The truth is, equal things are impossible. The expectation of equal outcomes and material items is the work of envy. Envy doesn’t build or create—it is mortality’s second worst enemy next to death. A condition of liberty is the firm rooting of free choice in all human action within the boundaries of moral law—even the freedom to fail.
The truth is, those who shirk their responsibilities will forever look to government to take from those who “have” and give it over by force to those who “have not.” It is a condition of liberty that each person acquires a strong work ethic, stand on his or her own feet, prepare for emergencies, and work for their lives.
The truth is, compassion for others and a spirit of service and charity is a condition of liberty. Experience and reason prove that delegating to the government the natural human trait to alleviate suffering will inevitably destroy a nation’s economy. A condition of liberty is leaving the care of the needy in private hands.
The truth is, the government may possess no more rights than those possessed by the individual. A condition of liberty is a strongly worded written constitution binding the government from mischief, and a process of checks and balances to ensure that the government does not stray from those boundaries.
The truth is, international alliances that take private property from the people and lend or gift it to other governments is an unjust theft of private labor. It is a condition of liberty that a nation’s sovereign laws never become subordinate to foreign powers.
The truth is, every person who is blessed with the protection of his or her life, liberty, and property is obligated to carry their portion of the cost for such protection. It is a condition of liberty that taxes taken from the people for these purposes are uniform and are taken from the people at the same rate.
The truth is, private control over public money will profit those private managers and their friends at the taxpayers’ expense, and lead to mismanagement and disaster. It is a condition of liberty that the people themselves manage their national money supply.
The truth is, duties delegated to the central government must be few and defined, while duties for local government are many and undefined. It is a condition of liberty that prosperity grows from the lowest levels of society upwards—from individual labors, not from government regulation, management, and meddling.
All regimes now standing cannot survive an examination of their behaviors with the light of such truths spotlighting their abuses.
The truth is, being free to choose is the only state of existence that endures—being free to let go of those shiny pieces of government-minted tin and escaping into the vast potential of self-made opportunity is the power of freedom, and it must be protected.
The Courage to Stand Up
The obscure Quaker Isaac Potts, an otherwise unknown and insignificant figure in history, told of a poignant moment he personally witnessed during the ravages of the early days of America’s War for Independence. It was a scene at Valley Forge—amply recreated in paintings, drawings and popular media—of George Washington, the general of the American army, a bowed man whose shoulders carried the burdens of freedom through that grist mill of defeat and deprivation, dropping to his knees in final desperation to lay his petition for relief before God.
Quaker Potts is the sole source of the details of this event, telling it to family and associates. It’s a tale of lasting endurance drawn from the frozen mud of stark discouragement and death among the dwindling hovels of troops who then sustained the cause of freedom on that wintry day.
Seldom mentioned about this lowest point in their slogging struggle is that after his fervent and private communion with his Father in Heaven, General Washington gathered about himself what remained of his faith, his courage, and his inner resolve—and the man stood up.
He stood up against the arrogance of an all-powerful ruler who had dispatched death to smother the embers of freedom.
He stood up against the arbitrary chains of abject obedience forged around the throats of people wanting nothing more but their liberty and their lives.
He stood up against the tyrant who held the executioner’s axe that forced Washington and his troops into this forge of the worst kind.
He stood up against an impotent Congress, rendered chaotic and inept to unify the colonies or materially support the war because of their failed Articles of Confederation.
He stood up against the consuming collapse of a broken heart for the losses of men about him, suffering through starvation, disease, and the cold, leaving nameless bloody tracks in the snow as lonely monuments to their passages through the great struggle for freedom.
He stood up against all that would destroy and enslave and end the great cause that brought them to this place in the snow, this Valley Forge, where the only sentinel preventing an escape was his own personal resolve. And all around him, the powers of the cold, the elements, the collapsing decay of mortality and conflict, squeezed away the last drops of ability and hope, and callously poured them into the frozen earth—leaving just threadbare fingers of faith clutched in humble prayer. For this, George Washington stood up this one last time—for his life, for his liberty, and for his sacred honor.
And when he stood up, others in their rags and illness and misery saw it. Taking courage, they stood up with him, and so rose the greatest nation in the history of the world.
If free Americans are willing to stand up with Washington, stand up against the forces that are drowning human capacity, to put the virtues of freedom within their own hearts, and then stand up across the world in one vast united front, it is entirely possible to celebrate within our lifetimes this, the grandest prize of all, “Freedom in our time for all mankind!”
Learning to Recognize Socialism
List the 15 items Secretary E. T. Benson names as the proper role of government. Give at least three examples of corruption in government’s proper role.
Explain how each of the four animal stories relate to socialism. Does the government play any of those roles today? Do you? Give four examples.
What is “pacifism”? What did Washington say will happen when one nation perceives another as passive?
There are ten ethics from the Bible identified as necessary virtues for good self-government. Summarize each with a word or two each of the scriptures. For example: Blessed are the peacemakers = peacemaker, negotiator. Which of your list of words could you attribute to political leaders now in office?
Name three steps parents may take to stop socialist indoctrination of their children, and three ways parents may promote an understanding of freedom.
What three actions may teachers take to keep socialistic ideas out of school? And, to keep freedom principles in?
Name five things that students can do to build within themselves protection against the deceptions and false promises of socialism as they’re being taught in schools today.
What are three ways a business can promote the study, the understanding, and the exercise of basic freedom principles in their communities?
What can elected state officers do to remove political and cultural control over their states from the federal government and return it to their states? List five projects or actions.
Is today’s news-reporting media the people’s watchdog or the government‘s lapdog? List two changes the press could make to regain its credibility and relevancy.
The author explains that agency, self-control and personal responsibility are as necessary to rule one’s own life as they are to rule a city, a state and a nation. Name three ways the churches could promote this understanding to their congregations.
What was the all-important action that George Washington performed after his prayer at Valley Forge?
What three things can you do to “stand up” for your freedom over the next two weeks? Over the next two months? Over the next two years? Toward this end, list
three simple tasks, three moderate tasks, and three involved tasks, each with an action plan that you can begin tomorrow morning.
List the names of three family members or friends who should be aware of the seven pillars of socialism, the importance of unalienable rights, and how to stop thinking like a socialist. Send them to Amazon.com to receive their own copy of The Naked Socialist. Contact the author at [email protected].
* * *
778 All excerpts by Wilson Rawls (1913-1984), Where the Red Fern Grows, 1961.
779 Portions adapted from The Naked Communist by W. Cleon Skousen,, Ensign Publishing, 1958.
780 George Washington, fifth annual address to Congress, December 3, 1793.
781 Lowell M. Limpus, Disarm!, Freedom Press, N.Y., 1960, pp. 21, 126.
782 Matthew 7:12.
783 Matthew 5:9.
784 Acts 20:35.
785 Matthew 5:44.
786 Matthew 18:4.
787 Matthew 10:16.
788 Matthew 5:48.
789 Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38.
790 Luke 10:29-37.
791 Matthew 6:4.
792 Galatians 6:7; Matthew 5:28.
793 Gardiner Spring, The Obligations of the World to the Bible: A Series of Lectures to Young Men, p. 119, New York: Taylor & Dodd, 1839.
794 1 Timothy 3:5 (1-5)
795 John 8:32 .
796 For an expanded discussion about how truth creates freedom, see Ezra Taft Benson, The Proper Role of Government, 1975.
797 Smyth, Writings of Benjamin Franklin, 9:569.
Acknowledgements
The Naked Socialist is dedicated to the heirs of liberty, that supernal gift made available by the simple and divine happenstance of living in the United States of America. And, to my loving and supportive wife, Kathy, who persevered with kind patience to smooth the way so these many years of research could be concluded—a contribution of untold importance. And, to my ten children, their spouses and offspring, and to all other freedom-loving patriots. May they become a staff of knowledge and understanding and direction upon which the nation may lean, that together the people of the United States may bear the Constitution away from the forces of destruction described in these pages. May they live to see the day when liberty is restored and confidence in constitutional government rebuilt, so that freedom may once again reign supreme, and prosperity flourish.
It seems appropriate to acknowledge powerful guides, influences and sources of enlightenment. First, the tremendous scholarship and labors of my father, W. Cleon Skousen, who paved the way for this treatment on socialism, a project he prepared for but didn’t get a chance to write.
And, my mother, Jewel P. Skousen, who, at the age of 96, still retained her amazing talent for editing and thoughtful suggestion. She is one of those rare, precious souls who knows how to spin gold from an exhausted writer’s literary straw.
And, Igor Shafarevich, Ludwig von Mises, Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Ezra Taft Benson, a few hundred authors and scholars both modern and ancient, and all the American Founding Fathers whose insights, writings, and willingness to face the monsters of this mortal sphere with wisdom, courage, and patience, brought insight and understanding to these troublesome times in which the world finds itself.
And, dozens of family members and great friends who were willing to review the text for suggestions and corrections, including the studious attentions of editor Tristi Pinkston, and the encouraging suggestions of Benjamin C. Skousen, Michelle S. Kennedy, Joseph M. Skousen, Jacob P. Skousen, Tim and Wendy S. McConnehey, Joshua B. Skousen, Mary Ramirez, Sharon S. Krey, and students from my classes at the university. Also lending valuable suggestions were Patricia S. Taylor, Julie S. Mason, MaryAnn S. Hill, and the constant encouragement from Elisabeth Skousen who lent excellent and timely historical context. And, for the brilliant cover and illustration ideas powerfully originated and designed by Arnold Friberg, conceptualized for socialism by J. Rich Skousen, and magnificently recreated and restored by Benjamin C. Skousen.
There are others, but like the subject matter at hand, there must be an ending to the writing, and here it is.
About The Author
Paul B. Skousen was an analyst and intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (1982-1987). For two of those years, he worked in the White House Situation Room for President Ronald Reagan. He is a journalist by training, a writer, published author, and a professor at Utah Valley University. He has a B.A. in journalism and communications from Brigham Young University, and an M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.
Quotes On Major Section Headings
xix. Part I: What is Socialism? “Socialism is government force to change society.”—Author
xx. Ouroboros “Socialism progresses like a snake eating its tail.”—Author
45. Part II: Socialism in Ancient History “Socialism is a time-released poison pill with a 100 percent success rate.”—Author
67. Part III: Socialism in Classical History “From Rome to ruins, the classical forms marched bravely toward the chasm, determined and assured that all was well.”—Author
93. Part IV: Socialism in the Middle Ages “They advocated having all things in common—including wives. Early Church fathers stated, ‘They lead lives of unrestrained indulgence’ ...”—Author
141. Part V: Socialism in the Americas “The sober and godly men ... evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato’s ... as if they were wiser than God.”—Gov. William Bradford, cited in Samuel Eliot Morison, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, p. 120
161. Part VI: Socialism in Religion “All major world religions have gone through times when its members or leaders practiced Ruler’s Law in one form or another.”—Author
193. Part VII: The Miracle That Stopped Socialism “The Utopian schemes of leveling ... are arbitrary, despotic, and in our government, unconstitutional.”—Samuel Adams, 1768 letter to Massachusetts’s agent in London.
239. Part VIII: Revolution of the Socialists, Section 1 “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”—Often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, although not validated.
264. Part IX: Revolution of the Socialists, Section 2 “When virtue suffers neglect and death, the historian knows an end to the whole is not far behind.”—Author
295. Part X: Revolution of the Socialists, Section 3 ““God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?”—Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, section 125
337. Part XI: The Last Temptation: Compulsory Care “The surest path to dictatorship is braced with the promises of universal care.”—Author
359. Part XII: The Last Temptation: Health Care “All modern dictators believe in coercing people into governmentalized medicine.”—Melchior Palyi, Compulsory Medical Care and The Welfare State, National Institute of Professional Services, Inc., Chicago, 1949.
383. Part XIII: Socializing the Money “There is something behind the throne greater than the king himself.”—Sir William Pitt, 1770, quoted by Lord Mahon, History of England, Vol. V., p. 258.
411. Part XIV: Socialism Today in America “It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder.” —Frederic Bastiat, The Law, Ludwig von Mises Institute, Auburn, Alabama, 2007, p. 7 (paragraph 31)
455. Part XV: Socialism Around the World “... Vagabonds and beggars have of long time increased, and daily do increase ... being whole and mighty in body, and able to labour ... there to put himself to labour, like as a true man oweth to do.” —King Henry VIII, George Lillie Craik, et al., The
Pictorial History of England, Charles Knight and Co., 1839.
491. Part XVI: The 46 Goals of Socialism The goal of socialism is communism: “What is usually called socialism was termed by Marx the ‘first,’ or lower, phase of communist society.”—Vladimir Lenin, The State and Revolution, Chapter 5: The First Phase of Communist Society.
503. Part XVII: The Proper Role of Government “Government may not possess more rights than those held by the individual. The individual may delegate certain rights—defense, justice, and raising revenue—but the government may not simply assume them. When it does, that is tyranny.”—Author
522. The Ouroboros “... Socialism progresses like a snake eating its tail . . . Let them pray, therefore, that their tail be very, very long.”—Author
“Factoids”
At the bottom of each page are factoids, short news items or quotes about socialism or freedom. To find their citations and sources, go to www.paulskousen.com.
To locate any particular factoid inside the book, find it listed in the Index under its corresponding name or keyword entry.
The Naked Socialist Page 60