The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism - Paperback

by Kevin D. Williamson (Author)

Stalin's gulag, impoverished North Korea, collapsing Cuba...it's hard to name a dogma that has failed as spectacularly as socialism. And yet leaders around the world continue to subject millions of people to this dysfunctional, violence-prone ideology.

In The Politically Incorrect Guide(TM) to Socialism, Kevin Williamson reveals the fatal flaw of socialism--that efficient, complex economies simply can't be centrally planned. But even in America, that hasn't stopped politicians and bureaucrats from planning, to various extents, the most vital sectors of our economy: public education, energy, and the most arrogant central-planning effort of them all, Obama's healthcare plan.

In this provocative book, Williamson unfolds the grim history of socialism, showing how the ideology has spawned crushing poverty, devastating famines, and horrific wars. Lumbering from one crisis to the next, leaving a trail of economic devastation and environmental catastrophe, socialism has wreaked more havoc, caused more deaths, and impoverished more people than any other ideology in history--especially when you include the victims of fascism, which Williamson notes is simply a variant of socialism.

Williamson further demonstrates:

Why, contrary to popular belief, socialism in theory is no better than socialism in practice
Why socialism can't exist without capitalism
How the energy powerhouse of Venezuela, under socialism, has become an economic basket case subject to rationing and blackouts
How socialism, not British colonialism, plunged the bountiful economy of India into stagnation and dysfunction--and how capitalism is rescuing it
Why socialism is inextricably linked to communism

If you thought socialism went into the dustbin of history with the collapse of the Soviet Union, think again. Socialism is alive and kicking, and it's already spread further than you know.

Front Jacket

What's the central characteristic of socialism? That's easy--it's failure.

From North Korea to the American public education system, from Venezuelan oil companies to ObamaCare, the reports of socialism's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Although the Soviet Union collapsed in ignominy, the central planning impulse that guided it endures in countless industries and government policies throughout the world. As Kevin Williamson explains in this myth-busting book, socialism never works because it can't work. It assumes the authorities have all-knowing planning abilities that human beings don't possess--and can't possess. This central flaw has resulted in crushing poverty, devastating famine, and even mass murder. And yet the socialist "dream" is spreading--including here in America.

Back Jacket

Praise for
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism
This really should be required reading for those who think that socialism is a relic of a half forgotten past. Contrary to popular belief, the socialist impulse is alive and well. It s been said that socialism would only work in Heaven where it s not needed and in Hell where they ve already got it. With the cool detachment of an exorcist, Kevin Williamson methodically demolishes the allegedly angelic good intentions behind socialism to reveal the demonic consequences of its implementation.
Jonah Goldberg, editor at large of National Review Online and author of Liberal Fascism
Socialism isn t dead it s just in disguise. From Lenin and Hugo Chavez to state run industries and U. S. healthcare, Kevin Williamson puts his finger on what makes government planners dreams of running our lives not only ineffective, but dangerous: they don t know half as much as they think they do. Exploring the socialists philosophy in their own words, Williamson shows why the problem with socialism isn t just that it hurts the economy, but that it undermines all the institutions that allow a free society to function and that is why it can t co exist with liberty.
Mark Levin, nationally syndicated talk radio host and author of Liberty and Tyranny
In The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism, Kevin Williamson cuts through the confusion about socialism, providing long overdue clarity and precision. In the process he exposes the insidious nature of the ideology, including its various American forms, and he drives a stake through the heart of today s apologetics for this menace. The book is scholarly, informative, and absolutely fascinating.
David Limbaugh, author of Crimes Against Liberty
Kevin Williamson takes a look at socialism in all its forms, and he uncovers some facts that might make even would be socialists wince: socialism isn t just bad for business, but bad for the poor, bad for the environment, and bad for your health. If you want to understand the deeper ideological forces at work in our politics today, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism is a good place to start.
Larry Kudlow, host of CNBC s the Kudlow Report
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Author Biography

Kevin Daniel Williamson (born September 18, 1972) is an American conservative commentator. He is the theater critic for The New Criterion and the author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism (2011, Regnery), The End Is Near and It's Going to Be Awesome (2013, HarperCollins/Broadside Books), The Dependency Agenda (2013, Encounter Books), and The Case against Trump (2015, Encounter Books), and has contributed chapters to The New Leviathan: The State Vs. the Individual in the 21st Century (2013, Encounter Books) and Future Tense: The Lessons of Culture in an Age of Upheaval (2013, Encounter Books). Williamson previously worked at the Mumbai-based Indian Express Group, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Journal Register Newspapers, and the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, where he directed the journalism and communication programs, and as an adjunct professor at The King's College. Williamson was the editor of The Bulletin, a former daily newspaper in Philadelphia.