Definitions matter. For the record, Merriam-Webster defines socialism as “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.”

Simply, socialism is taking money and property from some people so it can be given to make everyone more or less equal.

The new darling of the Democrat Party is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her official platform “offers support for free college, ‘housing as a human right,’ ‘Medicare for all,’ and a mandatory minimum living wage.” She is proposing that stealing is the right of governments.

Who would pay for all this “free” stuff? The answers vary, but all have one thing in common: confiscatory taxation. Those enamored with socialism have no idea what it is or its long-term consequences.

Here are some responses from young people when asked about socialism:

• “I don’t know where the money would come from, but they can figure it out,” one person stated confidently.
• One supporter of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “seemed to think Americans would be okay with paying higher taxes, saying ‘with a good idea, and a good reason to spend their tax money, people wouldn’t actually mind paying more taxes.’”
• Another admitted that they’re not quite sure what it is that they like about Ocasio-Cortez’s economic philosophy but insisted that “I just know that democratic socialist is better than conservative.”

What if I minded paying more taxes? If so many people don’t mind paying more taxes, why don’t they voluntarily pay more taxes? If these Leftist billionaires are so concerned about income inequality – like the multi-millionaire Barack Obama – why don’t they give away most of their fortunes? Obama said the following while in South Africa giving a speech:

“I should add by the way right now I’m actually surprised by how much money I got, and let me tell you something, I don’t have half as much as most of these folks or a tenth or a hundredth,” Obama said arrogantly. “There’s only so much you can eat, there’s only so big a house you can have, there’s only so many nice trips you can take. I mean, it’s enough.”

No one’s forcing Obama to keep all that money. Why doesn’t he lead by example?

What people advocating for socialism believe is that stealing by majority vote is OK as long as they can benefit from what’s stolen. Socialism is like being social and following the Golden Rule.

Governments can’t follow the Golden Rule. Governments don’t have money to be gracious with. You can’t love your neighbor with someone else’s money. If I stole money from a rich person and gave it to a poor person, I would not be following the Golden Rule. Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez want to be benevolent with someone else’s money. In the long term, socialism disincentivizes people. If governments force equality on a society where everyone is nearly economically equal, then why bother bettering yourself. It will only be taken from you.

Socialism does not work because it is not consistent with fundamental principles of human behavior. The failure of socialism in countries around the world can be traced to one critical defect: it is a system that ignores incentives. (FEE)

The failure of socialist regimes es explained away because they are not practicing “pure socialism.” We’re seeing “pure socialism” in action in Venezuela where the people are killing donkeys for food.

The following has been used to explain the injustice and dangers of socialist theory and practice.

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An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor, and no one would be rich; a great equalizer.

The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism’s plan.” All grades will be averaged, and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A (substituting grades for dollars – something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged, and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too, so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the third test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, all failed, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when a government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

It could not be any simpler than that.

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Now apply the above story to every part of society. That’s socialism!

Be careful what you vote for, because you might get it.