Baron Von Munchausen's Syndrome and Socialism

Submitted by Dave (United States), Aug 28, 2018 at 14:17

Think of an economy as a circulatory system: It has a heart - the central bank - pumping out blood - or money - to reach the vital organs and extremities - the businesses and households. Good health requires that the blood flows freely. Intervention should be sparing, just enough to keep things moving and prevent any part from dying. What Socialism does is intervene way too much, thereby disrupting the flow so that the various components start to fail. They make so many rules, and regulate so much, and divert so many private resources to themselves, the self-anointed wise ones, that bountiful nature cannot take its course and nourish the body.

And it's all rationalized with such soothing euphemisms: For the workers, for the poor, for social justice and on and on. It really resembles a rare mental disorder known as Baron Von Munchausen's Syndrome, which has occasionally been found in some psychotic nurses who intentionally inflict harm on their hapless patients in order to rush to their aid, glorifying themselves as saviors while actually killing their charges.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".