has its own elitist class of lordly I-know-better egotists leeching off the masses for sustenance and justification. The misery they create brings out the worst in people. Fighting, knockout games, lawlessness, protests, occupy movements, greed, corruption, and a general breakdown of society all create the excuses needed for an increase in police power. The rulers use police power to punish and crush opposition forces with brute force and multi-layered regulations. This continues until the population has had enough, and then regimes start falling—Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Somali, etc.
Socialism Has Been a Terrifying Failure
Socialism is the organized pursuit of something for nothing. It feeds on human nature with false assurances. It claims the power to satisfy all needs with minimal or no effort. In the end, only an elite class enjoys the advantages while everyone else must suffer.
The philosopher Ayn Rand spoke about the dark tide of socialism that swept across her homeland of Russia, and warned that no good will come of it for the rest of the world.
“Socialism is the doctrine that man has no right to exist for his own sake,” Rand wrote, “that his life and his work do not belong to him, but belong to society, that the only justification of his existence is his service to society, and that society may dispose of him in any way it pleases for the sake of whatever it deems to be its own tribal, collective good.”271
Rand was an eyewitness to the modern-day spread of socialism and the power it wields over individuals—
“Socialism may be established by force, as in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics—or by vote, as in Nazi (National Socialist) Germany. The degree of socialization may be total, as in Russia—or partial, as in England. Theoretically, the differences are superficial; practically, they are only a matter of time. The basic principle, in all cases, is the same.
“The alleged goals of socialism were: the abolition of poverty, the achievement of general prosperity, progress, peace and human brotherhood. The results have been a terrifying failure—terrifying, that is, if one’s motive is men’s welfare.
“Instead of prosperity, socialism has brought economic paralysis and/or collapse of every country that tried it. The degree of socialization has been the degree of disaster. The consequences have varied accordingly.”272
Rand said the right to property was the single most important and consistent field of battle between freedom and socialism—
“When you consider socialism, do not fool yourself about its nature,” she wrote in the early 1960s. “Remember that there is no dichotomy as ‘human rights’ versus ‘property rights.’ No human rights can exist without property rights. Since material goods are produced by the mind and effort of individual men, and are needed to sustain their lives, if the producer does not own the result of his effort, he does not own his life. To deny property rights means to turn men into property owned by the state. Whoever claims the ‘right’ to ‘redistribute’ the wealth produced by others is claiming the ‘right’ to treat human beings as chattel.”273
The seven pillars of socialism are not applied equally through time, but are applied according to world circumstances and changing tolerances. In every instance, all seven methods to violate human rights become part of a painful test of endurance for the populous. When the ruling class, having finally exhausted their consumptions on the people, becomes weak, as they always do, a revolution erupts and new forms are installed to guide the people.
Are these ever any better than the originals?
It is the sad experience of generations past that replacement governments, once installed, eventually decay into abuse, like their predecessors—except for one grand exception: the government formed by the U.S. Constitution.
The assorted experiments in government practiced through the ages prove the brilliance of the Founding Fathers’ wisdom when they drafted the ideal framework for correct management of political power.
The Constitution was not a set of laws per se, but rather a structure to accommodate laws that would be as fair, as managed, and as carefully controlled as humanly possible. It was the great happy news for all of mankind, a change in human history when that miserable tide of blood and misery could, at last, come to a halt—perhaps not for everyone, but at least in one part of the world. And from there, freedom and liberty were positioned to spread to the rest of the nations if they wanted it. It was a time-altering and historical moment that forever changed everything.
Here, then, is the genesis, the unfolding, the brilliant beginning of that sparkling lunge for freedom, the amazing U.S. Constitution—
Learning to Recognize Socialism
Does voluntary religion promote an orderly society? Should organized religion be forced on others for the betterment of society? Has forced religion worked over the long run?
How many Christians are there in the world? Where is the Catholic’s worldwide headquarters? Give examples of the seven pillars of socialism that some Christians used in the past 2,000 years to get their way.
What most often gives organized religions a bad name: their doctrines or their members behaving badly? Do crimes committed by members of a religion always mean that the religion’s core doctrine is flawed? Give examples of bad people in good religions.
What did Buddhadasa say about hoarding? What did he say about consumption? Name three ways that a surplus is useful in society. What does socialist doctrine teach about surpluses?
How many Muslims are there in the world? Where is their worldwide headquarters? How is Islam significantly different from other world religions when it comes to civic affairs?
Explain why socialism won’t work among Hindus.
What did Benjamin Franklin list as the five beliefs common to all major religions? What other Founders supported the same conclusion?
What are some reasons why socialists believe Jesus was a socialist? What is the fundamental and telling difference between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of socialism?
Did the early Christians practice communism? What passages in the New Testament are misinterpreted to bring about this conclusion? Did Jesus teach that private property is good? Do socialists?
Name five of the major groups or schools of socialism. Which of these are prominent in the country today? In your community? In your life? How do these various groups propose to establish their way of socialistic life on everyone else?
How is “going green” retarding energy development? Transportation? Communications? Self-sufficiency? Personal choice?
Will socialism allow you to be more or less free? Explain.
Part VII--THE MIRACLE THAT STOPPED SO
CIALISM
“The utopian schemes of leveling ... are arbitrary, despotic, and in our government, unconstitutional.”
* * *
262 Ludwig Von Mises, Socialism An Economic and Sociological Analysis, p. 249; Clarence B. Carson, The Utopian Vision, The Freeman, February 1965, pp. 20-34; The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 13th edition, 1926, Vol. 27, p. 823.
263 See Alex de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 2:336; W. Cleon Skousen, The Majesty of God’s Law, pp. 556-558.
264 See W. Cleon Skousen, The Naked Communist, pp. 47-59; The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 13th edition, 1926, Vol. 17, pp. 809-810; Encyclopedia of Marxism, Marxism and Marxist.
265 Friedrich Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, 1880.
266 See Mark Skousen, The Making of Modern Economics, pp. 414-415; Encyclopedia of Marxism, Market Socialism.
267 See Paul Hubert Casselman, Labor Dictionary, p. 132; A. M. McBriar, Fabian Socialism and English Politics, 1884-1918, pp. 8-11; Anne Fremantle, This Little Band of Prophets: The British Fabians, p. 263; Margaret Cole, The Story of Fabian Socialism, 1961.
268 See Ludwig Von Mises, Socialism—An Economic and Sociological Analysis, pp. 524-528; Friedrich A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom, pp. 168-169; Dictatorship, Its History and Theory, 1939, pp. 131-135. 275-279; Whittaker Chambers, Witness, p. 462; Walter Lippmann, A Preface to Morals, p. 251; Norman Thomas, A Socialist’s Faith, 1951 pp. 52-53.
269 Forbes, Climategate 2.0: New E-Mails Rock the Global Warming Debate, Nov. 23, 2011.
270 Jon Basil Utley, Obama and the Alternative Energy Fiasco, Reason.com, May 13, 2009; Joel Kovel, The Enemy of Nature, 2002; Robyn Eckersley, Environmentalism and Political Theory, 1992; John Clark, The Anarchist Moment, 1984); John Belemy Foster, Marx’s Ecology in Historical Perspective, International Socialism Journal, Winter 2002.
271 Ayn Rand, The Ayn Rand Lexicon, edited by Harry Binswanger, p. 463.
272 Ayn Rand, “The Monument Builders,” in For the New Intellectual, 1963, pp. 100-101.
273 Ibid., p. 120.
Chapter 39: The Miracle That Stopped Socialism
It was 1787, and for the first time in history a nation rose to its feet firmly planted on the correct principles of freedom. They built a structure that banned forever the seven despotic pillars of socialism.
T he miracle that stopped socialism sprang directly from America’s Founding Generation—those pioneering souls who suffered through depravation, tyranny and death, beginning with Jamestown and slogging forward for 170 years. On the eve of their War for Independence in 1776, some 3 million colonists found themselves standing on the precipice of change—a change for freedom.
What was the “spirit of the times” in America on the eve of that war? What was the soil from which a miracle arose that altered the course of human history, that changed the world forever? Was it a confluence of enlightened ideas stirring the people to sever all ties to oppression, or was it the work of religion and Christianity? Or both?
What Makes a Nation Christian?
There are two ways to consider a nation Christian, Muslim, agnostic, or any other form. The first is when it declares itself as such, and formally endorses or enforces a state religion. For example—
In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini established a theocratic system of government in Iran. Their new constitution left no doubt: “The form of government of Iran is that of an Islamic Republic, endorsed by the people of Iran...”274
In 1978, Spain’s constitution included: “...The public authorities shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and shall consequently maintain appropriate cooperation [sic] relations with the Catholic Church and other confessions.”275
In 1944, Iceland’s constitution said: “The Evangelical Lutheran Church shall be the State Church in Iceland and, as such, it shall be supported and protected by the State.”276
In 1787, the Founders put no such declaration directly into the Constitution. Nor was any added through the Bill of Rights in 1791. Does that mean the United States was not Christian?
“Look Unto the Rock Whence Ye Are Hewn ...”277
The second way to consider a nation as Christian or not, is to look at its social constructs, ethics and human values.278
John Eidsmoe offers a survey of America’s values and religious roots in his book Christianity and the Constitution.279 He points out—
At the time of the War for Independence, about 2/3rds of the American colonists came from countries steeped in Calvinism and similar versions of Christianity as taught by the Protestant reformers.
900,000 colonists were of Scotch or Scotch-Irish origin.
600,000 colonists were from Puritan England.
400,000 colonists were of German or Dutch-reformed origins.
And more thousands of additional European emigrants crossed the ocean with a cultural schooling of Christianity in their upbringing.
As the colonists formed their local governments, specific religious schools of thought were formally codified into their laws—
1. Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New Haven, and New Hampshire incorporated the beliefs of Puritan Calvinist Protestants.
2. New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia incorporated the beliefs of the Church of England.
3. Maryland maintained formal neutrality although various uprisings over the decades attempted to install an official religion.
4. Colonies that had no state religion were Pennsylvania (founded by Quakers but neutral on religion), New Jersey (populated by many Quakers and Calvinists), and Delaware Colony although Catholics and Quakers periodically struggled for political control.
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations officially granted religious freedom but the Catholics were sometimes persecuted or banned.
Additional insight into the religious culture of colonial America is gained from religious affiliation—all but three of the signers of the Constitution claimed allegiance to an organized religion. And, from actions such as the 1777 Continental Congress ordering 20,000 Bibles. And, by the assorted oaths of office that required public declarations such as Delaware’s, “I do profess faith in God the father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ...” And, by Congress setting aside 10,000 acres in 1787 for “civilizing the Indians and promoting Christianity.” And, by Congress’s 1787 Northwest Ordinance: “Sec. 14 Art. 3. ... Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”280
‘Religion is necessary for good government and happiness’? Where did these ideas come from?
John Calvin, Founding Father of the Reformation
The European nations from which these Americans emigrated were heavily schooled in Calvinism. John Calvin was a French pastor who greatly influenced the Protestant Reformation beginning around 1517. He taught three primary doctrines that helped form and steer the philosophical underpinnings of the Constitution:
Men are by nature evil and sinful but they know right from wrong.
All people are responsible for their own souls. Therefore, they must learn to read and understand the Bible to save themselves.
Both moral and judicial laws as taught in the Bible are not a set of fixed rules to follow, but rather a body of principles that may be applied to all walks of life.Learning Becomes a Personal Religious Obligation
The colonists believed that self rule would not succeed unless every citizen learned for himself to read the word of God in the Bible.
In 1647, for example, Massachusetts passed the “Old Deluder Satan Law” to set up schools because “one chief project of the old deluder, Satan, [is] to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures.”281
The religious fervor for education soon ingrain
ed itself into American culture. In 1760, for example, John Jay’s entrance requirements to King’s College obligated him to translate the first 10 chapters of the Gospel of John from Greek into Latin.
In 1730, a freshman at William and Mary College had to adhere to the Calvinistic Thirty-Nine Articles, and also be able to read, write, converse and debate in Greek.
In 1763, John Adams studied Plato in French, English and the original Greek, as could most well-educated Americans in those days.282
At the time of the Revolution, one in eight families received a newspaper that was passed along to others and usually read in public. There were nine large college libraries, and more than 60 subscription libraries. Hundreds of personal libraries of 500 or more books were scattered among the colonies, such as Thomas Jefferson’s collection. He donated 6,487 of his books to Congress to create the Library of Congress. Later on, he donated another 1,000 books.283
Numerous studies conclude that a religious culture of literacy made Americans the most literate in the world. Among white New England men, 60 percent were literate between 1650 and 1670. By 1760, that figure rose to 85 percent, and between 1787 and 1795, it rose to 90 percent. In major cities such as Boston the literacy rate was close to 100 percent by 1800.284 At the turn of the century studies conclude that only Scotland surpassed America in literacy.285
What Books Were in the Founding Father’s Library
Although a Christian ethos permeated national morality, the Bible was silent on many aspects of self-rule. The Founders discovered what they needed in other sources—such as Cicero’s explanations on right reason and natural law, David Langhorne’s Plutarch’s Lives, the teachings of Virgil, of Thucydides, and of Tacitus and his Germania.
They studied the enlightening Essays on Civil Government by John Locke, and Baron Charles de Montesquieu’s hopeful Spirit of the Laws. They pondered the enduring principles of Anglo-Saxon law as a restatement of Moses’ laws. They loved Paul’s letters on personal and national virtue. And, they pored over Sir William Blackstone’s legal commentaries and Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.
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