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Democratic socialism.

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It’s not the same as socialism socialism,
because it’s democratic.

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Right?

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Or something, right?

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People are buying that; people buy that now,
right? Apparently.

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As though adding the word “democratic”
in front of a word changes what it means.

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Just because we toss something to a vote doesn’t
change what that something is, nor does it

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alter whether that something is inherently
good or bad.

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A couple of examples, because I know you’ll
ask: Hamas was democratically elected as the

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government in Gaza – despite the fact that
the destruction of not only Israel,

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but the eradication of all Jews, is in their official
charter.

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Robert Mugabe, or Bobby Mugabe if you prefer,
was democratically elected by a loving majority

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in Zimbabwe.

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Zimbabwe! How’s that working out?

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Venezuela? Well, Hugo Chavez, noted personal favorite
friend of Sean Penn, to whom he constantly

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pointed as being unfairly characterized as
a dictator when, in fact, he was democratically

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elected as a socialist. Well, how’d that workout for Venezuela?

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Well, it’s now on the brink of collapse
despite it being one of the most resource

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rich nations in the entire world.

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Basic things like eggs, milk, flour, and toilet
paper are either too expensive for the average

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Venezuelan or simply out of stock… out of
stock, mind you...

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democratically.

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I know, some of you will say, “Well that’s
not fair, because really we knew all along

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it technically was a dictatorship.”

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Ok – that’s fair; let’s move on to example
number two.

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Denmark? Ok, here’s the time where you point to an
entirely homogenous population about one sixtieth

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the size of America’s, and you point to
that as the blueprint?

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Ok – let’s go there.

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This is a place where the middle class can’t
even afford a car because of the 180% new-car tax.

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And the Prime Minister was so fed up with
Americans pointing to it as a beacon for socialist

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success that he felt compelled to clarify,
“I would like to make one thing clear: Denmark

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is far from a socialist planned economy; Denmark
is a market economy.”

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Sweden? I love Sweden!

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Ok, great bikini team, and thanks to that
country my armoire now doubles as a bookcase.

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Speaking of which, the founder of IKEA – let’s
be honest, the only real cool export from

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Sweden aside from a few good hockey players
– left Sweden because of the stifling high tax rate.

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So, Sweden – good place, not bad people
– but a successful model for a viable economy

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in today’s global market?

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Incorrect.

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The fact is that, over time, the greatest
enemy of socialism is reality.

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The reality that human nature will invariably
pull certain people toward individualism and

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success and others toward laziness and collectivism.

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The tension between the makers and the takers
always – always! – leads to socialism’s

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inevitable collapse.

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But I know that I can give you examples of
failed socialist economies

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until I’m blue in the face, and you won’t care.

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Because at least socialism is inherently more
morally altruistic than the evil,

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greedy capitalistic war mongering seen in the West.

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Greed? What’s more greedy than wanting to take
from someone else

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something that you haven’t earned?

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Unlike capitalism – free enterprise, which
can only occur truly through voluntary transaction

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– socialism can only occur at gunpoint.

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That’s what it comes down to.

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If you don’t pay your taxes, once you get
through the IRS and the auditing and the lawyers

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and the PR stunts, people make you give the
government your money, increasing amount of

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your money the more successful you are, or
they send in scary men with guns to take you away.

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Now, so long as the people having their stuff
taken away at gunpoint are in the minority,

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and the majority feels that they’ll get
to benefit from more said taken stuff,

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you’ll always be able to win that decision through
a popular vote and claim the moral high ground

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through democracy.

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Putting the word “democratic” in front
your socialism doesn’t make it any inherently

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more moral, nor less violent.

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Did you get that, American wannabe socialists?

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Also, get a job.

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Please, like a real job…

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You’ll probably have to shave first.

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I’m Steven Crowder for Prager University