Are You a Socialist?

November 30, 2013

You are if you are not an opponent of the welfare state and the whole system of “progressive” taxation that funds it according to both Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek. Socialism started out meaning “government ownership of the means of production” with the ostensible purpose being “equality.” But the socialists of the world quickly determined that it would be easier to allow (heavily regulated) private enterprise to exist and then plunder it with taxes to fund their utopian dreams. There is a long tradition of intellectual opposition to all forms of socialism, including welfare statism, in the Austrian School of Economics. To learn about it take my new four-week online Mises Academy course on “Santa Claus Economics” beginning this Sunday, December 1, at 5:30 PM EST.

The Best of Thomas DiLorenzo

Dr. Thomas DiLorenzo [send him mail] is a former professor of economics at Loyola University Maryland and a longtime member of the senior faculty of the Mises Institute. He is the author or co-author of eighteen books including The Real Lincoln; How Capitalism Saved America; Lincoln Unmasked; Hamilton's Curse; Organized Crime: The Unvarnished Truth About Government; The Problem with Socialism; and The Politically-Incorrect Guide to Economics.