by Barry A. Liebling
Do Americans value liberty? Do they want to be free? Do they regard individual autonomy as essential to human flourishing? Alternatively, do Americans regard freedom as a foolish and dangerous concept? Do they yearn for a world where everyone is part of a collective that marches in lockstep to the directives of official authorities?
It is apparent that Americans are split. Fortunately, there is a huge number of citizens who value liberty, but they are counterbalanced by a cabal that loathes personal independence.
Recently Fox News reported the results of a survey they have been conducting for several years. It is a nationwide investigation of registered voters, and participants indicate the extent to which they prefer capitalism or socialism. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-socialism-gaining-ground-among-voters
Two key questions are noteworthy. The first is “Do you think it would be a good thing or a bad thing for the United States to move away from capitalism and more toward socialism?” The investigators report that while most people said it would be a bad thing there is an increased proportion who endorse socialism.
How should this finding be interpreted? Like all surveys of this type the results depend on who you ask, on how you phrase the question, and on what the survey respondents know about the subject.
As expected, participants who label themselves as Republicans or conservatives rarely endorse socialism. But most of those who identify as Democrats or “very liberal” assert that moving toward socialism would be a good thing.
Suppose the question were asked differently. Socialism necessarily entails more government control over everyone’s life. What if the same respondents were asked, “Would you like the government to direct your life more and restrict your actions more than it does now?” Probably a higher proportion of participants would reject the proposal. And, significantly, many Democrats and “very liberal” respondents would shift away when socialism is described in accurate terms.
But you would still get some people to say “yes” because there are plenty of Americans who ardently crave a collectivist lifestyle.
Consider the second key question. The survey asks, “Do you want government to lend you a hand or leave you alone?” The results follow a similar pattern. More than half of the Republicans want to be left alone, but more than half of the Democrats are yearning for help.
Again, we can anticipate that phrasing the question differently would diminish the number of people who want government to “lend them a hand.” The survey question could have been, “would you like the government to lend you a hand and – in return – you would be required to obey its orders on how you conduct your daily life?” Certainly, a load of Democrats would bail out if the invitation were phrased that way.
And again, there is undoubtedly a sizable segment of Americans who would be pleased to relinquish all of their autonomy for the promise of guaranteed food and housing.
If you understand the importance and value of individual liberty you might be tempted to conclude that those who shun the idea of freedom do not grasp the implications of their position. And in a lot of cases that is true. But even after the nature of collectivism and its effects are clearly spelled out there is a huge contingent of socialism boosters.
Intellectual understanding is essential, but it is not the whole story. Some people will always prefer to be a part of a selfless collective herd. And even worse, they want to live in a world where everyone else is similarly enslaved.
Marxism and Neo-Marxism has caught on – and continues to flourish – because it appeals to an unhealthy sense of life.
What determines sense of life? Everyone has free will and has the ability to decide what is personally valuable. And an immutable feature of free will is that people have the capacity to mentally reflect and attempt to make correct, healthy life decisions. They may or may not succeed, but a positive outcome is at least possible. Alternatively, they can deliberately sabotage themselves and despoil their own human existence.
There are numerous examples (not enough) of those who have perversely embraced the spirit of socialism and then reconsidered their world view. They learned to think and act properly. And the change always came from within themselves.
The best policy for those of us who value liberty is to encourage everyone to think independently. If more people take that advice, there will certainly be more people who endorse freedom.
*** See other entries at AlertMindPublishing.com in “Monthly Columns.” ***