Western style "Socialism with a human face" is about the government taking from Peter to give Paul - and enjoying great status, money and power for fulfilling this function in society.
Soviet style Socialism is when the government owns everything, and is redistributing it back to the people the way it wants.
It is not very hard to understand what makes individuals with a vested interest vote in favor of redistributors. The "stupid" ones are more interesting. Yes, some are just plain dumb - but not all. The smart "stupid" are on the Left for the same reason that so many people still believe in Keynesian stimuli -- they, as explained by Bastiat in his analysis of the "Broken Window" fallacy -- can see what is on the surface, but fail to go one step further and see what lays just beneath.
On the surface, things like fairness, equality, brotherhood of men, not leaving anyone behind - all look wonderful. These things sound like the very antithesis of cruelty, indifference, the law of the jungle.
Unfortunately, as soon as you look a little deeper, you'll see that imposed equality of outcomes will stifle energy, initiative, productivity. The equality becomes one of poverty and stagnation. Moreover, the brotherhood of men inevitably becomes despotism, as leaders usurp the "moral" right to oppress those who refuse to comply with the new rules - of "equality". |
