by Barry A. Liebling
The country as a whole is approximately evenly split between people who support the contemporary leftist agenda and those who (for various reasons, some good) oppose it. However, the cultural elite which includes the educational establishment, the largest businesses, leading entertainment and communications concerns, and government employees are saturated with woke enthusiasts.
I live in New York City where there will be an election for mayor later this year. The voters who are registered Democrats selected a candidate who describes himself as a democratic socialist ( a euphemism for philo-communist). He is ambitious to implement a series of policies that are highly attractive to the woke cabal and utterly obnoxious to citizens who appreciate individual autonomy and freedom. Because Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in the city he is almost certain to be elected.
Among his campaign pronouncements is his antipathy for capitalism and his assertion that there should be no billionaires. The billionaire comment is something many prominent leftists have been braying for years. and it reveals a mindset that is utterly hostile to the best themes of the Enlightenment – individualism, inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property.
Let us unpack the implications of “no billionaires.” The assumption is that private property must be rejected in favor of public ownership of all wealth. The Neo-Marxist position is that all riches really belong to society (or the current dictator, or the King, or the Pharaoh, or the leaders of the Party) but not to any independent individuals. So it is the right of society’s official bosses to confiscate and distribute wealth according to their preferences.
What does redistribution of wealth mean? It amounts to stealing property from some people and giving it to others. But the leftist agent does not regard it as stealing, since the party line is that no citizen owns any property. Wealth belongs to the state, and the state leaders can do what they want with it.
Why is the “no billionaires” slogan viewed with approval by so many citizens? The main driver is envy and resentment – which are sentiments that schools from K12 to graduate programs have been drilling into their students for many years. Consequently, many people do not have an accurate understanding of right and wrong, and are outraged that fabulously wealthy people are permitted to exist. They would like to see them taken down several notches. If the state grabs some (perhaps a lot) of their riches it is the wealthy hoarder’s comeuppance. How dare they produce and keep so much!
Note well that the call to eliminate billionaires does not mention how the wealth was acquired. Of course, any wealth that is the result of force or theft or fraud is not legitimate. And no one is entitled to prizes for their criminal activity. But wealthy people who earn their riches by creating value and trading with others are the proper owners of what they made.
Also note that taking from billionaires implies that the booty will be distributed to some unspecified groups or individuals. Will it be the government, or poor people, or members of oppressed groups? Who receives the prizes is not the primary concern of thieving zealots. The essential goal is to punish those who “have too much” and take it away.
Pull back and consider again the fundamental issue. Do you personally have a right to own property, or is everything you apparently possess really owned by the “country as a whole” and its bosses? The correct answer is that all human beings should have sovereignty over their lives and that requires respect for private property.
Apologists for the “no billionaires” slogan say the confiscatory policy is nothing to worry about. There are not very many billionaires in the population, and most people will not be affected if the “greedy plutocrats” are cut down to size. But that view misses the point. Once the door is opened to seizing wealth from billionaires there is no limit to noxious stealing. What about people who have half a billion dollars? That is much more than they really need. How about taking property from anyone who the nomenklatura find irritating?
Here is the takeaway. Pointing to billionaires and calling for their elimination is abhorrent. It taps into the malignant emotions of people who are bitter that anyone can be tremendously successful. Wealth, honestly earned by creating value, is a good thing that is integral to human flourishing. The world will be improved if more people – not fewer – become rich.
*** See other entries at AlertMindPublishing.com in “Monthly Columns.” ***