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Russell G. Lloyd, Jr., Viewpoint Published 9:47 p.m. CT Oct. 8, 2020

As the November elections rapidly approach I continue to be dismayed to see our young people marching and chanting to the banner of the new socialists in our midst. Whether its called democratic socialism or the old revolutionary Marxism the results are always the same: disastrous economics, poverty and loss of freedom where ever applied.

Free market capitalism is the economic system thats lifted billions of people out of poverty all over the globe. When you combine free markets with a democratic government and the rule of law, the United States and western democracies have flourished for nearly 250 years in unparalleled freedom for their people with growing innovation and prosperity. So why do our young people turn away from free markets and capitalism to advocate for socialism?

Briefly I would like to compare these two vastly different economic systems.

Free market capitalism requires the rule of law, free and fair trade, private property and individual ownership that is protected by a fair court system, relatively low taxes, capital markets, freedom to travel and a military having a small percent of ownership or participation in the economy. The best examples of countries that have free markets and participatory democracies include Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. You can check out the Index of Economic Freedom to see a ranking of the top performing countries.

On the other hand, socialism and itsdespicable cousin communism include societal components where the central government elites set the rules and enforce them to control the population, most times against their will. Socialist economies have high levels of government ownership of land, property, resources and businesses.

The state owns much of the natural resources but allows favored private enterprises to develop them under strict and sometimes confiscatory agreements. Citizens have limited rights, are under surveillance, many times cant travel out of the country and generally cant criticize the state. The courts and justice system operate at the direction of the state and typical have large prison populations that include political prisoners. With the government controlling a large share of the economy taxes are usually high and the military constitutes a large share of production, gross domestic product and business activity.

The repressive societies and economies are evident in states such as Cuba, Laos, North Korea, Venezuela and the old Soviet Union, Eastern bloc and pre 1980s Communist China.

How can these systems be attractive to our young people? Former socialist countries like India, Mexico, Vietnam and Hungary are moving to the free market capitalist model. Unfortunately the free market economy of Hong Kong appears to be going the other way as Communist China attempts to exert more control over the island. We see people trying to flee these rotten economies while their governments move to keep them in.

In the last hundred years socialism and communism are responsible for the untimely deaths of millions of people, the enslavement of millions more while operating repressive governments with failed economic systems causing much poverty. Dont believe what Sanders and Ocasio Cortez are peddling socialism follows the same disastrous road that leads to Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Josef Stalin and Mao Tse Tung with imprisonment, loss of freedom, untimely death and poverty the result.

The United States has the greatest economic system created by man, free market capitalism, when coupled with representative democracy it is the envy of the world! Lets work to improve it. And move to put socialism in the dustbin of history where it belongs.

Russell G. Lloyd, Jr. is the current city controller and former mayor of Evansville. The opinions here are his personal views and do not represent the City of Evansville.

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